Research Paper On Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man Reaction Essay

Ron Howard’s Cinderella Man is a movie based on the struggles of Boxer James J. Braddock (played by Russell Crowe) during the Great Depression. The movie begins by showing Braddock’s prosperity prior to the depression to contrast his family’s situation in the early 1930’s. Having sold their house and most of their possessions, the Braddock family is living in a run down apartment. Since the decline of Mr. Braddock’s boxing career, the family struggles to pay their bills, so the power company shuts off their electricity in the middle of winter, forcing them to send their children away to a relatives house. This event compels James Braddock to accept federal relief money and beg, despite his pride, so he can pay the bills and have his children return. The following summer, the boxing commission invites Braddock back to box at an exhibition match, expecting it to be his final event. After he wins the match, his coach Joe Gould (played by Paul Giamatti) convinces the boxing commission to allow Braddock to compete for the Heavyweight title. Braddock wins all his

fights up to the championship match, where he defeats Max Baer for the title.
Overall The Cinderella Man is a good film.

Despite being a boxing movie it lacks (depending on what qualifies as excessive) excessive violence, and the boxing scenes do not detract from the theme of the movie in the way a Michael Bay action scene would. The characters feel real, with the exception of Max Baer. As a one sided antagonist, he is presented as a malicious fighter brought down by his hubris; his portrayal does no justice to the real Max Baer. The real Max Baer, like James “Cinderella Man” Braddock, was a symbol of an underdog defeating a greater power. “In June 1933, in the best fight of his career, Baer defeated the German, Max Schmeling, in front of 60,000 spectators at Yankee Stadium. During this match, Baer wore the Star of David on his shorts, in a demonstration of pride for the Jewish people at a time when Nazi persecution of German Jews was just beginning.”

(Postal)

Cinderella Man is comparable to Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle. Like James J. Braddock, Jurgis, the main character of The Jungle, struggles to provide for his family. Both men work through injuries because they cannot afford to not work; Braddock works as a longshoreman with a broken right hand and Jurgis works with a badly sprained ankle. Jurgis finds it almost impossible to get a job after he loses his strength, struggling to feed his family, and Braddock has to give up boxing and work on the docks while accepting government relief money to provide for his family.