The second film we chose for Films That Matter is the 2006 hit The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will and Jaden Smith as father and son. The story takes place in San Francisco in 1981 where a young family man named Chris Gardner is struggling to sell a product in which he has invested . When sales lag the family falls on hard times, straining their relationships and ultimately leaving Chris to care for his young son and to come up with a plan to deliver them from hardship. Chris bets on his abilities as a salesman and mathematician, determining that a 6 month, unpaid, 1 in 20 shot at becoming a stock broker for Dean Witter is the best way to move forward. The film ably tells the story of the six month period of poverty, homelessness, lack of access, despair and then hope. Chris Gardner is a real person and the film is based on his true life story.
This film has been criticized for presenting homelessness and poverty as temporary situations that can be resolved by attaining glamorous posts in corporate America if one only has the will. We picked this film because it begs that question and so many others that are worth considering in today’s economic climate. Like Chris Gardener, thousands of people are finding themselves in dire financial straits, one rent payment or less from homelessness and personal disaster. Before the recession, millions of Americans were homeless and still are, with untreated illness and unmet needs that disallow the kind of quick turnaround displayed so hopefully in this film. Debate raged about their rights, and what, if anything, public policy can do to improve their basic living conditions. When times get harder, that debate doesn’t rage quite so loudly, but the question remains. Beyond that, even in the title, the audience must consider if we are providing an environment in which people can pursue personal dreams and achieve them. Problems with access to education, adequate childcare, shelter and decent food arise over and over in the film, as they do for people all over the world, every day. As a young man with a son to raise and no college degree, could he create the same success today? How would his story have been different if he was a woman? If he or his child were disabled? Chris Gardner is, by all accounts, a protégé in the world of stocks and numbers and his story is a remarkable one—hence the movie. But, our societal ideal is that a person does not have to be a protégé to have access to resources and basic human rights. Join us for The Pursuit of Happyness on Friday night, September 16 in Washington Park, to reflect on whether we are delivering on the ideal and what we can learn from Chris Gardner’s story.