In our day and age, we are exposed to information overload. There is so much information at our fingertips (literally, if you have a smart phone) that we can sometimes be overwhelmed with it. If something interests you or you have a question about something, it is just a ‘Google’ away. We, as twenty first century humans, can find out anything we could possible want to know in a matter of seconds. But there are many different types of tools that can help you learn. You can sit through a lecture, which is not everyone’s favorite way of learning, read a book, or even watch a movie. Now, you may ask yourself which one of the methods would be the most fun. The answer is obvious, watching movies is fun, and at the same time can be informative. Movies like Glory and 12 Years a Slave have very vivid reenactments of things that have happened in the past such as the Civil War or slavery. Another movie that is just as informative as the other movies previously mentioned is Cinderella Man.
Cinderella Man is based on the true events in James J. Braddock’s life. Braddock was a boxer, who was not all that famous in his early years. He made efficient amounts of money throughout his career. He made enough to feed all three of his kids and his wife, and he was also able to buy a nice house. All of these nice things would soon come to a screeching halt, due to the Great Depression. The movie is packed full of very realistic elements that the Depression brought. The movie even goes as far as showing Braddock walk past a newspaper that read “15 million unemployed”, which was the actual number of unemployed people in the US during the Great Depression.
In the movie, Braddock is depicted as a hardworking man. Once Braddock’s boxing license got revoked, he set out to find other work. Unfortunately for him, jobs were extremely sparse during the Great Depression, obviously, so he had to find some sort of other income. Braddock would often try to get daily jobs at the dock, offloading various items that had come from barges. The movie shows Braddock behind a fence with twenty or so other men eager to get to work. The owner of the docks would then come out and pick seven or so of the men to work that day, leaving the rest of the men up the creek without a paddle. This is how work usually was during the Great Depression, not always available and sparse.
Another scene in the movie is when Braddock has to apply for government relief to keep his power on at his apartment. This scene is based on what actually happened during the Depression. In New Jersey, the setting of the movie, over 600,000 people applied for government funding. Regardless of whether the actual James J. Braddock went to get government relief or not does not take away the fact that New Jersey was filled with people who received government relief. Although the movie might not follow James J. Braddock’s life and career exactly, it does do a great job of showing what life would have been like during the Great Depression.
The movie Cinderella Man does an excellent job of not only showing the life of James Braddock, but also giving great insight of what life would have been like in the 1930’s in the United States. One who does not know all that much about the United States Depression era could learn a lot from just watching this movie. The overall feeling and emotion of the movie is perfect for the circumstances. All the way from the scene shot in ‘Hooverville’, a very popular homeless community, to Braddock’s family having to sell almost everything the own just to survive, are all depictions of the rough life many people had during the Great Depression in the United States.
Sources:
James J. Braddock.com
Cinderella Man IMDb
U.S. History in a Film
