“Experience the enhanced Palm Beaches with new developments, upgraded amenities, and unforgettable visitor experiences in 2024. Discover Southeast Florida’s vibrant gem!”
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Palm Beaches, America’s First Resort Destination®, is gearing up to offer visitors an unforgettable vacation experience in 2024. With a commitment to enhancing the already vibrant atmosphere, the region is investing over $1 billion in new developments, ensuring that tourists have access to the best of what this Southeast Florida paradise has to offer.
One of the key highlights of the Palm Beaches’ transformation is the influx of new and revamped hotels. Visitors can look forward to chic and luxurious accommodations that cater to a variety of tastes and preferences. From boutique hotels to high-end resorts, there will be something for everyone, promising an unparalleled level of comfort and style.
In addition to top-notch lodging options, the region is also embracing the culinary scene with cutting-edge dining experiences. Food enthusiasts will be delighted by the array of innovative restaurants and eateries that will showcase the diverse flavors and cuisines of the Palm Beaches. Whether you’re seeking a Michelin-starred meal or a casual beachfront dining experience, the options are endless.
Furthermore, the Palm Beaches are dedicated to providing an array of enticing attractions for visitors to enjoy. From world-class golf courses and pristine beaches to cultural landmarks and vibrant entertainment districts, there will be no shortage of activities to keep tourists engaged and captivated.
To ensure convenient access to these exciting developments, transportation options are being enhanced. Whether you choose to fly into Palm Beach International Airport or arrive by car, improved infrastructure and transportation services will make it easier than ever to explore the region and its myriad offerings.
As 2024 approaches, the Palm Beaches are poised to deliver an enhanced and unforgettable visitor experience. With new developments, upgraded amenities, and a commitment to excellence, this iconic destination is ready to welcome travelers from around the globe. Whether you seek relaxation, adventure, or a taste of luxury, the Palm Beaches will undoubtedly exceed your expectations.
Several prominent resorts and hotels in The Palm Beaches are undergoing substantial transformations, amplifying the guest experience.
Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa recently completed an extensive renovation, unveiling 175 revamped guest rooms and suites, upgraded banquet spaces, and the all-new Latitudes restaurant, accompanied by a variety of amenities, including a dedicated kids club.
Hilton West Palm Beach, adjacent to the Palm Beach County Convention Center, is on track for a grand reopening in November following a $25 million renovation, encompassing refreshed guestrooms, revamped dining options like the Galley with an exciting new menu, an inviting pool deck, added cabanas, a stylish lobby bar, and wellness activities.
Tideline Ocean Resort & Spa, nestled along the south Palm Beach waterfront, is also preparing to reopen this November following a $20 million renovation, focusing on modernized guest rooms, updated dining venues, and refreshed common areas.
Palm Beach Marriott Singer Island Resort & Spa is in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation slated for completion later this year, embracing a contemporary open-space layout while modernizing its restaurant, lobby, marketplace, bar, and lounge.
Hilton Singer Island Oceanfront Palm Beaches Resort is set to redefine luxury, re-emerging in January 2024 as “The Singer Oceanfront Resort,” complete with rejuvenated guestrooms, innovative dining concepts, enhanced meeting spaces, and a picturesque beachfront bar.
Flagler Club at The Breakers Palm Beach will unveil a luxurious makeover this fall, promising an ultra-luxury boutique experience with a modern aesthetic by esteemed atelier Tihany Design and exclusive guest benefits, including dedicated staff, complimentary transportation, exclusive food and beverage options, and more poised to elevate and enrich the guest experience.
Exciting updates also await guests in The Palm Beaches this season, as several hoteliers unveil enticing offerings.
PGA National Resort leads the way with a new charter boat, beekeeping experience, pickleball courts, and rejuvenating spa treatments.
The Colony Hotel introduces the goop Villa, a collaboration with Gwyneth Paltrow’s brand and Ronen Lev, offering a revitalizing escape complete with goop beauty products and special menu options at the Pink Paradise Café and Swifty’s Restaurant.
AKA West Palm presents Body+Beauty Lab med spa for exclusive cosmetic treatments, while even furry companions can indulge in the recently opened AKA Pet Spa, powered by D is for Dog.
TEEING UP NEW EXPERIENCES IN FLORIDA’S ACCLAIMED GOLF CAPITAL
The Park, West Palm Beach’s latest 200-acre public golf haven, recently opened, featuring a nine-hole par three course, an 18-hole putting course, a kids-only golf area, and a cutting-edge two-sided driving range with Top Tracer technology, designed pro bono by PGA Tour Coach, Darren May.
Via Mizner Golf & City Club, the all-new private club in Boca Raton, offers two refined member experiences – a Jack Nicklaus Signature course with 18 championship holes at The Golf Club and an exclusive hub for social gatherings and upscale relaxation at The City Club.
PopStroke, an extraordinary mini-golf experience backed by Tiger Woods, introduces three state-of-the-art locations in Delray Beach (2023), West Palm Beach (2024), and Wellington (2024), featuring synthetic turf putting courses with fairways and bunkers akin to traditional golf courses.
TGL, a pioneering golf league in partnership with the PGA TOUR, promises a new dimension in golf entertainment that will revolutionize the sport, focusing on innovation, technology, and engaging fan experiences. The purpose-built SoFi Center at Palm Beach State College will serve as a groundbreaking venue, seamlessly blending a data-rich virtual course with a one-of-a-kind short game complex, offering a distinctive and immersive experience for both on-site spectators and viewers worldwide.
A VIBRANT ARRAY OF ART AND ATTRACTIONS
The Norton Museum of Art will delve into impressionist and modern masterpieces at the “Artists in Motion: Impressionist and Modern Masterpieces from the Pearlman Collection” exhibit, now through Feb 18, 2024.
The Flagler Museum will present the evolution of technology through time with “Bicycles: Technology that Changed the World” and the Art Nouveau aesthetic with “Alphonse Mucha: Master of Art Nouveau,” now through Dec. 17, 2023.
The Historical Society of Palm Beach County will present “Endless Summer: Palm Beach Resort Wear” at The Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum, exploring The Palm Beaches’ impact on fashion history, Nov. 9 through May 25, 2024.
Mounts Botanical Garden will enchant visitors with “Origami in the Garden,” an artistic marvel by Santa Fe artists Jennifer and Kevin Box, featuring 20 larger-than-life sculptures inspired by the ancient Japanese art of origami coming Jan. 7 to May 12, 2024.
Busch Wildlife Sanctuary at Abramson & Schlaggar Reserve expands to a larger location in Jupiter Farms, a testament to their commitment to wildlife conservation and education. The newly opened facility is a haven designed to elevate the visitor experience, featuring spacious habitats, interactive exhibits, and a fully equipped wildlife rehab center, ensuring the utmost care for the animals under their protection.
The Royal Poinciana Plaza Après Beach gives the après scene a Palm Beach twist on Sunday afternoons this season, starting November through January, with cabanas styled by Royal retailers amidst a lush courtyard complete with bubbles, bites, and beats.
A SIZZLING CULINARY SCENE
The James Beard Award‘s ‘Best Chef’ in the South category for 2023 honored five new Palm Beach County chefs as semifinalists for the coveted award. Adding to an already impressive list of award-winning chefs, the distinguished chefs making this prestigious list include Jeremy and Cindy Bearman of Oceano Kitchen, the creative genius Rick Mace of Tropical Smokehouse, the culinary virtuoso Pushkar Marathe of Stage Kitchen & Bar, and the exceptional Lojo Washington of Queen of Sheeba.
The Palm Beach Food and Wine Festival is the ultimate treat for avid food enthusiasts, set to dazzle with a four-day extravaganza of culinary delights from Dec. 7-10. The 16th annual festival is now partnering with Wine Spectator to increase its wine capabilities with more than 60 wine tables at the popular Grand Tasting event, is hosting seven new events in 2023, and is expanding its footprint throughout The Palm Beaches with a kick-off party in Boca Raton.
Café Boulud, Chef Daniel Boulud’s famed Palm Beach outpost, now offers daily afternoon tea with a French twist featuring a picturesque setting with a menu of Instagram-worthy specialty teas, mini madeleines, and scones, as well as mouthwatering and perfectly proportioned savory and sweet bites, thoughtfully fashioned by Executive Pastry Chef Julie Franceschini.
The Palm Beaches are buzzing with the arrival of over a dozen new culinary hotspots including The Jupiter Grill by the celebrated Chef Paul Niedermann, winner of “Hell’s Kitchen” in 2012, The House, a culinary jewel nestled within The Park, West Palm Beach’s latest golf haven, under the guidance of top chef Jason Van Bomel, and Pink Steak a modern steakhouse in West Palm Beach with a retro-chic Florida vibe by Julien Gremaud, the creative mind behind the beloved Avocado Grill.
Highly-acclaimed New York transplants are also making a mark, including Harry’s, Adrienne’s Pizzabar and Felice at The Square in West Palm Beach, Gallaghers Steakhouse in Boca Raton, and soon, Campi by acclaimed restaurateur Curt Huegel at The Ray Hotel in Delray Beach. Additional famed eateries from the northeast set to open in 2024 include Tutto Mare, a Mediterranean concept by the Tutto il Giorno restaurant group that will open at The Royal Poinciana Plaza as Palm Beach’s first and only intra-coastal waterfront destination, and Maman, a French café and bakery at The Square.
More fresh dining experiences on the menu for 2024 include Limani Grille and Madame Tang’s at Town Center at Boca Raton, and a host of enticing concepts at Restaurant Row in Boca Raton, including Pubbelly Sushi, El Camino, Fiolina Pasta House led by Michelin-star chef Fabio Trabocchi, and Shabibi, a Lebanese-inspired culinary gem by chef Ralph Pagano of Naked Taco restaurants.
ARRIVE WITH EASE & STYLE
Brightline, the epitome of modern, eco-conscious intercity rail in the U.S., recently extended its services to and from Orlando International Airport. This novel connectivity now effortlessly links West Palm Beach and Boca Raton with vibrant cities from Orlando to South Florida—Miami, Aventura, Fort Lauderdale—ushering in unparalleled ease of exploration for travelers.
Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) To meet the demand, the airport is undergoing a multi-million-dollar project at Concourse B, part of a phased modernization program for PBI. The first phase will include a new 3,000-square-foot restaurant and restroom expansion. Other updates will consist of an overall refresh, an integrated nursing suite, a sensory room to create a calming space for travelers with autism and more. To view returning and seasonal flights visit https://www.pbia.org/airservice.
Rod: A creative force, blending words, images, and flavors. Blogger, writer, filmmaker, and photographer. Cooking enthusiast with a sci-fi vision. Passionate about his upcoming series and dedicated to TNC Network. Partnered with Rebecca Washington for a shared journey of love and art. View all posts
Rod: A creative force, blending words, images, and flavors. Blogger, writer, filmmaker, and photographer. Cooking enthusiast with a sci-fi vision. Passionate about his upcoming series and dedicated to TNC Network. Partnered with Rebecca Washington for a shared journey of love and art.
PG&E Donates $1 Million to Local Food Banks to Help Feed Families
PG&E donates $1 million to local food banks across Northern and Central California—equivalent to about 3 million meals—supporting 38 food banks serving 47 counties.
Just in time for the holidays, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) announced a $1 million donation to local food banks across Northern and Central California—support aimed at meeting a surge in demand as more families and seniors struggle to put food on the table. According to PG&E, the contribution is expected to provide the equivalent of roughly 3 million meals and will support 38 food banks serving 47 counties within PG&E’s service territory.
A third major food-bank contribution since September
The $1 million gift marks the third food-bank-focused contribution since September from PG&E or The PG&E Corporation Foundation (the PG&E Foundation). Combined, those efforts bring PG&E’s total community food support in 2025 to $2.37 million. PG&E emphasized that the funding for these charitable contributions comes from PG&E shareholders—not customers.
Food banks facing record-breaking demand
Food banks across California are reporting pressure levels not seen since the pandemic. Officials with the California Association of Food Banks say demand has reached record highs, driven in part by an unexpected surge during the federal government shutdown this fall. “California food banks experienced an unexpected surge with the [federal government] shutdown this fall. So, we reached out for help on their behalf and PG&E responded,” said Stacia Levenfeld, Chief Executive Officer of the California Association of Food Banks. “Their $1 million gift to food banks throughout Northern and Central California will have a meaningful impact on the lives of millions of people this holiday season and help food banks continue their critical work in our communities.” PG&E leaders framed the donation as an extension of a longstanding partnership with food bank networks. “We are grateful to help local food banks fulfill their mission during this time of increasing demand, especially as more families and seniors are struggling through the holiday season,” said Carla Peterman, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs, PG&E Corporation and Chair of The PG&E Corporation Foundation Board. “Our longstanding partnership with the California Association of Food Banks supports the safety net that is our local food banks.”
Where the 2025 food support has gone
PG&E outlined additional contributions made earlier in the year:
September: The PG&E Foundation awarded $1.12 million to support local food banks, tribal food banks, and senior meal programs.
November: The PG&E Foundation donated $250,000 to the California Association of Food Banks’ Emergency Response Fund.
Equity-focused grant distribution
The California Association of Food Banks notes that while California produces nearly half of the nation’s fruits and vegetables, more than one in five residents still don’t know where their next meal will come from. Food insecurity rates are even higher in many communities of color. PG&E said grant amounts awarded to local organizations will account for county poverty and unemployment levels, using a formula from the California Department of Social Services. The goal: promote equity by directing more support to counties with higher need.
About the PG&E Corporation Foundation and PG&E
The PG&E Corporation Foundation is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, separate from PG&E and sponsored by PG&E Corporation. PG&E is a combined natural gas and electric utility serving more than 16 million people across 70,000 square miles in Northern and Central California. More information is available at pge.com and pge.com/news.
Why this matters
As food banks brace for sustained demand beyond the holiday season, large-scale donations like PG&E’s can help stabilize local supply—especially when distributed with an equity lens that targets the counties facing the steepest economic pressures. For families, seniors, and individuals navigating rising costs, the impact is immediate: more meals available now, and stronger community support systems heading into the new year. Community links:
In the 1970s, Lynwood, CA, dreamed of a downtown mall anchored by Montgomery Ward. Decades later, the empty lots told a story of ambition, delay, and renewal.
In the early 1970s, Lynwood, California, dreamed big.
City leaders envisioned a new, modern downtown — a sprawling shopping and auto mall that would bring jobs, shoppers, and a sense of pride back to this small but growing city in the southeast corner of Los Angeles County. At the heart of the plan stood a gleaming new Montgomery Ward department store, which opened around 1973 and promised to anchor a larger commercial center that never fully came.
But for those of us who grew up in Lynwood during that time, the promise never quite materialized.
Instead, we remember acres of empty lots, chain-link fences, and faded “Coming Soon” signs that sat for decades — silent witnesses to a dream deferred.
The Vision That Stalled
In 1973, Lynwood’s Redevelopment Agency launched what it called Project Area A — an ambitious plan to clear and rebuild much of the city’s downtown core. Small businesses and homes were bought out, land was assembled, and the city floated bonds to support new construction.
For a brief moment, it looked as if the plan might work. Montgomery Ward opened its doors, serving as a retail beacon for the area. Yet the rest of the mall — the shops, restaurants, and auto dealerships — never came.
By the mid-1970s, much of downtown had been bulldozed, but little replaced it. And by the time Ward closed its Lynwood location in 1986, the vast lots surrounding it had become symbols of frustration and unfulfilled potential.
What Happened?
Some longtime residents whispered about corruption or backroom deals — the kind of speculation that grows when visible progress stalls.
But newspaper archives and redevelopment records tell a more complex story.
Lynwood’s plans collided with a series of hard realities:
The construction of the Century Freeway (I-105) disrupted neighborhoods and depressed land values. Environmental cleanup and ownership disputes slowed development. Economic shifts in retail — as malls in nearby Downey, South Gate, and Paramount attracted anchor stores — drained the local market. And later, political infighting among city officials made sustained redevelopment almost impossible.
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To this day, there’s no public record of proven corruption directly tied to the 1970s mall plan. What did exist was a tangle of bureaucracy, economic change, and missed opportunity — a perfect storm that left Lynwood’s heart half-built and half-forgotten.
Growing Up Among the Vacant Lots
For those of us who were kids in Lynwood during that era, the story is more personal.
We remember the sight of the Montgomery Ward building — modern and hopeful at first, then shuttered and fading by the mid-1980s.
We remember riding bikes past the empty dirt fields that were supposed to become shopping plazas. And we remember the quiet frustration of adults who had believed the city’s promises.
Those empty blocks became our playgrounds — but they also became symbols of the gap between what Lynwood was and what it wanted to be.
A New Chapter: Plaza México and Beyond
By the late 1990s and early 2000s, the dream finally resurfaced in a new form.
Developers transformed the long-idle site into Plaza México, a vibrant commercial and cultural hub that celebrates Mexican and Latin American heritage.
It took nearly 30 years for Lynwood’s downtown to come alive again.
The result is beautiful — but it’s also bittersweet for those who remember how long the land sat empty, and how many local businesses and residents were displaced in pursuit of a dream that took a generation to fulfill.
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Looking Back
The story of Lynwood’s lost mall isn’t just about urban planning.
It’s about hope, change, and resilience. It’s about how a community tried to reinvent itself — and how the children who grew up watching that effort still carry its memory.
Sometimes, when I drive through that stretch of Imperial Highway and Long Beach Boulevard, I still imagine what might have been: the bustling mall that never was, and the voices of a neighborhood caught between ambition and uncertainty.
📚 Further Reading
Montgomery Ward will close its Lynwood store. (Jan 3 1986) — Los Angeles Times.
Dive into “The Knowledge,” where curiosity meets clarity. This playlist, in collaboration with STMDailyNews.com, is designed for viewers who value historical accuracy and insightful learning. Our short videos, ranging from 30 seconds to a minute and a half, make complex subjects easy to grasp in no time. Covering everything from historical events to contemporary processes and entertainment, “The Knowledge” bridges the past with the present. In a world where information is abundant yet often misused, our series aims to guide you through the noise, preserving vital knowledge and truths that shape our lives today. Perfect for curious minds eager to discover the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of everything around us. Subscribe and join in as we explore the facts that matter. https://stmdailynews.com/the-knowledge/
The dystopian Pottersville in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is starting to feel less like fiction
A fresh look at It’s a Wonderful Life through the film’s darkest detour—Pottersville—and why its greed, corruption, and desensitization to cruelty feels uncomfortably familiar in America today.
To many Americans, George Bailey’s dystopian nightmare is disquietingly familiar. Paramount
The dystopian Pottersville in ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is starting to feel less like fiction
Nora Gilbert, University of North Texas Along with millions of others, I’ll soon be taking 2 hours and 10 minutes out of my busy holiday schedule to sit down and watch a movie I’ve seen countless times before: Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” which tells the story of a man’s existential crisis one Christmas Eve in the fictional town of Bedford Falls. There are lots of reasons why this eight-decade-old film still resonates, from its nostalgic pleasures to its cultural critiques. But when I watch it this year, the sequence where Bedford Falls transforms into the dark and dystopian “Pottersville” will resonate the most. In the film, protagonist George Bailey, who’s played by Jimmy Stewart, is on the brink of suicide. He seems to have achieved the hallmarks of the American dream: He’s taken over his father’s loan business, married the love of his life and fathered four excessively adorable children. But George feels stifled and beaten down. His Uncle Billy has misplaced US$8,000 of the company’s money, and the town’s resident tyrant, Mr. Potter, is using the mishap to try to ruin George, who’s his last remaining business competitor. An angel named Clarence is tasked with pulling George back from the brink. To stop him from attempting suicide, Clarence decides to show George what life would have been like if he’d never been born. In this alternate reality, Bedford Falls is called Pottersville, a place Mr. Potter runs as a ruthless banker and slumlord.Pottersville, the dark, dystopian version of Bedford Falls, is a place characterized by vice and moral decay.Paramount Having previously written about “It’s a Wonderful Life” in my book on literary and film censorship, I can’t help but see parallels between Pottersville and the U.S. today. Think about it: In Pottersville, one man hoards all the financial profits and political power. In Pottersville, greed, corruption and cynicism reign supreme. In Pottersville, hard-working immigrants like Giuseppe Martini who were able to build a life and run a business in Bedford Falls have vanished. In Pottersville, homeless addicts like Mr. Gower and nonconformist “pixies” like Clarence are scorned and ostracized, then booted out of the local watering hole. In Pottersville, cops arrest people like Violet Bick while they’re at work and haul them away, kicking and screaming.Violet Bick gets dragged away by the Pottersville police as George looks on.Paramount But what horrifies George the most about Pottersville is how desensitized the people living in it seem to be to its harshness and cruelty – how they treat him like he’s the crazy, deranged one for wanting and expecting things to be different and better. This is what the current political moment feels like to me. There are days when the latest headlines feel so jarringly unprecedented that I find myself thinking, “Can this be happening? Can this be real?” If you think these comparisons are a bit of a stretch, consider when “It’s a Wonderful Life” was made, and the frame of mind Capra was in when he made it.
Frank Capra, anti-fascist
In 1946, Capra was just returning to Hollywood filmmaking after serving for four years in the U.S. Army, where the Office of War Information had tasked him with producing a series of documentary films about World War II and the lead-up to it. Even though Capra hadn’t been on the front lines, he’d been immersed in the sounds and images of war for years on end, and he had become acutely familiar with Germany, Italy and Japan’s respective rises to fascism.Frank Capra served in the U.S. Army during World War II.Keystone/Hulton Archive via Getty Images When deciding on his first postwar film, Capra recalled in his autobiography that he specifically “knew one thing – it would not be about war.” Instead, he chose to adapt a short story by Philip Van Doren Stern, “The Greatest Gift,” that Stern had originally sent to friends and family as a Christmas card in 1943. Stern’s story is certainly not about war. But it’s not exactly about Christmas, either. As Stern writes in his opening lines:
“The little town straggling up the hill was bright with colored Christmas lights. But George Pratt did not see them. He was leaning over the railing of the iron bridge, staring down moodily at the black water.”
The protagonist contemplates suicide because he’s “sick of everything” in the small-town “mudhole” he’s stuck in – until, that is, a “strange little man” gives him the chance to see what life would be like if he’d never been born. It was Capra and his team of screenwriters who added the sinister Henry F. Potter to Stern’s short, simple tale. The Potter subplot encapsulates the film’s most trenchant, still-resonant themes: the unfairness of socioeconomic injustices; the pervasiveness of corporate and political corruption; the threat of monopolized power; the need for affordable housing. These themes had, of course, run through many of Capra’s prewar films as well: “Mr. Deeds Goes to Town,” “You Can’t Take It with You,” “Meet John Doe” and “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” the last of which also starred Jimmy Stewart. But they take on a different kind of weight in “It’s a Wonderful Life” – a weight that’s especially visible on the weathered face of Stewart, who himself had just returned from a harrowing four-year tour of duty as a bomber pilot in Europe. The idealistic vigor with which Stewart had fought crooked politicians and oligarchs as Mr. Smith is replaced by the bitterness, exhaustion, frustration and desperation with which he battles against Mr. Potter as George Bailey.George Bailey feels helpless in the face of corruption and cruelty.Paramount
Life after Pottersville
By the time George has begged and pleaded his way out of Pottersville, the lost $8,000 is no longer top of mind. He’s mainly just relieved to find Bedford Falls as he had left it, warts and all. And yet, the Bedford Falls that George returns to isn’t quite the same as the one he left behind. In this Bedford Falls, the community rallies together to figure out a way to recoup George’s missing money. Their pre-digital version of a GoFundMe page saves George from what he’d feared most: bankruptcy, scandal and prison. And even though his wife, Mary, tries to attribute this sudden wave of collectivist, activist energy to some sort of divine intervention – “George, it’s a miracle; it’s a miracle!” – Uncle Billy points out that it really came about through more earthly organizing means: “Mary did it, George; Mary did it! She told some people you were in trouble, and they scattered all over town collecting money!”The residents of Bedford Falls come together to save George from financial ruin.Paramount But the question of whether George actually wins his battle against Potter is a murky one. While the typical Capra protagonist triumphs by defeating vice and exposing subterfuge, George never even realizes that Potter is the one who got hold of his money and tried to ruin his life. Potter is never held accountable for his crimes. On the other hand, George is able to learn, from his time in Pottersville, what a crucial role he plays in his community. George’s victory over Potter, then, lies not in some grand final act of retribution, but in the incremental ways he has stood up to Potter throughout his life: not capitulating to Potter’s bullying or intimidation tactics; speaking truth to power; and running a community-centered business rather than one guided by greed and exploitation. In recent months, there have been similar acts of protest, large and small, in the form of rallies, boycotts, immigrant aid efforts, subscription cancellations, food bank donations and more. That doesn’t mean the U.S. has made it out of Pottersville, however. Each day, more head-spinning headlines appear, whether they’re about masked agents terrorizing immigrant communities, the dismantling of anti-corruption oversights, the consolidation of executive power or the naked display of political grift. Zuzu’s petals are still missing. Clarence still hasn’t gotten his wings. But this holiday season, I’m hoping it will feel helpfully cathartic to go with George Bailey, for the umpteenth time, through the dark abyss of his dystopian nightmare – and come out with him, stronger and wiser, on the other side. Nora Gilbert, Professor of Literary and Film Studies, University of North Texas This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
