Research Paper On Cinderella Man

Cinderella Man

The film “Cinderella Man” directed by Ron Howard, is nonfiction movie created in 2005. The story is based on a boxer named James J. Baddock, played by Russell Crowe. Braddock starts off as a wealthy man living in a time where the economy was at a strong point. He owned a nice home and lived in a friendly neighborhood. However, this is all changed in the 1930’s when the biggest economy downfall caused unemployment to rise and money became scarce. This movie accurately depicts what life was like for people living in the Great Depression by telling a real story of a man who struggled to be a hero in tough times.

The beginning of the film exercised the fact that Braddock was in a good place economically. His dependency on the

stock market and his only profit coming from boxing made him vulnerable to tragedy. On October 29th 1929, the stock market crashed. Families were majorly affected and Braddock was no exception. People would go down to the docks to get job opportunities that didn’t pay much. The men would do this as the woman still were being told to stay at home while the men were the breadwinners. A noticeable historically accurate depiction was the style of the time. In the 1930’s, woman wore bob haircuts, bold makeup and bright clothing. When the economy went down, the style changed drastically. No one was able to afford fancy clothing or expensive makeup. There were no longer any classy looks from anyone but the rich. An example shown in the film is of Mae Braddock, played by Renée Zellweger. Mae is James Braddock’s wife and at the beginning she is shown to be very put together. Though as the film goes in farther, she loses her fashion taste. The movie accurately captured great details about the reality of the Great Depression and those who were affected.

In this time of hardships, many people looked to technology for happiness or entertainment. In the film, people of all ages are shown tuning into the radio to hear the boxing match. It wasn’t a common thing to see people smiling on the streets. Technology was still new but it gave people a distraction from their suffering. Another thing people looked to was aid from relief centers. Braddock showed a popular attitude towards them as he had too much pride to take advantage of these centers. Even during desperate times, Braddock never lost his morals. His family was his number one priority throughout the film. His background was Irish-Catholic which gives a reason for his family values. “Cinderella Man” provides an insight on how most people used entertainment to escape reality.

Although this movie hits many historical events and themes, it does fall short when it comes to the help received during this time. The president at the time was Franklin D. Roosevelt. He promised to provide recovery by installing a “New Deal.” This reform was to bring immediate relief to things like industry, housing, unemployment and etc. The film shows that the poor had no help. When in reality there were many organizations being made to help people out of this depression. For example the Work Progress Administration (WPA) that provided jobs for people who were unemployed. Lastly, the rich are portrayed as ruthless, unsympathetic people. When Braddock was denied help from the monopolizers that ran the boxing company, it wasn’t realistic. Even though there were wealthy people who didn’t want to help out, a large proportion did and provided their aid.
The film “Cinderella Man” accurately depicted the time period shown. Ron Howard uses an older man named James Braddock to show how fast a family can change when tragedy hits. Technology and family kept the sanity of the people affected and helped them through the biggest economic downturn in 1929. Though the film did fall short by not including important organizations and portraying the rich as ruthless people. Overall, the film realistically showed how important it is to have hope in a nation during rough times while also staying historically accurate.