Cinderella Man is a great movie that clearly depicts American life in the Great Depression. The movie was filled with various scenes displaying what life was really like during such a hard time. For my tiny book project, I read about radios and movies during the great depression. The book stated that families would gather together and listen to the radio outside on their porch or even in someones home. As an example from the movie, when Mae Braddock dropped her children off at her sister’s house, she later returned and found everyone in the home, including the children, gathered around the radio listening to a live broadcast from the place where her husband was boxing. Another example that the movie did a great job of depicting was the fact that by 1932, 25% of the American work force was unemployed. When James Braddock got laid off from his boxing job, he found himself, along with several other men, standing outside a gate hoping to be one of the few men that they chose to work that day. Cinderella Man also showed James Braddock going to a public relief system, that gave him enough money to get by for a little while. When he was in the relief system, it showed tons of other people in line begging for money. This clearly shows why the relief systems failed, due to the vast amount of people lined up everyday in need of money. One scene I clearly remember was when a lady was screaming at her husband as he was running away from her in the street, this showed to me that men were leaving their women left and right. Maybe because they couldn't support them anymore or maybe because they were embarrassed that they lost their jobs. This is an example of the fact that people blamed themselves for the depression and for being laid off from their jobs which led to situations like I said above. Another prime example from the movie that was displayed exactly as I think it would be like in real life were the Hoovervilles. These nasty, unsafe areas of land filled with shacks were depressing and is hard to believe that some families had no other choice but to live there. Watching Cinderella Man and reading about it in our book really put in perspective for me just how devastating the Great Depression really was. I never quite realized how it tore some families apart and forced men to beg for money. The Great Depression seems like a time of sadness throughout the entire United States and I’m so glad I didn't have to experience it and my heart aches for the families that did.
