Chapter 20: The Pursuit of Happiness for the U.S. Homeless Sector: Film: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

The Pursuit of Happiness for the U.S. Homeless Sector

The Pursuit of Happyness, is a 2006 American biographical drama film starring Will and Jaden Smith and directed by Gabriele Muccino. The film is “inspired” by an autobiography authored by Chris Gardner (2006). In 1984 San Francisco, 27 year old Chris Gardner found himself and his young son, Christopher Jr., homeless, with no money for food or apartment rent. The film portrays physical hardships and emotions associated with extreme poverty and homelessness. Gardner and his son slept in shelters and churches. “At times, they also slept on the BART subway trains or in waiting areas at the Oakland or San Francisco airport” (Reel Faces, n.d., para. 10). Any money Gardner could manage to gather was paid to a daycare-center named Happy. The plot eventually focuses on Gardner’s determination to seize the American dream. In the film, he works tirelessly to become an intern for a Wall Street brokerage firm, managing to keep his homelessness a secret from co-workers and administrators. At the movie’s poignant end, Gardner becomes a full employee. The remaining story of his success – transformation to multimillionaire—is available for reading and viewing in all forms of contemporary media. This film could obviously serve as a values, feel-good, rags-to-riches, pull-yourself-up by-your-bootstraps, and/or American dream lesson. However, the percentage of homeless people who become millionaires is probably miniscule, so the more appropriate message is about the burden of poverty and myths surrounding homeless Americans. Though the film audience is rooting for Chris’ success, the many problems we see in his daily life are astonishing to people outside the homeless sector.