Talk:It's a Wonderful Life

Page contents not supported in other languages.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Former featured article candidateIt's a Wonderful Life is a former featured article candidate. Please view the links under Article milestones below to see why the nomination failed. For older candidates, please check the archive.
Article milestones
DateProcessResult
July 6, 2006Featured article candidateNot promoted
On this day...A fact from this article was featured on Wikipedia's Main Page in the "On this day..." column on December 20, 2012.


Overlinking characters[edit]

See MOS:LINKONCE. Also, who in their right mind skips past the synopsis right to the cast section? Clarityfiend (talk) 03:01, 25 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, "but it may be repeated if helpful for readers". Look at most iconic films which have character articles, they are usually linked in the cast/character section (or should be). This is quite helpful to readers. Not everyone reads the plot sections, and in scrolling down come upon the cast which then would pick up more clicks to the character pages. On this page the links to characters in the cast listing has been long-term. Christmas Eve may not be a good time to even talk about such a major change in a Christmas classic film, if an RfC is needed let's do that after the New Year. Thanks, and Merry Christmas to you and yours. Randy Kryn (talk) 03:18, 25 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
I skipped past this synopsis right to the cast section two days after you posted this. Call me crazy, but I'd already learned the gist of what happens by watching the movie a few times and just wanted to see who was still alive in "the real world". Happy New Year to Janie, Tommy and Zuzu! InedibleHulk (talk) 15:34, 30 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Artist of moon and lasso?[edit]

I am starting a new question. I cannot find the name of the actual, real artist, original person who drew the moon and lasso art work. Can anyone help me? 2601:500:817F:ACD4:ED47:62CD:73A0:BF69 (talk) 07:12, 3 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

And if it still exists (what a great piece of film memorabilia that would be, Smithsonian worthy). Off topic, but just noticed that the senior angel is named Franklin, the film was released a year after FDR died. Randy Kryn (talk) 11:03, 3 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

"Classic"[edit]

"it became a Christmas classic."

"It Happened One Christmas was a 1977 television movie remake of the classic film"

Is it ok to call something a "classic" in an encyclopedia as a factual statement? Or is it more of a subjective kind of thing? I'm asking out of curiosity. Dornwald (talk) 23:15, 25 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

In this case, the claims that the film is a classic appear to be well-sourced or are direct quotations, so I don't really see that there's a POV issue here. DonIago (talk) 01:44, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
User:DonIago Isn't there a difference between "it is regarded as a classic" (for which you can give sources) and "it IS a classic" (which isn't really provable)? It sounds like saying "the movie is great" to me. Dornwald (talk) 03:31, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
It's fine. There are plenty of sources, including direct quotes, that describe the film as classic. If It's a Wonderful Life isn't a classic, then nothing is. Toughpigs (talk) 05:04, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
There are no rules for how many sources you need to "prove" something is a classic, so it should be avoided. It would be better to say "it's widely regarded as a classic". that you can prove. that's my opinion. Dornwald (talk) 12:26, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
You seem to have the tenacity of a Wikipedian, which is a good thing (to a point). In this case, stating something is a classic is the same as any other obvious descriptor, see WP:BLUESKY. Randy Kryn (talk) 12:55, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think calling something a classic should be avoided in favour of "is regarded as a classic". I guess there are cases were it is ok though, like "Romeo and Juliet" or something. I think it can sound like praise, so one should be careful. That's my opinion. Dornwald (talk) 13:24, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Being careful is exactly why in the other cases where you raised this as a concern my view was that the use of the word "classic" was a POV violation; because in those cases there was insufficient sourcing or the word wasn't being used as part of a quotation. DonIago (talk) 14:28, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Don't you think there is a difference between saying "it is a classic" versus "it is regarded as a classic" (given that there a lots of sources). Are both the same? Sorry, i'm just curious. Dornwald (talk) 15:36, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think after a certain point of X reputable sources claiming it's a classic that it becomes a bit of a pedantic and syntactical difference. I guess what I'm confused about is why, since there's support for the use of the word "classic" in general in this instance, you're not just changing the text rather than continuing to discuss it? This is different from the other instances where the word "classic" was being used without clear evidence supporting the word itself. DonIago (talk) 16:18, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
"I think after a certain point of X reputable sources claiming it's a classic that it becomes a bit of a pedantic and syntactical difference."
I think the difference is important because it sounds like praise. That's the way i see it. Dornwald (talk) 16:26, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
User:Donlago
"I guess what I'm confused about is why, since there's support for the use of the word "classic" in general in this instance, you're not just changing the text rather than continuing to discuss it?"
1. Because as a German speaking person I am super reluctant to change anything around here (I now changed it anyway, primarily because of the "Be bold!" link you gave me) :)
2. I am interested in people's opinions about this because I think it's an interesting question that some disagree with me on. Dornwald (talk) 21:54, 26 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Fair enough. If you're looking for a broader consensus on the matter, rather than addressing it case-by-case, you could raise the question at WT:FILM. DonIago (talk) 02:18, 27 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thanks! Dornwald (talk) 02:54, 27 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]