Interesting movie - it has many themes
I enjoyed this movie a lot. It featured many interesting themes; all of which are still relevant today and will continue to be for all time: hardship, rules, choices, living beyond one's means, borrowing money, resilience, etc.
However, the movie itself is very dated. It was like watching something out of a time capsule. Hearing what things cost back then was very interesting: what people earned, what it cost to see a doctor and have a baby, the price of furniture, etc. It also gave us a glimpse of how different life was. The hospital had to dispatch the ambulance, the arrangements were not made in advance for delivery; fathers in the waiting rooms; people who did NOT feel right about accepting 'free' money (government assistance), a mother not being told what she had right in the delivery room; the rule against working married women; employers and others divulging information about an employee without their permission like what they earn; how easy it is for a creditor to demand money from someone's employer...
It's all pretty bizarre to see what life was like then. It seems like ages ago yet, in the scheme of things, it hasn't been that long ago. The Depression had just ended when the movie was made yet it shows how tough times still were for most people. And, even though it didn't cost that much to live people were still struggling. I know it's all relative but overall, life was very different.
During the movie I couldn't help but think how shocking it is JFK said he wasn't even aware of the Depression at the time it was happening. He certainly was old enough. He went to good schools and had a father who was a prominent businessman and politician. He claims he learned about it later when he was in college. I know they were rich but wow. It wasn't just happening in a few people's lives. It was everywhere and, as we see it was depicted in the movies and, of course, in news reports. Talk about being out of touch!
It also reminded me how Hillary Clinton talked about how 'poor' she and her husband were when they left the White House. What a joke! Some people are really clueless. They have no idea what it means to be poor. This movie did a great job of showing the desperation of the young couple. They were truly in need and government assistance was not the answer. It's a slap in the face of all people who really struggled throughout history for someone to say they were 'poor'.
I know I'm verging on politics but that's part of what this movie brought to my mind; the things that were going on then and what some people are still experiencing today. Like Beamis, their boss, there are still people who are caught up in their own 'stuff'. They have an idea of how things are supposed to be but fail to see the world for what it is. They act as if they're helping but they actually hurt people and only care when their public image suffers.