The pursuit of Happyness
The pursuit of Happyness is one movie that has taught me a whole lot. I know it is an old movie but it helped me view life differently. I have been reading and hearing a lot about Will Smith I have never watched his movie before but I felt there was something I needed to learn from him.
So one day I decided to search for all the movies he has acted, of all the movies I saw one of them caught my attention and that made me very curious.
The title of that movie was “THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS” it was produced in the year 2006. Will Smith is one of the producers of the movie not just that, his son Jaden Smith was one of the actors too. When I first saw the title, the “Y” in the happiness made me very curious, initially I thought that it was spelling error or maybe it was just a way of making the happiness look fanciful.
Still I was not satisfied with my assumption, I learnt that the movie was part of Chris Gardner’s life story and if so there is more to the “Y” than I had thought. All these made me very eager to watch the movie.
SUMMARY OF “THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS” The movie started when we saw Chris Gardner ( Will Smith) trying to wake his five year old son Christopher ( Jaden Smith) to prepare him for daycare center. Close to the daycare center, there is a mural and on it is a write up “ Fuck Happyness”.
Each time Chris passes there he would always correct them that it is spelt happiness and not happiness, even though the spelling was wrong he still thought about it.
Chris is a very hardworking, determined and intelligent man but just like the saying “Life is not always fair” life was not fair with him at all. He had a wife and a kid but he never had any job all he was left to do was to sell a portable bone density scanner, he had invested all his savings in buying the scanners with hope that he would sell them to have some money.
He goes from hospital to hospital trying to sell them, but most doctors think they’re too expensive and unnecessary. Days turn into weeks, weeks turned into months and the money he hoped to make never comes.
It was really disappointing as he had lots of bills and taxes to pay including his rent. Things were not working out too at home, Linda his wife would always work double shift to assist and even with that the struggles still continues regardless.
Linda could not bear with all of the struggles anymore and had to move to New York leaving behind the son for Chris. Chris suddenly became a single father overnight.
Despite everything, Chris refuses to give up, he met one man steeping out of fancy car into a stock brokerage firm and he asked the man “ what do you do?” the man replied “ I’m a stock broker” and he asked how one could get there, the man told him that he just have to be good with numbers that’s all.
He gave in some thoughts and decided to apply for an internship in the firm, before the date for his interview he was arrested because he could not pay some bills and as soon as he left the police station he went from there directly to the firm for the interview. He was all dirty , full of paint and with a shirt. He didn’t mind what people ever thought he just had to do the interview.
He passed the interview but he later realized that the internship at Dean Witter was unpaid, and only one person out of many will be chosen for a full time position at the end. Still, Chris takes the risk, he believed he had to just do it to secure a better future for him and his son.
Life worsened, he was kicked out of his apartment, he could not pay most bills, they had nowhere to sleep and so they kept moving from one shelter to the other moving their belongings wherever he went and even to work.
One of the scenes that made me cry was where Chris and his son were sleeping in a subway bathroom. He locked the door and holds it shut with his foot trying to keep them safe while his son slept on his lap. Tears roll down his face. Even with what he went through, he kept going to work with his everyday suit and acting like everything was okay.
He would always tell his son that everything would be alright, he studied so hard for the exams and he was finally chosen for the job. When he was told that he was chosen he was speechless and tears filled his eyes. In all, he conquered.
WHAT I LEARNT I learnt a whole lot and I must say, the little boy was quite strong he conquered too. Now I understand why they used “Y” in the happiness, I personally feel it is because happiness doesn’t come easily, it is something we fight for, it is something we find, and in the process of finding it may not always be on a platter of gold but it may come with struggles, with so many “Y” questions about life.
I also learnt never to lose hope but to keep believing. I learnt to just start something and keep doing it, I have to do it sad, uncertain, hopeless, tired, I just have to do it anyway cuz it will work out someday.
I learnt never to give up on life but to keep trying irrespective of what I may go through, I don’t have any excuse to be a failure.
I learnt a whole lot , you can also watch it I am sure you will learn some lessons too.