The movie Seabiscuit is based on the true story of Red Pollard and his achievement of self-fulfillment through his success as a jockey. At the start of the movie, Red is an unimportant, self-doubting boxer and jockey who has never experienced success in his life. As the movie continues, Red meets two other men, Charles Howard and Jim Smith, who feel as though they have no purpose in life. Throughout the course of the movie, these three men are able to use their passions and motivation to become a successful horse racing team. By the conclusion of Seabiscuit, Red, Charles, and Jim have changed from depressed, unhappy men to an inspiration for all of America. Seabiscuit is a uniquely American film because it tells of the fulfillment of the American dream through Red Pollard and his coworkers, who rise from a life of depression and failure to an inspiring life of success.
As a child, Red grows up in a wealthy household where he is taught how to ride. When the Great Depression struck America, Red’s family lost their money, forcing him to leave his home and work poorly pai...
The short story “Cherokee” written by Ron Rash is about a young married couple fighting to save their truck by gambling their last one hundred and fifty-seven dollars in slot machines at a casino in North Carolina. Rash did an impeccable job at creating two ordinary, everyday people by portraying their lives as the working poor of America. The two characters, Danny and Lisa, both work; however, they are barely making it by and fell behind on their truck payments. Throughout the short story is observed a theme of freedom, or lack thereof, not only through the plot but also through psychology and economics.
Grant Wood was a Regionalist artist who continually endeavored to capture the idyllic beauty of America’s farmlands. In 1930 he had been roaming through his hometown in Iowa searching for inspiration when he stumbled upon a house that left him spellbound. From this encounter came America’s iconic American Gothic. Not long after Wood’s masterpiece was complete the once ideal countryside and the people who tended to it were overcome by despair and suffering as the Great Depression came to be. It was a time of economic distress that affected nearly every nation. America’s stock market crashed in 1929 and by 1933 millions of Americans were found without work and consequently without adequate food, shelter, and other necessities. In 1935, things took a turn for the worst as severe winds and dust storms destroyed the southern Great Plains in the event that became known as the Dust Bowl. Farmers, who had been able to fall back on their crops during past depressions, were hit especially hard. With no work or way or other source of income, many farms were foreclosed, leaving countless families hungry and homeless. Ben Shahn, a Lithuanian-born man who had a deep passion for social injustice, captures the well-known hopelessness of the Great Depression through his photograph Rural Rehabilitation Client. Shahn and Wood use their art to depict the desperation of everyday farmers in America due to the terrors and adverse repercussions that the Great Depression incited.
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.
Eugenio Derbez is a Mexican actor, director, producer, and writer. He started his acting career at 12 years old and continues in the same career. He is well known for his outstanding personality and great acting. He is “one of the most influential creative forces in Latin America.” Eugenio’s TV shows and movies are not only popular in Mexico, but also in the United Stated through Univision. For over twenty years, he has won thousands of people’s hearts.
“The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story about a young boy, Paul, who has the supernatural ability to choose a winning race horse. It is not clear how the boy has this ability but he hears his mother’s voice echo in his mind saying that they are poor and so he sets out to change that. Paul takes on the stress of his mother’s greed. This short story relates to the obsession of wealth which what motivates the characters aside of neglect, faulty sense of value, opportunism and deceit. Paul believes that there is more money to be made and thus goes on a frenzy to win more, but consequently dies after falling off his rocking horse due to convulsions of a fever.
Not over analyzing, the film may seem as though the intended audience is for ex-boxers or for those who lived through the difficult times of the Great Depression, but, analyzing the film more thoroughly, it seems as though the intent is to aim for those who have suffered or are in the midst of suffering poverty and for those who lack determination or a support system such as family or friends. This film portrays a powerful message and, in a sense, has become very important. Cinderella Man is a film in which intends to inspire and motivate people to do better, become better, be great and arise from difficult times in order to turn things around for themselves. The film demonstrates various important messages such as the importance of family. James Braddock fights and does everything in his power to provide for his family. He takes up the dangerous boxing job, putting himself at risk, in order for his family to avoid suffering. James portrays what love for others is capable of making you do.
In the early 1900's, strikes, riots, labor unions, and new political parties arose across the country. The government, with its laissez-faire attitude, allowed business to consolidate into trusts, and with lack of competition, into powerful monopolies. These multi-million dollar monopolies were able to exploit every opportunity to make greater fortunes regardless of human consequences. Sinclair illustrates the harsh conditions in Packingtown through a Lithuanian immigrant family and their struggles to survive. Ona, a young and frail woman, and Jurgis, a hardworking and strong man and the husband of Ona, come to America with some of their family to find work and to make a new and better life for themselves. With everyone finding employment right away, the family begins their lives in America with optimism, enthusiasm, and ignorance. Taking a huge risk, they purchase a small rickety house. Slowly, they awaken to the harsh realities of their surroundings. There's the mortg...
McElvaine, Robert S, ed. Down and Out in the Great Depression: Letters from the Forgotten Man. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1983.
This story shows how a family stuck together in hard times with faith and hard work that they would get through it. Sometimes people may have the same opportunities, but it is very likely all will have different outcomes. The risky nature of Walter may have put the family in a bind with his investment falling through, but what they did still have was each other. At least now, Walter especially, has the opportunity to learn from his
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
Lawrence Exeter Junior had been born in the heat of the day on September 2, 1903. He was different from the day he was born. His rich parents sensed something was wrong, for parents usually can sense things about their child. Therefore, the day after he was born, Marie and Lawrence Exeter took the newborn to Dr. David McCoy for a check-up. The doctor said that the baby was as healthy as a horse, and there was nothing to worry about. Still, the parents worried, because parents can tell. Jr, as everyone called him, was very quiet as a baby and never had big reactions to things. Everyone said he was just quiet. His parent brought him gifts from California Toyland, but they soon figured out that he was happy with just staring at something or handling a small object. When he reached 6, his father enrolled him in Palisades School for boys. Jr excelled in all of his classes except art and handwriting. Jr’s 3rd report card showed that he had improved his handwriting, so Lawrence Sr brought Jr a bicycle. Jr was immediately fascinated with it. Within a week, Jr had mastered training wheels, and exactly sixteen days after he had mastered training wheels, Jr was riding it without the training wheels. Jr rode his bicycle everywhere. He even started waking up earlier in the morning so he and his dad could bike down to Palisades, which was nine miles away. His bicycle became his treasure. All of his artwork in art class now somehow revolved around a bicycle. On July 24, 1915, the real trouble with Jr started that would ruin many lives, including Tony Spagoni’s.
The Great Depression is seen as one of the most sorrowful and desolate times in the history of the United States. This time was the longest period of recession ever seen by this nation so far. It lasted from 1929 to 1939, over ten years of complete confusion and despondency within the people. Many Americans were affected greatly by this tragic time and sacrificed much of their lives so that they and their families may have the chance to live. This act of desperation can be seen throughout the movie, The Cinderella Man, where a professional boxer, Jim Braddock, becomes crippled by the depression, both economically and spiritually. The observer can see this through the explicit cinematography of the movie and depiction of the Great Depression made by the director. However the director left out a key aspect of the happenings of the depression, the stock market crash. Perhaps, this catastrophic event was irrelevant to the plot and message of the movie, but it is important to the actual Great Depression of the United States. Furthermore, the nation of 2010 is well on its way to repeating history. There are frightening similarities between that dreadful time of the 1930’s and the present that should not be overlooked, or the United States might condemn itself back into that horrific state it has so long tried to avoid.
This paper will include the analysis of the movie Hope Floats. It will start with a short summary of the movie describing the characters and the plot. It will then discuss the family dynamics that are shown in the movie based on the class discussions and the readings. It will also include a variety of issues that are shown throughout the movie. This paper will discuss three key family system’s issues that includes the family concepts, assessing one from Bowen’s concepts, one from Minuchin’s concepts, and one from General Systems Theory/Anderson and Sabatelli concepts. There are many different scenes and examples in this movie that will give a better understanding of the many different family dynamics, family issues, and family system concepts.
The movie I chose to analyze for historical accuracy was War Horse. This movie was set in the First World War, starting in Britain but the story also explored France and Germany during this time period as well. Three scenes will be analyzed: the trench warfare scene between the British and the Germans, the scene where the British soldiers were gassed, and the scene where the British were getting patched up and nursed. War Horse does well to stick to the historical accuracy of what happened during the First World War due to the fact that the three scenes that I have chosen to analyze are not embellished and are close to what really happened.
Director Peter Berg based this movie off of Marcus luttrell the survivor of Operation Red Wings. This powerful war film features actor Mark Walberg who portrays the real life situation of Marcus Lutrell. The movie is centered on patriotism and the struggles that the soldiers faced. Peter Berg displays the mental and physical suffering that soldiers go through during battle. The film begins with troops training preforming exercises, drills, and tests that regular individuals could not imagine. The beginning of the film is an important part in setting the tone that is seen throughout the movie. The producer sets the film up in a realistic manner that showcases morality, brotherhood, and honor.