April 30, 2015
Mrs. Lawson-H Block
Essay
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a movie based on the United States during the Great Depression. Throughout the movie, one is able to obtain an inside perspective on what it was like during this time. James J. Braddock, eventually nicknamed “Cinderella Man”, was an American boxer who fought his way to get his family out of poverty. After breaking his hand and losing his Boxing License, Braddock was forced to work the docks and other manual labor jobs in order to provide for his family. In the movie, men would be lined up behind the fences begging for at least one day’s work. By working on the docks, Braddock gains his strength and motivation back making him determined to “fight” his way out of poverty. A person can learn quite a lot about life in America during the Great Depression just from watching Cinderella Man because it shows the obstacles American citizens faced and it also showed what it was like to survive during this time period.
In the United States in 1933, more than 15 million Americans were unemployed, which was around one-fourth of the work force. Men were lined up behind the fences at any chance of getting chosen to work that day. As seen in the movie, only around five or six men would be chosen at a time, leaving hundreds of men without work that day. Even when James Braddock got work, it still was not enough money to pay their bills. Their electrical was shut off, they could not afford food for the whole family, and they had no milk for their family either. The final straw was when Mae sent the children off to stay with a relative so James could earn enough money to pay their bills. Braddock was 1 of 600,000 people in New Jersey to apply for government relief. Braddock, like many men, felt embarrassed and emasculated that he could not support his family financially. What was not shown in the movie is that Braddock did not just paint his cast in order to work, he cut the cast completely off. That shows just how dedicated and desperate he and all of the men in this time period were just to earn some money in order to support their families. The attitude and raw emotion showed in this movie accurately depicts what it was like for people in Great Depression and how hard it was for them to survive on a day-to-day basis.
After his first fight back in the rings, Braddock started to make more money, but it was not in stable fashion. While he was making far more than he would be working the docks, Braddock and his family still had to be cautious with money because they never knew when his last fight would be. Unlike most Americans, Braddock did pay back every cent of what he borrowed from the Government Relief program. From 1937 to 1939, Braddock earned around $150,000 from his fights, which is equivalent to about $2 million today. Having been a “mediocre” boxer, no one thought Braddock would have made it as far as Heavyweight Champion. Hence the nickname “Cinderella Man”, he went from rags to riches practically overnight. As seen in the movie, Braddock was a beacon of hope to all of the “underdogs” in America who were unemployed and barely had any money to survive. They saw themselves in Braddock, that if he could do it, then maybe they could too. Also shown in the movie, the “extras” in the film rarely smiled and always wore a morose look on their faces. The only time you see them smiling is when they were watching boxing matches or other sporting events. Sporting events provided joy and happiness for people during the Great Depression because it provided a break from reality and allowed them time to just relax and feel alive. By incorporating key events in the Great Depression like the Government Relief program and also depicting what an impact people like James Braddock had on society, helps viewers to learn what it was like for people during this era.
Although Braddock was just like the millions of other Americans suffering from unemployment during the Great Depression, he overcame all of the obstacles that were thrown his way in order to provide for his family. Even with a severely broken hand, Braddock endured hours and hours of hard, physical labor trying to keep his bills paid and food on the table. His “overnight” transformation from rags to riches inspired anyone who knew his story. Not only did he show people that hard work and dedication do pay off, but he showed them that no matter what is thrown in your way, or how many people try to bring you down, that you WILL succeed if you have all of your heart and soul in it.
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