Film Analysis: The Cinderella Man

Rarely has the world seen such a unique decade in time as the Roaring Twenties. It was an age of prosperity and change. The United States experienced a recession that was followed by a period of unlimited prosperity. Although the United States encountered both positive and negative experiences, it proved to be very influential in the future. The 1920's were definitely "Roaring" in more ways than one. There were major changes in American Society during the 1920's that took place. Many new industries emerged during this decade that influenced society and the American way of life. Even the federal government had different feelings about the business industry. The characteristics of this decade made the 1920's

The 1920s was nicknamed the “Roaring Twenties” because every action had a voice. Every event or amendment was supported by some type of individual or group. Certain individuals made opportunity for American citizens, such as Henry Ford. Because of business leaders like him, Americans once confined to their city of work, can now live miles away. This era was full of trial and error. Trial and error can be supported by the fact that a new amendment repealed a past amendment. America was shaped politically by Congress, stereotypes, and mass production. The 1920s wouldn’t be the same without the leading automobile industry, “New Women”, and the Eighteenth Amendment.

"The Roaring Twenties”, "The Era of Wonderful Nonsense", "The Decade of the Dollar" , "The Period of the Psyche", "Dry Decade" and the age of "Alcohol and Al Capone”, these slogans are all ways to describe the 1920’s in just a few words. (The 1920s: Lifestyles and Social Trends: Overview) The 1920’s were a decade of parties, money, and extravagant lifestyles. The decade portrayed the American Dream of women, money, alcohol, music, and partying. In the twenties dresses were shorter, alcohol was illegal, and parties were a given. New fashion trends and music, infamous and dignified names, and unforgettable scandals are what remain of the extravagant post WWI decade. If you were alive

The 1920’s better known as the roaring twenties was a period of dramatic social, and political change. Throughout history the roaring twenties was the first time most Americans lived in cities than farms. After the years of World War I this was a period where America and the public wanted to separate themselves from other parts of the world, foreign countries .

What made the twenties roar? Most people would have said it was the wild parties with the mass amounts of alcohol as shown in the popular book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Although half of that is true, alcohol was not a legal part of the twenties due to the prohibition of alcohol that lasted from 1920 until 1933. The prohibition of alcohol was a huge factor in which both made and broke the 1920’s, and it has been concluded that it was neither a success nor a failure in the making of American history.

The Roaring Twenties were a time of new behaviors, attitudes, and freedoms which were all presented during the Prohibition. The Roaring Twenties were an era of social, political, and dramatic change. During this age, freedoms were expanded yet, in some cases, they were diminished. Prohibition was an enormous part of this era. Prohibition was ratified as the 18th Amendment in 1919, banning the manufacture and sale of alcohol. The three main contributions from Prohibition were: bootlegging, organized crime, and the failure of Prohibition. Prohibition very much contributed to the atmosphere of the Roaring Twenties in a detrimental way to society by creating a period of time in which even the average citizen broke the law.

The era of the Roaring Twenties, was a time of great societal change. Many of these changes were greatly influenced by jazz music. During this time, the country was coming out of World War I and the attitude of most people was dark and dismal. Dance and music clubs became tremendously popular in an effort to improve the quality of life for many people.

The roaring ‘20s was an age of very many economic changes throughout America creating more jobs and more opportunities for the people. A huge economic change was that more American families

The Roaring Twenties were a time of wild enjoyment, loud music and booming economy. In 1920, for the first time in American history, more

The 1920s was the era of the prohibition. There was a huge amount of over usage. There weren’t a lot of jobs, people had to do a lot of different things to survive and make ends meet, even if it was illegal or hurt others (Nash). The Prohibition was the 18th amendment and lasted 13 years throughout the roaring 1920s (Nash). The black market for alcohol was hence born. People bribed the police to keep the illegal alcohol sales and consumption under wraps and from not being arrested (Nash). Compared to how women dressed before the roaring 20s, they showed a lot more skin. They actually showed their knees (Scott). Women used a lot of makeup and flashly jewelry, even though back then it was indecent (Scott). People Started to use credit, the “buy now, pay later” method (A Consumer Economy). Even when they couldn’t afford the things they were getting, they still bought, which created a lot of spending (A Consumer Economy). The Crash of The Stock Market caused the banks to hold on to people’s money. Many did not get their money back, due to the greed of the banks and others (A Consumer Economy). This all ties into over usage and greed. The 1920s is a prime example of greed over powering

The movie Cinderella Man is a biographical film of boxer James J. Braddock that illustrates his struggle through the Great Depression. Movies often exaggerate the suffering of the Great Depression or just gloss over it, but Cinderella Man accurately shows the prevailing attitude of the time through the facial expressions of the actors and the obstacles they overcome. In the film, the people on the street and in the crowd in the boxing arenas appear worried and never smile. The only time that people appear happy is while watching the excitement of a boxing match. This shows how important sporting events like boxing were to a public which had very little to cheer about. In a time when few people had television sets in their houses, listening to a boxing match on the radio let people imagine the fights through their own interpretations in their heads. The movie correctly shows how boxing was a temporary shelter from the suffering for many.

Cinderella Man is a famous, nonfiction film that was directed by Ron Howard and produced in 2005. The timing of the production of this film can strike as interesting, and maybe even odd; this is because the film begins in the times of the roaring 20’s, when the United States experienced a peak in economic successes. However, the 20’s is not the only developed time period, rather, it is the 30’s that most of the action in the film protagonists’ story will take place. Jim Braddock, a well known, wealthy, married man takes the lead position to show audiences the first-hand impact that the Great Depression had on families of all backgrounds. Braddock's riches-to-rags-to-riches story has inspired the value behind family and hard work and brought hope to his neighbors and fans who found themselves also struggling to find work and pay their bills during one of the greatest the economic downturns in history.

Cinderella Man was an incredibly magnificent and uplifting film that followed the life of the “Bulldog”, later entitled “Cinderella Man”, starring Russell Crowe as James J. Braddock, the American heavyweight boxer. Primarily, Cinderella Man embodies strength and willpower as once-undefeated heavyweight fighter, Braddock’s loses started to rapidly accumulate, so bad that he was released from his boxing contract and was merciless impeded from fighting. Correspondingly, deprived of work the bulldog began to undertake hard labor during the Great Depression to counterbalance myriad bills and overdue payments. Moreover, Braddock and his wife Mae together had three children to nourish. Correspondingly, years later, Joe Gould played by Paul Giamatti, was Braddock’s old boxing manager and contracted him one last concluding fight, which he won. Hence, the Bulldog started to train again and James J. Braddock was reborn after countless winning comebacks. Ultimately, Jimmy undergoes a fairy tale rise from a poor local fighter to the heavyweight-boxing champion of the world.

This movie took place September 25. 1933 which was four years into the Great Depression. The first impression I got was he was a happy man, was rich and made enough money from wrestling, I was wrong. His family included a wife, a daughter, and two sons. They lived in a run down apartment and didn't have enough money to pay for bills and there milk payment was past due. The daughter, Ariel woke up one morning and wanted breakfast she ate and was still hungry the father convinced her he was full and gave her his breakfast. I could tell by the time this movie is based on because of the music, there clothing, and the style of the town. The father, Jim was trying to get a job and there was many men at the fence trying to

“The Roaring Twenties” was a good era for many people, although it did have it’s rough and difficult times.