Cinderella Man

Movie Discussion Questions

1. What did you think of the movie? Did you like it?
I thought it was really good, to be honest one of the best movies I’ve ever seen.
2. What struggles did James J. Braddock face throughout the movie? Did you like James
Braddock? Why or why not?
Braddock faced the struggles of the Great Depression, and he lost almost everything because of it
but he never stopped taking care of his family and made sure they stayed together. I liked
Braddock mainly because of his character. He was a very good person. He did what he had to do
to take care of his family during the hard times of the Great Depression.
3. What issues do people today deal with that are similar to those of the Braddock family? How
are today's issues different? What sorts of new issues will our children face?
The issues that people deal with today that are similar to the Braddock family are economic
issues. Today’s issues are different because the government does a lot to ensure that people earn
enough to support themselves. Our children will face issues with things like climate change,
drugs, and exposure to social media.
4. The Great Depression affected everyone to some degree. How were the people in the movie
affected? How were the different socio-economic classes affected?
Some of the people in this movie were affected because they didn’t have enough money to
support their family. The lower class people were hit the hardest because some didn’t even hav
eneough money to put food on the table.
5. Doing what is right is sometimes difficult. How difficult was it for Braddock to pay off his
debt to the government at a time when no one was giving back?
It was very difficult because bRaddock beareky had the money to take care of himself and his is
family.
6. The scene where Braddock's son explains why he stole is extremely powerful. Would you steal
if your family hadn't eaten in a week, or if your family's ability to stay together depended on it?
How do you feel about the ethics of this decision?
If my family had not eaten for a week I might steal because somethimes doing the wrong thing is
the right thing,
7. Braddock states that he knows what he is fighting for: milk. How does that make you feel
about what you have today? Should we be ashamed for having Xboxes, big screen TVs, cell
phones, and the latest digital cameras? Although Braddock was fighting for milk, he knew that
winning also meant fame and money. Do you think that he wanted this fame? Why or why not?
I don’t think he wanted the fame, he just wanted to be able to support his family.
8. Often today's society is critiqued for being lazy. Is it? Why or why not? Could you have shown
the same determination that Braddock did to succeed? Explain.
Today’s society is very lazy compared to past societies because they got so much
more done than we do. I do not think I could’ve shown the same determination
Braddock had because I’m very lazy.
9. How has this movie changed the way you view the struggles your grandparents and great
grandparents went through?
Because now I’ve seen what they actually went through and makes me see how
easy I have it compared to them.
10. Members of Max Baer's family have criticized the portrayal of Max Baer in this film for not
being accurate. Max Baer was personally devastated by the in-ring death of one of his opponents
and suffered nightmares about it for decades. How do you feel about the way the filmmakers
changed the character? Is this ethical? Why or why not?
I don’t like the way the filmmakers changed the characters because they made him
seem like he was happy to have killed two men in the ring when in reality he was
devastated. This is not ethical because it is a complete lie.