Film Essay

Don Sanford  

Donsanford@mycwi.cc

English 102

Film Analysis

29 October 2012

King of the Hill

Extreme poverty and hunger are not a recent development in North America. They have been around for as long as the country itself. Every day there are people living in the streets, standing on street corners looking for donations, or residing in homeless shelters because they are poverty stricken and do not have enough resources to sustain themselves.  One time in recent history when poverty and hunger were overwhelmingly present was during the Great Depression. In the 1993 film King of the Hill this fact is made very clear. Many areas of this film accurately depict how hard it was for people to keep a home or find their next meal.

King of the Hill was set in the midst of The Great Depression when poverty and hunger were no stranger to most American citizens. The main characters are Mr. and Mrs. Kurlander, who are the parents of Aaron Kurlander. Lester is a close friend of Aaron’s who provides him with advice on how to make money in the rough economic times. Aaron’s mom becomes sick and is sent to an asylum. Mr. Kurlander is an unsuccessful traveling salesman who is always looking for the next opportunity to get them out of poverty and out of the hotel where they are living. Harsh times made the task of finding a steady job especially hard.

The Great Depression was “the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world” (Romer 1). The Great Depression lasted about ten years, starting in 1929. During this time poverty and hunger became increasingly more prevalent, jobs were lost, people lost their homes, and those who lost their jobs struggled to find new employment. Unemployment was a serious problem during The Great Depression, “… at its nadir in 1933, 25 percent of all workers and 37 percent of all nonfarm workers were completely out of work” (Smiley 1). Rough economic times resulted in a reaction by the President at the time, Franklin D. Roosevelt; he signed into law the first instance of the Social Security Act in 1935. During The Great Depression, states started to pass Unemployment Insurance laws to help people who had lost their jobs (Bernstein para 42,43). The local and federal government’s ability to pass these laws were of great importance in the process of repairing the broken economy.

In the film King of the Hill poverty and hunger are the main points of the movie, along with Aaron’s ability to adapt and try to survive during these harsh times on his own. This film portrays how bad the quality of living was during The Great Depression. Aaron is forced to live by himself after his father has to leave for a job in a different state. He lives in the Empire Hotel, which is mainly inhabited by poor people hit hard by the depression.  Aaron is forced to live a life of poverty and hunger, lacking the money needed for a simple meal. The absence of money brought yet another problem, shelter insecurity. Aaron was threatened to be evicted from his hotel room because there was no payment made. At one point during the movie Aaron is so hungry he cuts pictures of food out of a magazine, places them on a plate, and eats them. It was immensely difficult to find food during The Great Depression, money is required to buy food and a job is required to acquire money, both with equal difficulty to obtain.

Living in poverty and extreme hunger causes some people to adapt and find a way to elevate one’s self out of these conditions. Aaron was forced to fend for himself at a young age causing him to grow as an individual and becoming, in a sense, self-reliant. Janet Maslin states in her review article King of the Hill; A Boy of the 30's With Grit and Wit, “Though Aaron's character is neither written nor played as a figure of undue precocity, it's clear that circumstances have forced him to be responsible at a tender age” (para 4). Having no parental guidance Aaron must fend for himself. His close friend Lester helps him in his quest to make some money. Aaron is constantly evolving as an individual, learning quickly what it takes to survive during The Great Depression on his own.

Some Scenes in King of the Hill are better understood when singled out and analyzed. At 67.32 minutes into the film there is a fade in and out on all the doors with locks on them from evictions. This scene shows how many people have been affected by job insecurity and the inability to pay rent and maintain a good quality of living. Another scene at 70.29 minutes into the film there is a traveling shot looking at Mr. Sandos. He was a recent inhabitant at the Empire Hotel. Standing on a train Aaron sees Mr. Sandos and yells out to him. Sandos, with a blank look on his dirty face and staying warm near a barrel fire, is clearly homeless in this shot. Aaron realizes at this point the severity of his own situation. This scene shows the cycle that affected so many Americans during The Great Depression, successful before the depression, then job loss, then homelessness due to lack of money to support themselves. This was a very stressful time to live for a great majority of Americans; many could not overcome poverty and were forced to live on the streets.  

In conclusion, the 1993 film King of the Hill is an excellent portrayal of poverty and hunger. Set in 1933 during The Great Depression, this film details the obstacles the ordinary American faced during this time. The Great Depression spared no one, being called the worst economic downfall in our history (Romer 1). People found it hard to maintain or find jobs during this time. This film focuses on a boy of 12 years, Aaron Kurlander, and his ability to overcome and adapt to rough times when he is left to fend for himself. There are multiple scenes in this movie that paint a vivid picture of how harsh these times were. Programs were put in place to assist those in need, which are still present in our modern society. This film depicts how the American people never give up on the quest to reach their dreams.

Works Cited

Bernstein, Irving. "Americans in Depression and War." U.S. Department of Labor. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management, n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.

King of the Hill. Dir. Steven Soderbergh. Perf. Jesse Bradford, Jeroen Krabbé and Lisa Eichhorn. Universal Pictures, 1993. DVD.

Maslin, Janet. "King of the Hill; A Boy of the 30's With Grit and Wit." The New York Times. New York Times Review, 20 Aug. 1993. Web. 27 Oct. 2012.

Romer, Christina D. "Great Depression." Encyclopædia Britannica. N.p., 20 Dec. 2003. Web. 27 Oct. 2012. <http://emlab.berkeley.edu/users/cromer/great_depression.pdf>.

Smiley, Gene. "Great Depression." Library of Economics and Liberty. Liberty Fund, Inc, 2008. Web. 03 Nov. 2012.