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Movie Review | 'The Pursuit of Happyness'

Climbing Out of the Gutter With a 5-Year-Old in Tow

By Manohla Dargis

• Dec. 15, 2006

A fairy tale in realist drag, “The Pursuit of Happyness” is the kind of entertainment that goes down smoothly until it gets stuck in your craw. Inspired by a true story, as they like to say in Hollywood, the film traces the fleeting ups and frightening downs of Chris Gardner, whose efforts to keep his family from sinking into poverty evolve into a life-and-death struggle of social Darwinian proportions. It’s the early 1980s, and while Ronald Reagan is delivering the bad economic news on television, Chris is about to prove you don’t need an army to fight the war on poverty, just big smiles and smarts, and really sturdy shoes. (It also helps that the star playing him is as innately sympathetic as Will Smith.)

Given how often Chris breaks into a run on the streets of San Francisco, it’s a good thing his shoes are well built; his lungs, too. Written by Steven Conrad and directed by Gabriele Muccino, “The Pursuit of Happyness” recounts how Chris, plagued by some bad luck, a few stupid moves and a shrew for a wife, Linda (Thandie Newton), loses his apartment and, with his 5-year-old, Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, Mr. Smith’s own beautiful son), joins the ranks of the homeless, if not the hopeless. Evicted from the mainstream and bounced from shelter to shelter, Chris holds firm to his dignity, resolve, faith, love and independence. His optimism sweeps through the film like a searchlight, scattering clouds and dark thoughts to the wind.

It’s the same old bootstraps story, an American dream artfully told, skillfully sold. To that calculated end, the filmmaking is seamless, unadorned, transparent, the better to serve Mr. Smith’s warm expressiveness. That warmth feels truthful, as does the walk-up apartment Chris’s family lives in at the start of the film, which looks like the real paycheck-to-paycheck deal. As does the day care center, which is so crummy it can’t even get happiness right (hence the title).

This is no small thing, considering the film industry’s usual skewed sense of economic class, a perspective encapsulated by the insider who described the middle-class family in “Little Miss Sunshine” to me as working class, perhaps because the mother drives a gently distressed Miata rather than next year’s Mercedes.

Money matters in “The Pursuit of Happyness,” as it does in life. But it matters more openly in this film than it does in most Hollywood stories that set their sights on the poor, largely because Chris’s pursuit of happiness eventually becomes interchangeable with his pursuit of money. He doesn’t want just a better, more secure life for himself and his child; either by scripted design or by the example of the real Chris Gardner, he seems to yearn for a life of luxury, stadium box seats and the kind of sports car he stops to admire in one scene. His desires aren’t just upwardly mobile; they’re materialistically unbound. Instead of a nice starter home, he (and the filmmakers) ogles mansions. It’s no wonder he hopes to become a stockbroker.

That may sound like a punch line, at least to some ears, but it’s the holy grail in “The Pursuit of Happyness.” A self-starter, Chris has sunk all of the family’s money into costly medical scanners that he tries to sell to doctors and hospitals. But the machines are overpriced, and the sure thing he banked on has landed them in debt. Forced to work two shifts at a dead-end job, Linda angrily smolders and then rages at Chris, which seems reasonable since he has gambled all of their savings on an exceptionally foolish enterprise. (And, unlike her, he hasn’t signed up for overtime.) But this is a film about father love, not mother love, and Linda soon leaves the picture in a cloud of cigarette smoke and a storm of tears.

Chris and the filmmakers seem happy to see her go, but life only gets tougher once she and her paychecks disappear. Much of the film involves Chris’s subsequent efforts to keep himself and his child housed and fed while he is enrolled in an unpaid internship program at a powerful stock brokerage firm. Bright and ferociously determined, Chris easily slides into this fantastical world of shouting men, ringing phones, gleaming surfaces and benevolent bosses. He goes along to get along, and when one of his bosses asks for money to pay for a cab, he quickly opens his wallet. Chris himself stiffs another working man for some money because that wallet is so light. But this is a film about him, not the other guy.

How you respond to this man’s moving story may depend on whether you find Mr. Smith’s and his son’s performances so overwhelmingly winning that you buy the idea that poverty is a function of bad luck and bad choices, and success the result of heroic toil and dreams. Both performances are certainly likable in the extreme, though Mr. Smith shined brighter and was given much more to do when he played the title character in Michael Mann’s underrated “Ali.” That film proves an interesting comparison with this one, not in filmmaking terms, but in its vision of what it means to be a black man struggling in America. In one, a black man fights his way to the top with his fists; in the other, he gets there with a smile.

“The Pursuit of Happyness” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It includes mild adult language and some parental fighting.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

Opens today nationwide.

Directed by Gabriele Muccino; written by Steven Conrad; director of photography, Phedon Papamichael; edited by Hughes Winborne; music by Andrea Guerra; production designer, J. Michael Riva; produced by Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch James Lassiter and Will Smith; released by Columbia Pictures. Running time: 117 minutes.

WITH: Will Smith (Chris Gardner), Thandie Newton (Linda) and Jaden Christopher Syre Smith (Christopher).

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The Pursuit of Happyness, Essay Example

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To be happy and to have a high standard of living is an American dream, which is based on individual freedom and connected with the concept of “self-made man”. This paper describes Chris Gardner’s story (2006) which is riddled with despair, challenges, cruelty, violence, but is advanced and foremost of love, faith and hope. It proposes up reminders that until now the American dream subsist and gives the opportunity to everyone to find it in themselves and to achieve the highest point in their life performance. This story is a saga of various singers, actors, performers, which are used as the examples of happy and fortunate people. It is a saga of a man who destroyed his family’s cycle of people abandoning their kids. Never giving up and falling into despondency and despair, Chris Gardner did an amazement change from being a part of city’s indigent and poor to being a strong and powerful person. The Pursuit of Happyness (Gardner, 2006) is a true American success and welfare story of a person who overcame difficulties and obstacles.

The Pursuit of Happiness

The Pursuit of Happyness (Gardner, 2006) is an encouraging and inspiring autobiography of a person, who overcame all types of misfortune and adversity to become a powerful person in a world of finance.

The Pursuit of Happyness (Gardner, 2006) is an autobiographical honest and humility story which describes Chris Gardner’s long, excruciating, ultimately rewarding travel from poor region Milwaukee to the top of success in a Wall Street. It is faithful and rags-to-riches story of a homeless father who brings up his son on mean and cruel streets of San Francisco and becomes a famous businessmen and moneymaker (Gardner, 2006).

Chris Gardner is a poor and indigent minority who is described as honest-minded, fair and comprehensive person. He is trying to show that it is impossible to buy happiness, but money and prosperity can help in this.

This story shows the contrast between San Francisco’s rich and poor, and the capitalistic rage of Dean Witter office where Chris Gardner’s internship was. It is a description of a person who at no time succumbed to self compassion. He did not surrender to bitter stuff either. He censured nobody for his plight, just pushed ahead and found decisions to each situation and problem he faced (Gardner, 2006).

For better understanding Chris Gardner’s psychology and why he denies giving up notwithstanding of having obstacles and impediments in his path at every turn it is important to answer the following questions:

• How does Chris Gardner’s childhood influenced his path to success?
• What were Chris Gardner’s main principles and goals?

Investigation of these questions will show the inner world of the main hero, interesting patterns of his behavior and the things which influenced his strong desire and thirst to become the number one in the world of finance.

Chris Gardner was born and grown up in the Milwaukee inner-city ghetto. He was a dutiful, quiet and good child who got into the mishap from time to time, but stayed on a stable, upward track (Gardner, 2006). It is a pity that the childhood accounts are all described not from a kid’s foreshortening and perspective, but with the grown-up and adult Gardner’s comprehension inserted regularly.How does Chris Gardner’s childhood influenced his path to success?

Gardner was poor, indigent and fatherless. His worship and adored mother Bettye Jean was strong on church and children and was not all the time near. When she was incarcerated, Chris stayed with relatives (Gardner, 2006).

Chris Gardner’s childhood was wracked with cruelty, brutal treatment and abuse of Freddie Triplett, his stepfather, who plainly and routinely verbally and physically mistreated child and whole family. Violent, spiteful and hateful he denied accepting Gardner as a stepchild and contradicted him at every turn.

Freddie Triplett considers being one of most unpleasant and meanest stepfather. His rages made Gardner constantly blue and afraid (Gardner, 2006).

An expert on psychopathy Dr. Robert D. Hare (1999) explains such antisocial or even criminal behavior of Gardner’s stepfather as a “continuations of behavior patterns that first showed themselves in childhood” (p. 97). He underlines that it is impossible to know why people such as Freddie Triplett become psychopaths and cruel with their family and society, but present evidence takes away from the ordinarily held concept that “the behavior of parents bears sole or even primary responsibility for the disorder” (p. 178). That means that in his childhood Freddie Triplett’s parents were cruel and violent with him. When he became an adult he tried to revenge for such bad treatment and violently abused Gardner and his family.

John W. Livesley (2003) a psychiatrist, whose investigation and research has been orientated at the grading, classification and etiology of individual disorder supposes that antisocial, dangerous and aggressive behavior in people such as Gardner’s stepfather runs in families. He underlines that “many difficult to alter because the environment remains the same” (p. 78). Livesley (2003) believes that the etiology of individual disorders within a wide framework where neither genetic spirited nor psychosocial factors may have considered for their development. Whereas admitting research demonstrating that a lot of patients experience childhood miseries, Livesley (2003) does not clarify and explain an individual disorder as through the sequel of such events. Instead, the author underlines the factors that keep up and support maladaptive features in the present.     Hare (1999) believes that though people can change, “many personality traits and behavioral patterns remain stable through-out life” (p. 97). That means that person’s personality and behavior are determined and fixed early in life, or that maturation, experience and development are not powerful coercion in define what kind of adults the person will become.

At the same time, Dr Stanton E. Samenow (2004), a clinical psychologist, supposes that such kind of people like Freddie Triplett cause offence not because of parents, neighbors, unemployment and television but because of their mind. Samenow (2004) strongly believed that different thinking is the cause of psychopaths violent behavior. On the other hand Samenow (2004) underlines that everything and everyone is responsible for the offence. The environment, economy, policy, poverty are responsible for committing a crime, brutal treatment and abuse.

People like Freddie Triplett “feel that their abilities will enable them to become anything they want to be” (Hare, 1999, p. 39). They want to be “physically and psychologically abusive to others with our society’s glorification of violence” (Wolman, 1999, p. 117). Hare (1999) believes that such people see nothing dishonest or wrong with their personality and find their behavior as “rational, rewarding, and satisfying; they never look back with regret or forward with concern” (p. 195).     Such people like Freddie Triplett do not “feel they have psychological or emotional problems, and they see no reason to change their behavior to societal standards with which they do not agree” (Hare, 1999, p. 195). That means, that Freddie Triplett was well satisfied with his own personality and with his “inner landscape, break as it may seem to outside observers” (p. 195). Samenow (2004) found that criminals, psychopaths and offenders will not change their personality until other options forsakes him / her. The author underlines that if a person wants to change a criminal or offender behavior, he / she should make alternative.

Hare (1999) emphasizes that people like Gardner’s stepfather does not authorize their actions to themselves. Once, Freddie Triplett because of groundless and irrational anger physically abused Chris. During cold winter, he threw him and his mother into the snow. He did it at the time Gardner was taking a bath and was thrown out naked.

The only way to curtail violence in such people is to change their way of thinking. Samenow (2004) found that such people think otherwise from a responsible person. The only appropriate offender’s issues are to continue their behavior, to change their personality or to suicide. Freddie chosen to continue his behavior and to abuse Chris, his family and weak people.

Wolman (1999) found some distinctive features between dangerous individuals, which are cruel and passive and the community which created them. According to his research, Chris Gardner’s stepfather belonged to the first type of such dangerous individuals. Freddie Triplett is an impassive, resourceful, amoral, impetuous and guileful individual. He is represented as no signs of remorse for his disgusting and terrible actions. Wolman (1999) underlines that such people are totally lacking sympathy for a human being. They are self-enamored individuals who have a tendency to consider that they are authorized to another people’s things, and that they merit to be loved.     The growth of sociopath behavior among children and adults, whether in a strained poor district or in a quiet suburban and country setting, is skillfully described by Dr Benjamin Wolman (1999) a famous national psychologist. He supposes that the growth of sociopath individuals is accountable for the moral and ethical collapse, whereas at the same time proposing the contrary hypothesis that the moral and ethical collapse is accountable for the growth in the population of sociopaths.

“Parental psychopathology” (Livesley, 2003, p. 57) growth and increasing the risk of developing individual problems is most extensive for unsociable antisocial feature. Livesley (2003) supposes that personal behavior like Freddie Triplett had toward Chris Gardner is due to regularities and consistencies in the environment. Samenow (2004) underlines that even though they are not able to change their past, they can change their future. When the person is responsible for himself / herself, it allows him / her to believe in changing its personality and life.

Of course Chris Gardner could escape or rescue his realities over any means accessible whether it was drugs or even mesmerism it would work. However, he didn’t. He was really afraid his stepfather. Even so, even during these bad and unfavorable times when everything was against him Gardner continued to struggle for everything better. He found some satisfaction and solace in reading various books in the library. He ran with different crowds being a young person and usually stayed out of difficulty and trouble (Gardner, 2006).

Emotional and physical maltreatment by Freddie Triplett towards Chris Gardner implicated “emotional abuse (verbal assaults and demeaning components) or emotional neglect (the failure of caregivers to meet the child’s needs for love, nurturance, and support)” (Livesley, 2003, p. 58). It means that pari passu with physical abuse and violent, emotional abuse has important, great and prevalent effects. Physical abuse increases the danger and risk of different individual problems, which include an antisocial personality disorder, Livesley (2003) emphasizes. Fortunately physical maltreatment by Triplett towards Gardner didn’t lead to the causes described by Livesley (2003).     Wolman (1999) emphasizes that parents and teachers sometimes may assist to the growth of sociopath and antisocial behavior. The way which parents bring up their children may be significant. The author underlines that parents which allow their children to do whatever they want and those which do not teach their kids the importance of morality will default to tell apart wrong from right. On the other hand, children of cruel and abusive parents, like Chris Gardner are generally very rough, aggressive, and unfriendly and used to hate and detest their parents. However, such children are not able to treat aggressively and rough against their own parents because they feel terror that they may retaliate. Instead such children conduct themselves rough and aggressively against weak people.

What Were Chris Gardner’s Main Principles and Goals?

Inspired by his uncle’s worldwide adventures and trips in the United States Navy, Gardner decided to hire shortly after graduating high school (Gardner, 2006). Thanks to the Navy Chris could leave his native city and start his life from the beginning.

At the age of twenty after the Navy Chris Gardner went to San Francisco where he got married and divorced. His wife was an educated and intelligent woman who was looking-for to sit for her dental boards. Right this time Gardner started a medical career, which led him to the market of medical equipment (Gardner, 2006).     The majority of Gardner’s time in the Navy was spent as a medical man at a military base. He assisted with the surgeon investigation and was honorable as well-informed and intelligent expert in teaching medical interns on surgical methods (Gardner, 2006).

Gardner, a smart and intelligent salesman invests all the family money and savings in bone-density scanners. This equipment was twice as costly as an x-ray equipment but with a little distinct image.

Unfortunately, the money, Gardner earned as a salesman was not enough for him, his girlfriend and their son (Gardner, 2006). Right that time, Gardner decided to change his profession and to earn more money. He was interested in selling, inspiration, business, motivation and social speaking. Gardner was good with numbers and great with people. He became an internship in Dean Witter company. Chris wanted to gain an entry level position, beat each candidate and obtain the position he wanted. Chris Gardner became an interned person just around the time he became homeless. During his internship Chris was paid a little stipend, but it was too small for living in hotels all the time. Right that time, his girlfriend left Gardner, and took their small son Christopher with her (Gardner, 2006).

Abandoned by own father and left to the depraved rage of a mean and cruel stepfather, Chris Gardner sworn that no matter what occurred in his own life, he would be committed and faithful father to his own kids. Induced and motivated by the promise Chris Gardner made to himself as a fatherless kid he took away his son.

Wolman (1999) emphasizes that parental refusal, like Gardner had in his childhood, could adversely affect their kid’s self-reliance and self-assurance. Such children will feel abandoned in case their parents are not sentimental, loving and attentive. That is why Chris Gardner was trying to give his small son more love, attention, protection and stable life (Gardner, 2006). Rather than give up his son, Gardner continued to follow his dream of being a successful and well-to-do businessman.     Livesley (2003) strongly believes that “family disorder, parental psychopathology, and various forms of parenting behavior” (p. 57) like Gardner had in his childhood can be considered as individual confusion. “Antisocial and psychopathic features” (Livesley, 2003, p. 57) in people like Freddie Triplett, are not able to prophesy antisocial features, traits and characteristics in his children.

“Poor parenting and unfavorable social and physical environments” (Hare, 1999, p. 178) may noticeably complicate potential problems and play an intense role in “molding the behavioral patterns” (Hare, 1999, p. 178). However, Samenow (2004) found that indigence, poverty, divorce and cruelty, the factors which Gardner had, were not the reasons of criminality.

Livesley (2003) determines two main types of parenting behavior, which are “neglectful (as opposed to loving and supportive) and overprotective (as opposed to encouraging independence and autonomy)” (p. 58). In his life Gardner used these two types of parenting behavior. The first type of parenting behavior belongs to the relations between Chris Gardner and his stepfather, the second is the relations between Gardner and Christopher.

Livesley (2003) pays great attention that the “higher-order patterns reflect the genetic architecture of personality” (p. 132) and consequently, represent essential and fundamental differences in individual structure. Each state of personality allure a particular pattern of emotions, means of thinking about “the self and others, interpersonal relationships, and coping strategies” (Livesley, 2003, p. 35).

It was difficult and complicated times for Gardner and his son. Because of lack of money they spent nearly a year traveling among hotels and shelters. Gardner had to carry out their clothes on his back all the time they were traveling (Gardner, 2006).

Sometimes Gardner with Christopher slept at the office and was afraid to be discovered by the night guards and cleaning crew. When Chris Gardner lived in shelters and hotels with his son, they used to play different games the main goal of which was to keep quiet, when people were searching them and knocking the door. Chris tried to make his best not to defeat (Gardner, 2006).

Chris Gardner is a personality with a response to the problems and tasks of everyday living. Personality disorder is represented as an inability to get adaptive solutions to life problems and tasks, and domains of sequel psychopathology proposed as coextensive (Livesley, 2003). Livesley (2003) found that the relation and connection between particulars and components of the personality system – “traits, self system, person system, and environment” (p. 76) generate a structure in which modification to one constituent tends to be dampened by its influence on other parts of the system.

Chris Gardner is a real personality. The relations with his stepfather influenced his personality, but it gave him a strong desire not to be like Freddie was. The main principles in his life were to be a human, to be a real father to his son and to be a useful part of the society. Thanks to these, Gardner became an individual with his own views on a human being and the importance to be a person, not a violent and cruel offender.

The story of Chris Gardner is not particularly fresh, but his voice is pleasant and likable, resulting in a virtue and quality African-American. He is the person who he is, and he is a successful and great moneymaker. Wolman (1999) believes that social harmony and true happiness are the main for each person. Chris Gardner succeeded contrary the establishment and became a successful businessman and moneymaker. After Gardner’s talents were estimated at company’s true worth, and he got the job he wanted, his American dream became real. Though all his achievements and progresses Chris Gardner was a prideful father. His own fatherless blues is disappeared now.

Chris Gardner’s Pursuit of Happyness (2006) is a painful, astonishing and amazing story, which describes remarkable frankness, comprehension and intelligent (Gardner, 2006). Best of all is that he is entirely unapologetic about following material benefits and success, and saying that these are pieces of his pursuit of happiness.

Hare, R. D. (1999). Without conscience . New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Gardner, C. (2006). The Pursuit of Happyness . New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Livesley, J. W. (2003). Practical management of personality disorder . New York, NY: The Guilford Press.

Samenow, S. E. (2004). Inside the criminal mind . New York, NY: Crown Publishers.

Wolman, B. B. (1999). Antisocial behavior: personality disorders from hostility to homicide . Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

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The Pursuit of Happyness

• A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
• Based on a true story about a man named Christopher Gardner. Gardner has invested heavily in a device known as a "bone density scanner". He feels like he has it made selling these devices. However, they do not sell well as they are marginally better than x-ray at a much higher price. As Gardner works to make ends meet, his wife leaves him and he loses his apartment. Forced to live out in the streets with his son, Gardner continues to sell bone density scanners while concurrently taking on an unpaid internship as a stockbroker, with slim chances for advancement to a paid position. Before he can receive pay, he needs to outshine the competition through 6 months of training, and to sell his devices to stay afloat. — John Wiggins, Alf Fonz
• 1981, San Francisco. In what limited academic opportunities he has had in his life, Chris Gardner has demonstrated that he is a smart man. Yet he is struggling financially in his life. He has invested all his money on portable bone density scanners, which he personally sells to physicians. Despite being a better product than x-rays machines, they are also far more expensive, meaning that they are an unnecessary luxury for most physicians. He needs to sell three scanners per month just to meet the basic necessities to support his family, his wife, Linda, and their five year old son, Christopher, on who he dotes since he didn't know his own father when he was a child. But lately, that has been three per month more than he has sold, resulting in an increasing embittered Linda continually needing to work double shifts doing manual work at a laundry, which still isn't enough to cover those basic costs, they being currently behind three months rent. Chris can't afford to pay his parking ticket, meaning that he has to take the bus everywhere now as the clamp remains on the tire of his car. Feeling like the scanner is not the answer to their financial problems, Chris, with or without Linda's blessing, decides to take a chance by switching careers when he sees that brokerage and securities firm Dean Witter has a six month internship program, which only admits twenty applicants, leading to only one intern being hired at the end of the process. It isn't until he is well immersed into the process that he learns that the internships are non-paying. Based largely on his chutzpah, Chris, against the odds, gets one of the twenty positions. With some changes in their lives resulting in fewer expenses, Chris figures he needs to sell his remaining six scanners just to scrape by for those six months. But some unexpected issues arise which leads to the Gardners possibly not making it through this phase of their lives financially, something he has to hide from his superiors at Dean Witter if he has any chance at all of making it through the internship and getting that paying job with them. — Huggo
• Already struggling to eke out an existence, against the backdrop of early-1980s San Francisco, the earnest and hard-working bone-density-scanner salesman, Chris Gardner, finds himself with the back to the wall. Left with nothing when his wife abandons the family, the financially hard-pressed father will have to take care of his five-year-old son, Christopher, all by himself when, unexpectedly, the prestigious stock brokerage firm of Dean Witter offers Gardner an unpaid six-month internship. Now, bent on becoming a stockbroker, Chris is willing to go to great lengths to succeed; however, life can be challenging and cruel. Will Chris' efforts pay off? Can the determined parent make his dream come true? — Nick Riganas
• In 1981, in San Francisco, the smart salesman and family man Chris Gardner ( Will Smith ) invests the family savings in Osteo National bone-density scanners, an apparatus twice as expensive as an x-ray machine but with a slightly clearer image. This white elephant financially breaks the family, bringing troubles to his relationship with his wife Linda ( Thandiwe Newton ), who leaves him and moves to New York where she has taken a job in a pizza parlor. Their son Christopher ( Jaden Smith ) stays with Chris because he and his wife both know that he will be able to take better care of him. Without any money or a wife, but committed to his son, Chris sees a chance to fight for a stockbroker internship position at Dean Witter, offering a more promising career at the end of a six-month unpaid training period. During that period, Chris goes through a lot of hardship personally and professionally. When he thinks he is "stable," he finds that he has lost $600 when the government takes the last bit of money in his bank account for taxes. He is rendered homeless because he can't pay his rent. He is forced at one point to stay in a bathroom at a train station, and must scramble from work every day to the Glide Memorial United Methodist Church, which offers shelter to the homeless. He must leave work early every day so that he is there by 5:00 in the evening along with his son so that he may be assured of a place to sleep. He is seen carrying his suitcase to work because he doesn't have a home. At work, there are nineteen other candidates for the one position. One day, he is called into an office and in it were the heads of Dean Witter. Chris thinks that he is about to be told the job will not be his as he says that he wore a shirt and tie for his final day. Then they tell him that he has been an excellent trainee and that tomorrow he will have to wear his shirt and tie again as it will be his first day as a broker. Chris struggles to hold back tears. Outside he begins to cry as the busy people of San Francisco walk past him. He rushes to his son's daycare, hugging him and knowing that after everything him and his son had been through things would be all right. The final scene shows Chris walking with his son down a street. His son is telling him a joke, when a wealthy business man in a suit walks past. Chris looks back as the man continues on. The man in the suit is none other than the real Chris Gardner.

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The Pursuit of Happyness  is a film that includes a wide range of psychological and organizational behavior theories. These are exemplified by character behaviors and plot points that fit within the context of organizational culture. Organizational behavior is a subset of human psychology that promotes social interaction.  The Pursuit of Happyness  depicts individual traits that aid the protagonist in achieving success through self-efficacy, goal-setting, and learning styles, which become invaluable as he incorporates them into the culture and workflow of the stockbroker organization.

The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is an introspective psychological test that determines how an individual perceives their environment and preferences. It is commonly used in business to assess personality types which are a determinant of behavior as well as mental and emotional characteristics. These can then be used to find strong areas and skills for the individual. The protagonist, Chris Gardner, can be considered an individual that is sociable and extroverted. He is often assertive in pursuing his goals, both in his personal life and career opportunities. He is approachable and unafraid to state his opinion. These traits help him to succeed by opening doors to new opportunities.

One of the most applicable theories in this film is Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Popularized in the mid-20th century, it became the primary model of individual development. The premise is that human needs are built upon a pyramid-like structure. In order to reach the next level, the previous one has to be fulfilled to an extent. The base level is physiological needs, followed by safety, love, and esteem. The final level is self-actualization which is the epitome of the human condition. Not meeting needs leads to a state of disequilibrium, which can only lead to stability if the goal is achieved. Human behavior is inherently guided by needs and, at times, can provide the drive to achieve them (Jonas, 2016).

The purpose of self-actualization is to set goals and accept the potential challenges and obstacles in achieving them. Gardner’s story in the film is one of self-actualization. He is aware of his talents and drive for entrepreneurship, which leads him to invest in bone density scanners. However, the investment proves to be a failure, throwing the family into poverty. Therefore, as a struggling salesman, Gardner cannot fulfill his and his family’s underlying physiological and safety needs. The financial impact seemingly undermines the whole dream of self-actualization for him. However, using the last available resources and motivation, Gardner, against insurmountable odds, can get the internship and eventually receive the position, which resolves most of his other issues on various stages of Maslow’s pyramid. It demonstrates a unique case of a top-down approach to the theory but ultimately results in the same stability in life for the protagonist.

One of the critical components of human behavior is based on the motivation and reasons behind particular decisions and actions. The film portrays several of them. The Equity Theory developed by psychologist John Adams in 1963 is based on the concept of distributed justice. In the context of business and organization, equity is a fairness concept that is based on costs and rewards. The theory proposes that people seek relationships where net costs and benefits will be similar to those around them. If an individual is under-rewarded, they will experience distress and attempt to establish fairness. Theoretically, this means that an individual will experience motivation to adjust their approach and work harder until the goal is achieved. This theory is based on a balance of inputs (effort, number of hours worked) and outputs (salary, benefits). It is a subset of the psychological contract concept, which oversees the relationship between an employee and an employer.

In the film, Gardner perceives this inequity when he first encounters the stockbroker arriving in an expensive vehicle. He views the people working in the industry as truly happy because of their socio-economic status and asks himself why he cannot be the same. It motivates him to re-establish equity by attempting to learn the trade and seek a position in the organization. It was an idea that Gardner believed would make him happy and allow him to create a life for his family.

Motivation is based on emotional and mental perceptions, which require a motive to pursue specific goals. There are two types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is based on the wants and needs that come from within. It is established through cognitive and affective processes. Internal motivation drives a person to explore, learn, and develop in areas of interest. Intrinsic motivation is often prolonged, consistent, and more powerful at enhancing performance.

Meanwhile, extrinsic motivation is based on external and materialistic rewards (wealth and power) or punishment. These are pressures from society and the environment of an individual. The end goal drives a person, and the motivation fades once the objective is achieved or becomes irrelevant.

In intrinsic motivation, the underlying concept is recognizing the significance of behavior and one’s actions. The significance is determined by individual goals. The Goal Setting Theory by Locke and Latham suggests that objectives become a regulator of human behavior. Actions are triggered by the stress conditions of the desire to achieve success. Therefore, motivation and behavior are intertwined, reflecting organizational culture, market forces, and interpersonal relationships (Locke & Lathan, 2002).

Self-efficacy and goal setting should be considered within the context of the film. Gardner’s objective to become a stockbroker is a stimulus. The intrinsic motivation to provide for his family, combined with the extrinsic motivation of a high-salary job, are the foundation of his motivation. However, these goals are difficult to achieve based on his life position and socio-economic status. Despite this, the challenge becomes a driving factor for Chris due to his personality type. Self-efficacy pushed him to overcome obstacles. Meanwhile, with determination, he can climb out of poverty.

Within an organizational culture, motivation is a critical indicator that can reflect performance and reaching objectives. It helps to provide direction and substance to the effort of the “pursuit of happiness.” In other words, Maslow’s hierarchy can be directly tied to motivation since there is a complex correlation between individual needs and organizational goals. Physiological needs are achieved through the payment of a salary allowing employees to support themselves. Safety needs are met by providing job security and appropriate working conditions. Social aspects are developed through interpersonal relationships and professionalism amongst peers and management. Self-esteem needs can be met through promotion and recognition with positive feedback. Meanwhile, self-actualization is present in providing employees with opportunities to progress and develop based on individual skills (Jonas, 2016).

All these aspects fit into the context of organizational structure and culture. The satisfaction of a specific level of needs creates motivation to reach the next level. Self-fulfillment occurs when all needs are met. Furthermore, in labor psychology, motivation becomes a central component of performance. Herzberg proposed the 2-Factor Theory of motivation-hygiene. Job motivators include opportunities, involvement, and recognition, which lead to growth and satisfaction.

Meanwhile, hygiene factors are aspects of maintenance such as safety, salary, and security. These are often under threat and, in one way or another, cause dissatisfaction. The motivators become activated only after hygiene factors are met (“Motivating employees,” n.d.). 

In organizations, social values are important aspects of motivation and performance. Recognition and appreciation come through co-workers, job responsibilities, and professional self-fulfillment. These aspects and monetary rewards continue to drive performance and development in the work environment. Regardless of the type of organization, intrinsic motivation has the most significant impact on output. Therefore, companies that maintain a positive business culture, which supports the development and maintenance of hygienic needs, tend to have employees with the best satisfaction and output rates (Burton, 2012). Within the context of the film, this approach explains why Gardner succeeded in stockbroker practice while failing as a salesman of the bone density scanner. The internship, although unpaid, provided Gardner with an opportunity for growth by pushing candidates with the promise of reward. The culture within the organization is based on the recognition of talent and appreciation of results. This is the reason why Gardner received the internship and, eventually, the job by exceeding expectations.

The theory of Kolb’s individual learning styles suggests that humans use a 4-step learning process. Most often, people have weaker stages of learning while emphasizing more preferential aspects. It is important to consider that humans are unique and different in their learning styles, each fitting best for an individual to acquire complex skills. The accommodating learning style type matches Gardner. It is a style of learning with active experimentation as the primary mode. It is a pragmatic method of education that relies on emotion and experience for decision-making. This style is extremely useful in management and sales. Its defining characteristics include leadership, risk-taking, adaptability, and initiation (McLeod, 2017). Gardner adopts this learning style as an aggressive attempt to enter the stockbroker business. He does not have the necessary analytical background to evaluate decisions. However, Gardner has years of sales experience and a sociable attitude that he uses to his advantage. Instead of taking a theoretical approach to the industry, the protagonist succeeds through pragmatism. It is exemplified by his approach to sales, where he uses an unorthodox script and method to gain clients.

It is reasonable to suggest that emotions directly impact attitudes and behaviors at work. They influence an individual’s perception of the job’s value and importance. The Affective Events Theory proposed by Weiss and Cropanzano outlined how major emotions of sadness, anger, fear, joy, surprise, and love affect the workplace. Many jobs, particularly connected to working with customers, require emotional labor, which causes workers to force emotions and pretend. It can be exhausting and result in stress and cognitive dissonance. Emotional intelligence helps to mitigate this by allowing one to grasp an awareness of the emotions of oneself and others. It helps with self-management, which allows for controlling emotions.

Furthermore, a social awareness that can aid in recognizing emotions leads to relationship management that establishes healthy and supportive relationships (“Emotions at work,” n.d.). In the context of the film, emotion had a significant impact on job performance. In fact, it served as the central point of the plot as the protagonist sought to pursue happiness that he was not experiencing at his job as a medical device salesman. Constant stress from sales calls led him to sadness. Gardner was dissatisfied and did not value his job. Eventually, it reflected on his careless attitude to losing the scanner several times. When Chris acquired the internship and began to feel satisfaction, motivation, and joy from the job, it impacted his performance and attitude, even as he continued to sell medical equipment.

The Pursuit of Happyness presents several lessons about behaviors in a business organization that are valuable and applicable to real life. These are personal aspects the author has drawn from watching the film in the context of this course. However, many of these can be related to Cialdini’s six influence strategies. These are factors that researchers consider to be influential in persuading others based on emotion and human behavior. They include reciprocity, scarcity, authority, consistency, liking, and consensus (“Principles of persuasion,” n.d.). The protagonist uses these principles to navigate the organizational culture and establish social ties to achieve success. Combined with motivational factors, unique personality, and skills, Gardner can have influence and use persuasion with the managerial board to attain the internship and receive the job. 

One of the central themes of the film is that self-belief is critical to achieving personal goals. Gardner was stumbling in every aspect of life and failing to fulfill his responsibilities as a father. He had lost practically everything from a materialistic perspective. It leads to the next point of finding opportunities that bring positive outcomes and rewards. The initial lack of ability to succeed as a salesman for medical equipment was related to the fact that the job lacked any monetary and professional potential. It was the primary driving force for Gardner to enter a stock brokering career. There were concrete rewards tied to the effort that he was giving it. The film emphasizes that risk is an inherent part of success. It serves as a catalyst for change which then fosters growth. Taking the risk to enter the industry and then performing sales calls outside the protocol eventually led to extraordinary outcomes. 

Another aspect of Gardner’s success at the firm is strongly based on his extrovert personality. His attitude of positivity and determination became the foundation for his decision-making. It also impacted the impression that he made on colleagues and managers. Despite lacking the high-profile social status and education like others, he showed work ethic and respect throughout his internship. Furthermore, he developed his social and networking skills. Gardner’s ability to interact with others and offer help even when he could not afford it, and his positive attitude all serve as forces that established him as a team player within the company that promoted a positive workplace culture.

The Pursuit of Happyness portrays how individual traits aid the protagonist to achieve success through self-efficacy, goal-setting, and learning styles, which then become invaluable as he incorporates them into the culture and workflow of the stockbroker organization. This story of the rise to wealth and professional success can be seen as the fulfillment of self-actualization and the American dream. Using determination and perseverance, Gardner overcame poverty and struggles to find a place within a positive workplace culture that supported his growth and development.

Burton, K. (2012). A study of motivation: How to get your employees moving . Web.

Emotions at work . (n.d.). Web.

Jonas, J. (2016). Making practical use of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory to motivate employees: A case of Masvingo Polytechnic. Journal of Management and Administration, 2 , 105-117. Web.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G.P. (2002). Building a practically uses theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57 (9), 705-717. Web.

McLeod, S. (2017). Kolb – Learning styles . Web.

Motivating employees. (n.d.). Web.

Principles of persuasion . (n.d.). Web.

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THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS

SUBJECTS — U.S./1945 – 1991; Diversity/African-American; Biography;

SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING — Father/Son; Parenting; Surviving; Work/Career; with the student handout Episodes in the Life of Chris Gardner (What’s Not in the Movie) add: Alcohol & Drug Abuse; Breaking Out; Spousal Abuse; Child Abuse; Education; Ambition; Male Role Model.

MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS — Responsibility; Caring.

AGE : 12+; MPAA Rating — PG-13 for some language;

Drama; 2006; 117 minutes; Color. Available from Amazon.com .

Give your students new perspectives on race relations, on the history of the American Revolution, and on the contribution of the Founding Fathers to the cause of representative democracy. Check out TWM’s Guide:

Benefits of the Movie Possible Problems Parenting Points Selected Awards & Cast

Helpful Background Discussion Questions Social-Emotional Learning Moral-Ethical Emphasis

Assignments and Projects Bridges to Reading Links to the Internet Bibliography

MOVIE WORKSHEETS & STUDENT HANDOUTS

TWM offers the following worksheets to keep students’ minds on the movie and direct them to the lessons that can be learned from the film.

Film Study Worksheet for Social Studies Classes for a Work of Historical Fiction and

Worksheet for Cinematic and Theatrical Elements and Their Effects .

Teachers can modify the movie worksheets to fit the needs of each class. See also TWM’s Historical Fiction in Film Cross-Curricular Homework Project .

A more complete description of the True Story can be found in TWM’s student handout: Episodes in the Life of Chris Gardner (What’s Not in the Movie) .

DESCRIPTION

In this movie, an African-American man, abandoned by his father as an infant, vows that he will always be present in the life of his child. Caught in a perfect storm of bad luck, he becomes homeless. However, he manages to take care of his son while pursuing a highly competitive, unpaid internship as a stockbroker. The film was “inspired by” events in the life of Christopher Gardner, who was once homeless. He is now a wealthy stockbroker, as well as a proud father.

This movie is highly engaging. The story is well-written, the production values are high, and Will Smith’s acting is simply magnificent.

SELECTED AWARDS & CAST

Selected Awards:

2007 Academy Awards Nominations – Best Actor (Will Smith).

Featured Actors:

Will Smith as Chris Gardner, Thandie Newton as Linda, and Jaden Christopher Syre Smith as Christopher.

Gabriele Muccino.

BENEFITS OF THE MOVIE

“The Pursuit of Happyness” shows a homeless African-American father taking responsibility for his child, while succeeding as a stockbroker. It also has excellent messages about the importance of keeping your cool in the face of incredible disappointment and provocation. Time after time, we watch as the protagonist masters his emotions and comes up gracious and smiling after being dealt a serious blow. As a result, he is often able to go back to the people involved and create an opportunity for himself.

However, almost everything else about this movie is, in some way, problematic, including its messages about living out your dream and the benefits of hard work. Pointing out the problems and discussing them will lead to valuable lessons about:

(1) the liberties with the facts that can be taken by filmmakers in a movie “inspired by a true story;”

(2) how the movie makers, in search of a dramatic storyline, ignored Mr. Gardner’s most important achievement, which was surviving physical and emotional abuse by his stepfather to become a caring and nurturing human being;

(3) the victimization of the homeless by criminals; the homeless are at great risk of being assaulted and robbed, but this never made it into the movie;

(4) how movies can gloss over troubling ethical questions raised by the true story

During the period that Mr. Gardner pursued the internship program his girlfriend had disappeared and taken his son; Mr. Gardner looked for them but couldn’t find them; after he had passed the broker’s exam and was working as a stockbroker, the girlfriend suddenly appeared and dropped off the boy; Mr. Gardner could have worked for another broker and earned enough money to put a roof over his son’s head but Mr. Gardner wanted to spend his time building his own clientele because this would allow him the chance to become rich faster than if he worked for someone else; working to build his own client base meant that Mr. Gardner wouldn’t be able to afford a place to live for a year or two; faced with a choice of providing a home for his son and putting off his dream of getting rich or being homeless for almost a year while he tried to build his own client base, Mr. Gardner chose to subject his son to the dangers of homelessness; in other words, he put his own interests ahead of his child’s safety;

(5) how “feel good” movies often feature Cinderella stories of extraordinary good fortune which, given the economic structure of our society, are unrealistic for all but one in a million [in other words, what does the rags to riches story shown in this movie say to a culturally deprived black or Hispanic young person growing up in a central city ghetto who has been socially promoted from one grade to the next and who is not a proficient reader?].

TeachWithMovies.org has prepared an 19-page handout, Episodes in the Life of Chris Gardner (What’s Not in the Movie),which provides fascinating information on the life of Chris Gardner and the many life lessons that can be derived from his story. It is designed as a reading exercise that will interest students. With the handout and the Discussion Questions in this Learning Guide, “The Pursuit of Happyness” can become an excellent learning experience.

POSSIBLE PROBLEMS

SUBSTANTIAL. See the Benefits section above. However, with the supplementary materials provided by this Learning Guide, each of these problems can be turned into a benefit.

There is a moderate amount of profanity in the film.

PARENTING POINTS

After watching the movie, suggest that you and your child “find out what really happened” by reading TWM’s student handout: Episodes in the Life of Chris Gardner (What’s Not in the Movie) . Then talk about some interesting incidents in Mr. Gardner’s life and go over a few of the Discussion Questions. Begin with Discussion Question #2

HELPFUL BACKGROUND

The True Story That Inspired the Movie

Right before he started the internship at Dean Witter, Chris Gardner’s girlfriend disappeared and took their son with her. Mr. Gardner’s efforts to find his son were fruitless. Dean Witter paid its interns $1000 a month. With that money, Mr. Gardner was able to rent a room in a boarding house. Therefore, when he had to prepare for the broker’s exam, Chris Gardner had a secure place to sleep and a quiet place to study. In addition, he didn’t have to take care of a young child.

Mr. Gardner did very well on the broker’s exam and was hired by Dean Witter. At that point, he had a choice. He could work for an established broker in the office at a salary large enough to support himself at a reasonable level. Any prospective clients developed with his telephone calls would be referred to his employer. Perhaps Mr. Gardner would be allowed to take over a few small deals. Working for an established broker would give him more money right away, but he would have to put off building his own set of clients. The alternative was for Mr. Gardner to work on his own from the beginning, using the telephone to build his business. This would give him less money for the first year or two (only about $1200 a month). However, if things went well, in a year or two, or three, he would make more money from his own set of clients than he would have made had he started out working for an established broker. In addition, if Mr. Gardner tried to build his own set of clients from nothing, his success would depend entirely on his own efforts. Mr. Gardner chose to work on his own and make very little money right away with the hope of making a lot more money in a few years.

One Friday night, several weeks after Mr. Gardner had started working as a broker trying to build up his own business, his former girlfriend appeared at the boarding house. She was tired of being a single mother. (She had trained to be a dentist and was trying to get established in that field.) She gave Mr. Gardner their 19-month-old son (Little Chris), the child’s stroller, a very large duffle bag filled with the child’s possessions, and lots of disposable diapers. The former girlfriend told Mr. Gardner what Little Chris ate, that he was to have no sweets, and then she left. The boarding house didn’t allow children. Mr. Gardner and his son were now homeless. Chris Gardner had no one he could call and ask for money. Nor did he feel that he could ask his friends for a place to stay with a 19-month-old child.

Over the weekend, Mr. Gardner found day care for his son ($400 a month) and they lived in a $25-a-night motel. $400 a month for daycare and $750 a month for a motel would eat up almost all of his $1200 a month income. There’d be no money for food, diapers, or anything else. The only way for Mr. Gardner to afford a place to live was to start working for another broker. He’d have to postpone his plan to focus on developing his own group of clients.

Over the next several days Mr. Gardner made a fateful decision: he and his son would be homeless for the next year or so until his own business at Dean Witter gave him enough money to rent an apartment. He would not work for someone else to put a roof over his son’s head. (Since landlords usually require hefty security deposits and first and last months rent, this meant that Mr. Gardner would have hundreds of dollars in savings while he and his son were still homeless.) Mr. Gardner made a conscious decision that he would not postpone his chance to become rich in order to care for his son, nor would he abandon his child. As a result, Mr. Gardner and Little Chris were homeless for approximately one year.

What does a two-year-old child need? He needs at least one parent, food, dry diapers, safety, and stability. Rich or poor doesn’t mean anything to a toddler, if he has these basics. Being homeless is a risky proposition. Homeless people are more likely to be assaulted and killed than people sleeping at home in their beds. Homeless people are exposed to the elements and can become ill. Perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to Little Chris was for his father to have been seriously injured in an assault or killed. Being a parent means putting your child’s interests before your own, especially when issues of safety are concerned. In deciding to be homeless rather than pursuing the slower track to success that would have provided him with enough money to put a roof over his son’s head, Chris Gardner violated one of the basic obligations that a parent owes to his or her child. Fortunately, he was able to make it work and, apparently, Little Chris suffered no harm as a result.

HOMELESSNESS IN AMERICA: THE FACTS, THE CAUSES, A CALL TO ACTION

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH):

• 754,000 people were homeless on an average day in the U.S. in 2005. (This was less than .3 % of the U.S. population.) Only about 55% could find a place in a shelter. The rest, about 335,000 people, were on the streets. One-third of the unsheltered homeless (approximately 112,000 people) were persons in families. Most of these were children.
• 47% of all homeless people are men and 59% are minorities.
• 39% are children younger than 18; 42% of these children are under the age of 5.
• 40% are veterans.

There is a core of chronic homelessness, but there is also a large turnover of people who are homeless for several months and who are then able to find homes. Central cities have more homeless people than rural/suburban areas, possibly because there are more shelters in cities and housing is more affordable in rural/suburban areas. (HUD February 2007 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress (HUD AHAR) pages iii, iv, vi, 21 – 24 & 32 and NCH: Who is Homeless? Fact Sheet #3 page 2 & 3.)

The homeless are convenient targets for criminals and are victimized more frequently than the general population. In one study in California, 66% of homeless people interviewed reported that they had been the victim of a crime within the last year. 75% of those crimes were assaults or robberies. (Attorney General, State of California, Special Report to the California Legislature on Crimes Committed Against Homeless Persons p. 5. Data is from 2001.) The homeless who are not sheltered are at risk for becoming ill due to exposure to the elements.

WHO BECOMES HOMELESS AND WHY?

Poverty is the most important risk factor for homelessness. Without the means to pay for the most basic of necessities, poor people begin to live paycheck-to-paycheck with no way to accumulate any savings. “Being poor means being an illness, an accident or a paycheck away from living on the streets,” writes the NCH. But poverty isn’t just about not having money – it’s about the underlying causes that push people into poverty: unemployment, lack of education and training, low-paying jobs, inadequate public assistance, and lack of health insurance. NCH: Why Are People Homeless? Fact Sheet #1 pp. 1, 3, & 6.

A person’s rent should typically cost about 30% of his or her earnings (leaving money for food, clothing, education, and other necessities); however, “in every state, more than [30% of earnings at] the minimum wage is required to afford a one or two-bedroom apartment.” Then where do minimum-wage earners with families live? All too often they are forced into homeless shelters or they live on the streets. In some cities, anywhere from 13% to 26% of people in “homeless situations” are employed. Ibid p. 2.

Welfare has been steadily declining. Female-headed families and working families that leave the welfare system are at the highest risk for homelessness of any group. The NCH states, “Although more families are moving from welfare to work, many of them are faring poorly due to low wages and inadequate work support.” NCH: Why Are People Homeless? Fact Sheet #1 page 3.

Domestic violence:

Battered women and victims of domestic abuse often face bleak options: stay in an abusive relationship or become homeless. In fact, 50% of all women and children who are homeless have fled domestic violence. Ibid page 6.

Mental illness:

16% of the adult homeless suffer from mental illness. Id. page 6.

Alcohol and Drug Abuse:

Alcohol abuse is a problem for many of the homeless.

Status as a Veteran:

Veterans are very highly represented among the homeless.

Because there are several different causes of homelessness, there isn’t one over-arching program that will help all of them. The NCH believes that relief will come from “a concerted effort to ensure jobs that pay a living wage, adequate support for those who cannot work, affordable housing, and access to health care.” NCH: Why Are People Homeless? Fact Sheet #1 page 7.

WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP HOMELESS PEOPLE

Regardless of our age, income, or talents, we can help the homeless. We could volunteer at a shelter like Glide Memorial or at a food bank or some other agency that helps homeless people. Most likely there’s one not too far away. Those who want to be more active can organize a food drive at school or work with a local shelter or soup kitchen to arrange for days when students can come and volunteer. Our imaginations and our willingness to help are the only limits on what we can do. For more ideas and suggestions see NCH Fact Sheet #19: How YOU Can Help End Homelessness .

“The Pursuit of Happyness” tells us that homelessness isn’t a problem for “other” people; it’s a problem for “real” people. It’s important to remember The Golden Rule: treat others as you would like to be treated. What if you or members of your family were without a place to sleep and there was no one to help you?

Having a large homeless population is not inevitable. By working together, learning about the causes of homelessness, and thinking creatively, we can provide housing for all of our people.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. See Questions Suitable for Any Film .

MEDIA LITERACY

2. There is something not quite realistic about what’s shown in the movie. What is it?

Suggested Response:

Only a superman could:

• study for a difficult brokers’ exam and
• work in the Dean Witter office making hundreds of cold calls a day and
• do better than all the other interns and
• care for his son and
• get food for them both and
• search for a different place to sleep every night and
• look fresh and well rested every morning like any other businessman and
• sell a few bone density scanners on the weekends,
• when he wasn’t getting paid and knew that only one intern would be offered a job.

In fact, what the real Chris Gardner did was very difficult. However, it becomes a superhuman task when you add the pressure of preparing for a very difficult examination with no quiet place to study, having to sell bone density scanners on the weekends, and working for no money, all the while knowing that there was little chance that he’d get the job.

3. Mr. Gardner deserves praise for his decision to keep his son with him. However, the story told by the movie avoids dealing with the ethics of the decision made by Mr. Gardner to try to become wealthy as fast as he could even though it meant subjecting himself and his son to the very real risks involved in being homeless. Little Chris was definitely a stakeholder in his father’s decision. What does his father’s decision to become homeless look like from Little Chris’ point of view?

What does a two-year-old child need? He needs at least one parent, food, dry diapers, safety, and stability. Rich or poor doesn’t mean anything to a toddler if he has these basics. Being homeless is a risky proposition. Homeless people are more likely to be assaulted and killed than people sleeping at home in their beds. Homeless people are exposed to the elements and can become ill. Perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to Little Chris was for his father to have been seriously injured in an assault or killed. Being a parent means putting your child’s interests before your own, especially when issues of safety are concerned. In deciding to be homeless rather than pursuing the slower track to success that would have provided him with enough money to put a roof over his son’s head, Chris Gardner violated a basic principle of good parenting.

The fact that Mr. Gardner’s gamble paid off and that neither he nor his child were assaulted while they were homeless doesn’t mean that Mr. Gardner made the right decision. It only means that he and his son were lucky.

4. Why did the screenwriters change the story?

There is no one correct answer to this question. A strong answer will mention that the story told by the movie is more dramatic than the true story. It’s much harder to dramatize Mr. Gardner’s decision to GO THE OTHER WAY, as he put it:

Not only was I going to make sure my children had a daddy, I was never going to be Freddie Triplett. I was never going to terrorize, threaten, harm, or abuse a woman or a child, and I was never going to drink so hard that I couldn’t account for my actions.

Also, the story of Mr. Gardner’s rape when he was 14 years old, was probably too upsetting for a PG-13 film.

5. One critic of this movie said that “The Pursuit of Happyness” and films like it, “. . . assuage the guilt of the privileged . . . and send the message that we who have ‘made it’ into the middle and upper classes are there simply because of our superior virtue and intelligence. It is far more flattering to attribute our wealth to superior character and abilities, . . . than to factor in inequitable tax codes, unequal access to health care, discriminatory education, slave-wages, international trade agreements and inheritance laws that protect privileged races and classes.” The Stories We Tell: films like ‘Pursuit of Happyness’ assuage the guilt of the privileged by Jeremy V. Cruz, America, April 30, 2007. Do you agree or disagree?

This is clearly a valid criticism. The vast majority of the poor work hard and show up for menial jobs day after day. Mr. Cruz, who is a former youth minister, said, “In fact, the poor are among the hardest-working, strongest, most selfless people I know, often holding two or three jobs to keep their families together for one more day.” It isn’t easy to get advanced education and training when there is no money to pay for it and while you are responsible for raising children or making a living. On the other hand, virtue and effort are important. Without them no one would advance. A good exercise when discussing this question is to take an example of a person who is successful and analyze their career in terms of the advantages that they received because of their birth.

For other questions relating to media literacy, see Homelessness, Question #s 1 & 2.

HOMELESSNESS

1. Is it true that most people who live in poverty don’t work hard and don’t apply themselves?

We don’t think so. See quote from Mr. Jeremy V. Cruz in the suggested answer to Discussion Question #5. Look around at people who are working menial jobs. Most work pretty hard and many work two jobs. They have to in order to make ends meet. Why do they work in these low paying jobs and why can’t they get a better job? There are many possible reasons: lack of education, inadequate training, the fact that they are immigrants and can’t speak English well, lack of ability to do other jobs. Laziness and lack of effort aren’t among them. These are respectable jobs and need to be done. The one thing we know is that the fact that people are working these jobs means that they are willing to do what it takes to keep their families together.

2. How is the version of homelessness in the movie different than what the homeless really experience?

The homeless are at greater risk for being assaulted or robbed than the general population. They are at risk of becoming ill from exposure. Nor does the movie show what happens when a homeless person has to go to the bathroom, but there are no available facilities. Nor does it show what happens when they are sick.

3. There are some developed countries in which there are fewer homeless people than in the U.S. Why are there so many homeless people in the U.S.?

It’s a matter of priorities. In the U.S., voters would rather have lower taxes than take care of the homeless. Other developed countries have made different choices and have fewer extremely wealthy people and fewer people in extreme poverty or who are homeless.

4. Has this movie changed your view of the homeless? If so, what are the changes? If not, why not?

There is no one correct response.

Short Quiz on Homelessness:

1. In 2005, approximately how many people were homeless in the U.S., both sheltered and unsheltered?

754,000 people.

2. On an average night in 2005, what percent of the homeless were not able to find a place to sleep in a shelter?

45% or 339,000.

3. What percent and approximate number of homeless people in the U.S. were children under the age of 18 in 2005? Of that number, how many are under the age of five?

Approximately 39%, or 290,000 were children younger than 18; 42% or 122,000 were under the age of five.

4. What are the main risks of being homeless?

Becoming the victim of a robbery or assault and getting ill from exposure to the elements.

5. What is the role played by the high cost of health care and lack of adequate health insurance in forcing people into homelessness?

People whose finances are wiped out by the costs of illness are at great risk of losing their homes.

6. How much should a family spend on housing if they are to have enough money left over for food, clothing, education, and other necessities?

The answer to the following question counts for four points.

7. List the five different types of people who are at risk for becoming homeless.

(1) the poor;

(2) the mentally ill;

(3) the alcoholic and drug-addicted;

(4) victims of domestic violence; and

(5) veterans.

1. One critic wrote,

Often, as I watched the movie and the Chris Gardner character was frustrated time and time again, like when he got the parking ticket for his supervisor’s car, or when he couldn’t sell a bone density scanner, or when the man at the football game said that Chris was too inexperienced to get his pension fund business, I thought the character would explode. (I would have had trouble keeping my cool in those situations.) The actor allowed you to see the character mastering his frustration and anger to respond to the disappointment in a smiling and gracious manner. He kept his cool and didn’t burn his bridges.

But there were times when the character of Mr. Gardner, as shown in the movie, did lose his cool and got aggressive with people. What do you think about the ability of this character to keep his cool and be gracious in the face of extreme disappointment and frustration? When did he express his frustration and become angry with people? Does this tell you anything about people in general? But there were times when the character of Mr. Gardner, as shown in the movie, did lose his cool and got aggressive with people. What do you think about the ability of this character to keep his cool and be gracious in the face of extreme disappointment and frustration? When did he express his frustration and become angry with people? Does this tell you anything about people in general?

There are a couple of good responses. Taking frustration graciously and not burning your bridges is a necessary ability in being a salesperson and in life in general. It tells us that people who are often disappointed, poor people in particular, have to exercise a lot of self-control throughout their lives. It also shows that the character of Mr. Gardner expressed anger and became aggressive at those who were equal to him or lower in the power structure. He generally allowed himself to lose his cool and become aggressive with poor and non-white people. This probably has nothing to do with the real Mr. Gardner, and how he acts, but it does ring true as something that people do.

2. Now that you have read about Mr. Gardner’s life, what do you think is the most remarkable thing that he accomplished? Do you think it was caring for his son and succeeding at being a stockbroker while he was homeless? Or was it something else?

There is no one right answer. Possible responses include: (1) caring for his son and succeeding at being a stockbroker while he was homeless; (2) consciously deciding to go “the other way,” i.e., not to be a child abuser like his stepfather; not to be a drunk like his stepfather; not to be a wife beater like his stepfather; and not to abandon his child, like his biological father; (3) surviving the rape with apparently very few scars; (4) keeping J.R., the racist, as a client; or (5) trying to excel in any job that he held.

3. What did you learn from reading about Mr. Gardner?

There is no one answer. See the response to the preceding question.

4. Why is Chris Gardner glad that he didn’t kill Freddie Triplett, his abusive step-father?

There are two reasons. First, he probably would have been caught and sent to jail. (Remember, as a teenager when Chris did something illegal, he would usually get caught.) Second, killing another person, even with justification, does terrible things to the killer.

FATHER/SON — PARENTING

See Media Literacy Question #3.

5. What did Chris Gardner’s mother contribute to his character?

The most important thing was that he felt loved by her. In addition, there was the encouragement that he could do anything he set his mind to and be anything he wanted to be. She gave him practical advice, like looking confident even when he was terrified and she told him about the value of libraries. She encouraged his reading and schoolwork which, as it turned out, was very important to his success. He could never have passed the brokers’ exam if he hadn’t been a good reader.

6. What are some of the risks of homelessness?

Homeless people often sleep in areas that are not secure and that are not protected from the weather. They are at increased risk of being assaulted or robbed and of becoming ill due to exposure to the elements.

WORK/CAREER

See Media Literacy Question #2 and Media Literacy Question #5.

7. What was Chris Gardner’s attitude toward work?

Whenever he had a job he would do his best and ask question after question. He would find the person who was the best at that job and learn what made that person a success.

8. Does Mr. Gardner’s story mean that anybody can become wealthy and that if you don’t, you’re a failure? Should everyone become rich?

The truth is that only a very small percentage of people in society can become wealthy. The fact is that what most people want is not to become rich but to have a happy life. Mr. Gardner’s view of this is contained in the last quote in the handout Episodes in the Life of Chris Gardner (What’s Not in the Movie).

ALCOHOL & DRUG ABUSE

9. What was the role of alcohol abuse in Freddie Triplett’s life?

According to his stepson, Mr. Triplett was an alcoholic, and when he was drunk he would terrorize and beat his wife and children.

10. Doctors and psychologists tell us that alcoholism is a family disease. Apply that to Mr. Triplett’s family.

Everyone in Mr. Triplett’s family suffered from his lack of control when he got drunk. Often, we can see members of a family developing neurotic behaviors to deal with the alcoholic and his or her illness. We don’t know enough about Mr. Triplett’s family to talk about that. We do know that they lived lives in fear and they were beaten. There had to be some residual effects from this. Mr. Gardner, due to his own strong character and his mother’s love and influence, was able to escape most of it.

BREAKING OUT

11. An admirable thing about Mr. Gardner was that he consciously decided that he would not continue the cycle of neglect, alcohol abuse, and violence to which he was subjected as a child. He calls this “going the other way” from the paths taken by his father and his stepfather. Do you know anyone who has done something similar? Can you tell us his or her story?

12. Another admirable thing about Mr. Gardner’s life story is that he did something positive in his life that no one expected him to do. Do you know anyone who has done this? Can you tell us their story?

SPOUSAL ABUSE/CHILD ABUSE

13. Describe the usual cycle of a wife beater and how Triplett’s treatment of young Chris was different.

The normal cycle for a wife beater has three parts. There is a period in which tension mounts, then the attack, and then remorse. The wife beater will promise that it won’t happen again, and he will be on good behavior for a while. But during the period of good behavior the tension mounts again and then the pattern repeats itself. With Chris, Freddie Triplett was verbally abusive all the time, taunting Chris with, “I’m not your daddy. You ain’t got no daddy!”

14. Why do you think Chris’ mother stayed with Triplett?

Most battered women stay in abusive relationships due to a mixture of fear, lack of self-esteem, and a feeling of complete helplessness. In addition, Chris thought that Triplett was responsible for his mother going to jail both times. The first time was when she tried to leave Triplett and the second was when she tried to kill him. If this is true, Chris’ mother knew that when she tried to get away from Freddie Triplett or strike back at him, he would find a way to send her to jail. Also, she could not support her children on a maid’s salary. She needed Triplett’s paycheck to feed the kids. (Compare her self-sacrifice to Mr. Gardner’s refusal to sacrifice his own desire to get rich quick to keep his son from homelessness. There are differences. He had a real possibility of finding a way out, while his mother didn’t.)

15. What is the role of education in this story?

If Mr. Gardner had not gotten a good education and had not been encouraged by his mother and teachers to read, he would not have been able to pass the broker’s exam.

AMBITION/MALE ROLE MODEL

16. Do you consider Mr. Gardner to be a male role model? Tell us your reasons, pro and con.

There is no one correct answer, but a good answer will mention: 1) his decision to “go the other way” and not to neglect his children (as his father had done) and not beat women and children in an alcoholic rage (as his stepfather had done); 2) the ethical problems with his decision to subject his son to homelessness so that he could become rich faster (see Media Literacy Question #3); and 3) his decision to excel in any job that he held.

17. Mr. Gardner was ambitious, but was he too ambitious?

This is another way to raise the ethical issue involved in Mr. Gardner’s decision that his son would be homeless for many months so that Mr. Gardner could become rich faster. See Media Literacy Question #3.

MORAL-ETHICAL EMPHASIS (CHARACTER COUNTS)

Discussion Questions Relating to Ethical Issues will facilitate the use of this film to teach ethical principles and critical viewing.

RESPONSIBILITY

(Do what you are supposed to do; Persevere: keep on trying!; Always do your best; Use self-control; Be self-disciplined; Think before you act — consider the consequences; Be accountable for your choices)

(Be kind; Be compassionate and show you care; Express gratitude; Forgive others; Help people in need)

1. What was Mr. Gardner’s greatest gift to his son?

His constant and consistent love and caring.

See also SEL Question #5.

ASSIGNMENTS, PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES

• Have students read The Stories We Tell: films like ‘Pursuit of Happyness’ assuage the guilt of the privileged by Jeremy V. Cruz, America, April 30, 2007, and write an essay commenting on the points made by Mr. Cruz; this is reprinted by permission of Mr. Cruz and America magazine;
• Have students research and write an essay on one of the following discussion questions: Media Literacy #s 3 & 5, and SEL #s 1, 2, 8, 16 & 17;
• Have students research and write an essay on the accuracy of the presentation of homelessness in the movie;
• Have students research and write an essay on the effects of homelessness on children;
• Have students research and write an essay on the solutions to the problem of homelessness in the U.S.;
• Have students research and write an essay on why women remain in abusive relationships; and

See also Assignments, Projects, and Activities Suitable for Any Film .

BRIDGES TO READING

Mr. Gardner’s autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness written with Quincy Troupe, is a great read. It is uplifting and full of life lessons. However, the book contains a few descriptions of Mr. Gardner’s sex life and two or three references to drug use. It also has some profanity. Some parents will find these references offensive. (The sex and drugs have been omitted from the handout, Episodes in the Life of Chris Gardner (What’s Not in the Movie) . Parents considering recommending the book to their children should read it themselves before giving it to their children to make sure that it’s suitable. You’ll probably enjoy it thoroughly.

LINKS TO THE INTERNET

• The Chris Gardner Website ;
• Real Chris Gardner vs. Will Smith Movie article on Reel Faces;
• Wikipedia Article on Chris Gardner ;
• Biography of Mr. Gardner from his website ;
• Wikipedia article on the film “The Pursuit of Happyness” ;
• Climbing Out of the Gutter with a 5-year-old in Tow , New York Times Movie Review by Manohla Dargis;
• From S.F. Homeless to Wall Street CEO Book Review by David Miosl, San Francisco Chronicle;
• Happyness for Sale By Jia Lynn Yang, Fortune Magazine, September 15 2006; and
• Interview with Chris Gardner about Difficulties in Getting Picked Up by a Cab as a Black Man in Chicago .

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mr. Gardner’s autobiography, The Pursuit of Happyness written with Quincy Troupe as well as

• Articles on the Internet described in the links to the Internet section of this Learning Guide and interviews, articles in newspapers and in magazines described in the endnotes to Episodes in the Life of Chris Gardner (What’s Not in the Movie) ; and
• “Come on Down: Searching for the American Dream” (2004) a documentary produced by Manifestation Television, Inc .

This Learning Guide was last updated on October 18, 2015.

LEARNING GUIDE MENU:

Benefits of the Movie Possible Problems Parenting Points Selected Awards & Cast Helpful Background Discussion Questions Social-Emotional Learning Moral-Ethical Emphasis Assignments and Projects Bridges to Reading Links to the Internet Bibliography

MOVIE WORKSHEETS:

RANDALL KENNEDY, Professor, Harvard Law School on the two alternative traditions relating to racism in America:

“I say that the best way to address this issue is to address it forthrightly, and straightforwardly, and embrace the complicated history and the complicated presence of America. On the one hand, that’s right, slavery, and segregation, and racism, and white supremacy is deeply entrenched in America. At the same time, there has been a tremendous alternative tradition, a tradition against slavery, a tradition against segregation, a tradition against racism.

I mean, after all in the past 25 years, the United States of America has seen an African-American presence. As we speak, there is an African-American vice president. As we speak, there’s an African- American who is in charge of the Department of Defense. So we have a complicated situation. And I think the best way of addressing our race question is to just be straightforward, and be clear, and embrace the tensions, the contradictions, the complexities of race in American life. I think we need actually a new vocabulary.

So many of the terms we use, we use these terms over and over, starting with racism, structural racism, critical race theory. These words actually have been weaponized. They are vehicles for propaganda. I think we would be better off if we were more concrete, we talked about real problems, and we actually used a language that got us away from these overused terms that actually don’t mean that much.   From Fahreed Zakaria, Global Public Square, CNN, December 26, 2021

Give your students new perspectives on race relations, on the history of the American Revolution, and on the contribution of the Founding Fathers to the cause of representative democracy. Check out TWM’s Guide: TWO CONTRASTING TRADITIONS RELATING TO RACISM IN AMERICA and a Tragic Irony of the American Revolution: the Sacrifice of Freedom for the African-American Slaves on the Altar of Representative Democracy.

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The Pursuit of Happyness

43 pages • 1 hour read

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Summary and Study Guide

Chris Gardner’s memoir , The Pursuit of Happyness , details his pursuit of the American Dream and desire to rise against the challenging circumstances of his birth and attain success. From the outset, life is difficult for Gardner, a poor black child growing up in the Milwaukee ghetto with his mother, sisters and violent, abusive stepfather, Freddie. Gardner’s mother, Bettye Jean, had her own dreams taken away from her, when her father refused to pay for her college tuition and she drew an “unlucky card” when it came to the men in her life (20). The first two men were charming; each, however, was married, and each left her with a child to raise. The third, however, Freddie Triplett , who is drunk and violent to the extent that he runs after Betty and her children with a shot gun, causes the most damage. He is particularly cruel to Gardner, taunting him about his fatherless status.

They all grow to loathe Freddie and, in the instances, that Bettye Jean tries to leave him, he finds some means of reporting her to the police, and the children stay with their uncles and aunts or with foster parents until her release.

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Gardner grows up with a deep fear of uncertainty, but he is also quick, curious and daring. He is an avid reader, goaded on by his mother’s sentiment that “the most dangerous place in the world is a public library” and vows to be a better man than Freddie or his abandoning father (25).

As a teenager growing up in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the beginnings of the Civil Rights Movement and the Sexual Revolution, Gardner gains a sense of himself as a young black man coming of age in a transformative historical period. He also has his first romantic and sexual experiences and falls in love with Sherry Dyson , a woman from Virginia.

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They embark on an on-and-off, long-distance relationship, when Gardner joins the Navy. Instead of seeing the world, as he intended, he is stationed at Camp Lejeune, in North Carolina, where he gains medical training. Gardner is then invited to San Francisco, to become the assistant for a pioneering heart surgeon, Robert Ellis. Learning as much as he can on the job, Gardner publishes in prestigious medical journals and entertains hopes of becoming a doctor. While Gardner is stimulated professionally, he feels a void in his personal life, so, on impulse, he resumes contact with Sherry Dyson. They soon marry.

Marriage is the wrong choice for Gardner, who finds the institution “too structured, too orderly, too rigid” (163). He craves a wilder life and seeks out the distraction of other women. The most significant of these is Jackie , with whom he enjoys a voracious sexual relationship resulting in his son, Christopher. Gardner feels an instant bond with his son, as though he knew him “from a previous lifetime” (176).

Having left Sherry for Jackie, Gardner finds that outside of the bedroom, they are poorly matched. Jackie demands that he should make more money for them and encourages Gardner to abandon medical research altogether. He enters the world of sales and while he enjoys the competitive aspect of the job, finds upward mobility to be slow going.

One day, in a hospital parking lot, he spots a red Ferrari 308 and asks the driver, Bob Bridges , how he became so wealthy. When Bridges replies that he is a stockbroker, Gardner instantly knows that this is the profession for him. He goes for several interviews and is repeatedly rejected for his lack of experience, but eventually he gets a chance at the brokerage firm Dean Witter.

Meanwhile, Gardner’s relationship with Jackie has broken down and he is left as Christopher’s sole caregiver. Gardner and his son become homeless, staying in cheap hotels and a shelter run by the Reverend Cecil Williams .

As Gardner earns more money, he is able to find a stable home and jumps ship to Bear Stearns, a brokerage firm where he is encouraged to pursue his own investment interests.

Both in San Francisco and, later, in New York, Gardner excels and pioneers his own road in stockbroking, eventually concentrating on wealthy and famous African-American clients. In 1987, he starts his own brokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Company , in Chicago, where his vision is conscious capitalism and philanthropy.

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Home / Essay Samples / Entertainment / In Pursuit of Happiness / The Pursuit Of Happiness: Critical Analysis of the Film

The Pursuit Of Happiness: Critical Analysis of the Film

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