[CineTV Contest #29] The Pursuit of Happyness: It's a Classic for a Reason.

It's a Classic for a Reason

When I saw the promt for this CineTV Contest ("Movies that Represent Hard Work"), I couldn't think about any other movie but "The Pursuit of Happyness". It may be an obvious, kinda-of-cliché choise, its message ressonated strongly with me.

I won't delve too much into the plot, which is based on a real story: the main protagonist, Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith), struggles as a homeless single-dad with a small kid to take care of. He then starts working as an unpaid intern in the hopes of becoming a stockbroker, while still trying to juggle all his problems around: homelessness, parking tickets, being arrested, the failing of his marriage, and the suffering of his son during this whole ordeal.

Will Smith was nominated for the Best Actor on the Oscars due his top-notch performance and acting.

Too Close to Home

When I first watched this movie, I was a teenager full of dreams. I knew it was a beautiful movie, yes, but honestly, it's plot didn't ressonated with my own experience of the world. I looked at Chris Gardner and thought that I would never go throught the things that he was going throught. I thought that I was special and just too smart to make huge mistakes.

But when I rewatched this movie as an adult, it hit too close to home.

Similarly to Chris Gardner, I too had already missed lots of opportunities: that dream job that I wasn't able to land; that scholarship that I didn't got; that investment that could made me a billionaire but, alas, I didn't invested.

Similarly to Chris Gardner, I also had my own series of failures: being fired from a job; not being able to finish a graduation; not being able to maintain a good work/life balance.

Similarly to Chris Gardner, I am not at where I dreamed that I was going to be. I wasn't what I thought I was going to be.

And that's when the beautifulness of the movie was revealed to me. "The Pursuit of Happyness" is a movie for people that already had their own failures, their own defeats, their own reality that's not what they dreamed of. The realism of the movies is that we can see our own life in Will Smith's character. You make bad decisions, and the character also made. You struggled and suffered the consequences of those bad decisions, and the character also suffers. You hope for a better future, and the character also desires.

It's relatable, and it's delightful.

A Propaganda of the System?

When I talked about this movie with some friends in the past, they all seemed to have negative opinions of the movie. After questioning why, they presented me with an extremely valid criticism, which opened my eyes to a new way of interpreting the film.

You can see this movie as a "Capitalist Propaganda", portraying the idea that "if you're poor, it's your fault because you're lazy and/or bad". And I can honestly see this approach: the movie does kinda try to convince you that, if you work as hard as Chris, and sacrifice everything as he sacrificed during the film (including the wellbeing of his son and his own marriage), you can become rich and successful.

Another criticism is that the movies ends up glorifying wealth an also glorifies both wealth in itself and rich people. I deeply disliked the scene in which Chris Gardner ogled a supercar in the streets, as if having an expensive sports car is the true meaning of life. Also, the movies regularly portrays his workplace and his colleagues (all stockbrokers) as having perfect lifes and being perfect themselves. As someone that personally worked in the financial work, I can assure you that, more often than not, it's a very toxic work environment that consumes you from the inside out.

What's your Opinion of this Movie?

Comment your thoughts below and let's talk about cinema!

Thanks for reading this post, and until next time!

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