Cinderella Man

I had never really heard the term Cinderella man before this movie, so I didn't really have a good idea of what it means.  After the beginning of the movie though, it's pretty self explanatory and anyone can use common sense to figure out what it means.  The title of this movie was called Cinderella Man I think because it is loosely related to a modern story of Cinderella, except with a man instead of a woman, obviously.  In the original story of Cinderella, a poor young woman is forced into gruesome labor and to live a terrible life by the evils of her relatives.  In the movie, James Braddock is also forced into hard gruesome labor and ends up living a terrible way of life during the Great Depression. However, in the end of both stories, everything turns around and Cinderella and James Braddock are both saved and live a happily ever after.  A Cinderella man I think is someone who endures much hardship in their life, and overcomes it to get the happy ending that they deserve and work for.  I personally loved this movie. I thought it was excellent in showing how hard times really were for people during the Great Depression.  Even though it was a movie about a main character whose job was boxing, and not everyone has that profession, it is still very relatable and shows what life was really like for an average struggling family during this period of time. People today deal with money issues all the time, as well as many other things.  Every family has their hardships and their struggles, and the hardships of the time are continuously changing.

The scene where Braddock's son explained why he stole had a huge effect on me.  I even got choked up a little.  It broke my heart that such a young boy would go to such desperate measures to feed himself and his family.  To have someone's innocence and youth corrupted at such a young age is awful.  While the ethics behind this decision are clearly wrong (stealing is never ok) I understand why he did it.  I would probably do the same thing if in a similar situation.  If you have no other options and you feel like you and your family might starve, you have to do what you can to survive and to make sure the people you care about survive.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  This scene made me more sad and think about the tragedy of it than really question the morals and ethics behind it.

I feel as though changing the way that Max Baer is portrayed in this movie was not unethical, but it wasn't completely justified either.  However, it is a Hollywood movie, and the goal of the movie was to sell and make money.  Changing Baer's character was probably just the best bet for the movie to be successful, I don't think it was intended to hurt Baer's family or ruin his reputation.  I think if anything, it adds to the story of James Braddock, making him seem like more of a hero, and more of a strong willed man that people can admire and look up to.  Having a villain in a story is hardly something to get upset over.

I think that the scene where Braddock goes into Madison Square Garden to beg for money is also a very powerful scene.  I do not think that Braddock was pathetic in this moment at all.  Many men during this time did not want to ask for help because they could not swallow their prides to do what was best for them and their families.  Braddock knew they needed help.  He was enough of a man to do what needed to be done, and get money to save his family.  I do not think this should be considered pathetic at all, in fact, I think it is extremely noble and admirable.  James Braddock was a stand up man, and pathetic is the last word I would ever use to describe him.  I think that in this moment, Braddock hits rock bottom.  And from there, things can only get better. It is the low point of his Cinderella story, the point just before he gets the opportunity for his happily ever after.