The Pursuit Of Happyness Movie Analysis

The Pursuit of Happyness

The Pursuit of Happyness is a film, based on a true story, depicting the life of a black man who lives in the borderline of the middle class, before falling deeper into poverty while trying to support his motherless child. Chris Gardner and his son Christopher, portrayed by actor Will Smith and his own son Jayden, depict how the lower class lived in the 1980’s, and explored the hardships many Americans faced, such as homelessness, the job market, the breaking apart of a family, and supporting a family while living in poverty. The Pursuit of Happyness, a real life film directed by Gabriele Muccino, tells the story of a man and his family living in poverty, and how Chris Gardner climbed out of poverty through hard-work and determination, while showcasing issues that are still relevant even today.

Poverty, according to dictionary.reference.com,

Americans who view this movie afterwards are expected to feel hope for the main character, and ‘happyness’ for him. Throughout the movie, the audience is expected to feel empathy for Chris; the director did this in order for the American viewers to visualize what many people silently struggle with and the financial problems many Americans face. After viewing this movie, viewers see how the economic system is messed up and prejudice against the lower class, while favoring the upper class. The Pursuit of Happyness is a film intended to entertain, while also teach and give a first person point of view of how the homeless survive and how the system is set up against them. The film tells the story of how one black man defied the odds and came out on top, despite the many factors that attempted to weigh him down, and in intended to inspire the audience while also informing them of the almost unbreakable cycle perpetually persistent in