After watching the movie “Cinderella Man” I was quite impressed by the way the director, Ron Howard, portrayed the life of the famous boxer James J. Braddock. The movie was set during the Great Depression of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s and dealt with the struggles associated with the time. What first caught my attention was how director Ron Howard insured that the movie set and costumes were so authentic to the time frame of the great depression. In the movie they had James J. Braddock go through everyday struggles that would be very authentic to the timing. For example James J. Braddock had to go through the struggle of losing his home and children by not having enough money to pay for the basic necessities to life, such as food or
Cinderella Man came out in the year 2005, it is a non fiction movie directed by Ron Howard. It is based on the story of a boxer during the Depression, James J. Braddock. Braddock had to over come many adversities such as the economical and societal conditions. Another adversity he had to overcome was living in the Depression and all the things that go along with that. Braddock’s character traits shown in the movie are all important and appropriate due to the harshness of those times.
The Great Depression was a time in American history where economic difficulties affected almost every person. It could turn the “best of the best” into just another beggar on the street. It is difficult for a movie to portray the true struggles of people who lives during that time. Although Cinderella Man is a fictional account of the life of Ray Braddock, it is an accurate portrayal of the problems faced by many Americans during the Great Depression. The struggles of daily life during the depression, references to problems later addressed by the New Deal, and social issues brought on by the Great Depression are all realistically described in this movie.
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
The Great Depression of the 1930’s caused widespread poverty, but the popular culture of the time did not reflect this. People wanted to escape from this harsh time so movies, dancing and sports became very popular. Radios broadcasted boxing matches and boxers became stars. The heavyweight champion James J. Braddock aka “Cinderella Man,” gained popularity. James Braddock gained fame by winning many fights and proving everyone wrong when they said he was too old and couldn’t win.
The 1930’s were a decade plagued by the colossus economic downturn known as the Great Depression. With unemployment levels surpassing 20%, people did anything to earn money. This included riding the rail lines in order to look for work in other cities. In the American South, the problems of economic downturn and the problems of racial tension met in 1931 during the court case of the Scottsboro Boys.
In Of Mice of Men, John Steinbeck uses a wide variety of literary elements such as foreshadowing and colloquial language in order to set the tone and capture the time and place. Throughout the book Steinbeck shows how the Great Depression negatively affected American workers by telling a story about two men who go through constant struggles.
The Cinderella Man accurately portrays James J. Braddock’s family life. During the Great Depression, Braddock underwent many struggles including feeding his family. The film notes Braddock’s care and concern for his children influencing him to give them his food (The Man 1). Braddock’s publicized self-sacrificing nature awes audiences at his genuine character. The Cinderella Man also correctly shows Mae Braddock’s participation, or lack thereof, in her husbands boxing career. The film correctly demonstrates Mae’s fear for her husband’s well-being influences her absence from Braddock’s boxing matches (Historical Accuracies 2). Mae’s support and concern for her husband is accurately portrayed throughout the film. Braddock’s family values were accurately portrayed throughout the film. He put his family first by sacrificing meals, working, and supporting them. The film accurately portrayed Braddock’s family values and emphasized how family should come first. The Cinderella Man demonstrates Braddock’s family values throu...
Great Depression was one of the most severe economic situation the world had ever seen. It all started during late 1929 and lasted till 1939. Although, the origin of depression was United Sattes but with US Economy being highly correlated with global economy, the ill efffects were seen in the whole world with high unemployment, low production and deflation. Overall it was the most severe depression ever faced by western industrialized world. Stock Market Crashes, Bank Failures and a lot more, left the governments ineffective and this lead the global economy to what we call today- ‘’Great Depression’’.(Rockoff). As for the cause and what lead to Great Depression, the issue is still in debate among eminent economists, but the crux provides evidence that the worst ever depression ever expereinced by Global Economy stemed from multiple causes which are as follows:
October 29th, 1929 marked the beginning of the Great Depression, a depression that forever changed the United States of America. The Stock Market collapse was unavoidable considering the lavish life style of the 1920’s. Some of the ominous signs leading up to the crash was that there was a high unemployment rate, automobile sales were down, and many farms were failing. Consumerism played a key role in the Stock Market Crash of 1929 because Americans speculated on the stocks hoping they would grow in their favor. They would invest in these stocks at a low rate which gave them a false sense of wealth causing them to invest in even more stocks at the same low rate. When they purchased these stocks at this low rate they never made enough money to pay it all back, therefore contributing to the crash of 1929. Also contributing to the crash was the over production of consumer goods. When companies began to mass produce goods they did not not need as many workers so they fired them. Even though there was an abundance of goods mass produced and at a cheap price because of that, so many people now had no jobs so the goods were not being purchased. Even though, from 1920 to 1929, consumerism and overproduction partially caused the Great Depression, the unequal distribution of wealth and income was the most significant catalyst.
The Cinderella Man In the movie the Cinderella man who is called James jay Braddock and he is a fighter and in his first fight he broke his hand and had a cast on for 6-8 weeks when he broke his hand the second time he got deregisted from the boxing industry until his hand was healed he could get back into the boxing industry so he could fight again and he fights to keep his family out of poverty. At the start of the movie he was fighting a boxer and he won a lot of money and then in a week or two he had no money left to feed his wife and children and he suffered in the great depression badly cause it was hard to get a job to earn money to get food for his family and one of his kids got sick so he went down to the docks to get work to earn Money
The Great Depression was a period, which seemed to go out of control. The crashing of the stock markets left most Canadians unemployed and in debt, prairie farmers suffered immensely with the inability to produce valuable crops, and the Canadian Government and World War II became influential factors in the ending of the Great Depression.
Many men left their families during the Great Depression, but James J Braddock never did. Mae, his wife, did not enjoy James boxing. She tried to stop him from his passion multiple occasions. Braddock could have left his wife for his job or left his job for his wife, but he didn’t. He lost his job when he broke his hand boxing. He went out looking for a job every morning hoping they would pick him at the docks. His son comes home, but his mom catches him with sausage that he stole
Seeing how life was during the 1930s in the movie, The Cinderella Man, was a great eye opener to how the people of this time truly survived and kept their true humanity in times of havoc. The time of the 1930s should be an inspiration to the nation and cause many to do well and live a smart and prosperous life.
Have you ever had one of those days that were so bad that you desperately needed a night at the ice cream or candy store? The 1970’s was that really bad day, while the night of self- indulgence was the 1980’s. Americans love to escape from our daily stress, and of all the products that allow us to do so, none is more popular than the movies. Movies are key cultural artifacts that offer a view of American culture and social history. They not only offer a snapshot of hair styles and fashions of the times but they also provide a host of insights into Americans’ ever-changing ideals. Like any cultural artifact, the movies can be approached in a number of ways. Cultural historians have treated movies as a document that records the look and mood of the time that promotes a particular political or moral value or highlights individual or social anxieties and tensions. These cultural documents present a particular image of gender, ethnicity, romance, and violence. Out of the political and economic unrest of the 1970’s that saw the mood and esteem of the country, as reflected in the artistry and messages in the movies, sink to a new low, came a new sense of pride in who we are, not seen since the post-World War II economic boom of the 1950’s. Of this need to change, Oscar Award winner Paul Newman stated,
The film O brother, where art thou? is set in the Great Depression of the 1930’s and emphasizes the struggle between the upper and lower classes by using a variety of cinematic devices. Through the use of these cinematic devices and comedic relief the realities of the Depression are viewed without creating a stark, melancholy, documentary-styled film. Examples in this film of these cinematic devices used to show these realities include: