THE MOVIE SYNOPSIS

NAME M. USAMA IJAZ & Group

CLASS MSc Accounting & Finance

ROLL NO. (16)

SUBMITTED TO MAM. NIMRA SHAHZAD

SUBMISSION DATE 26th DECEMBER 2019

THE ISLAMIA UNIVERSITY OF

BAHAWALPUR
Subject;

Functional English
 OPENING

In the name of Allah,

The most beneficent and the most merciful
The cherished and sustainer of the world;
All praise is to Allah
(Subhanahu wa ta’ alaa)
Lord of the words
Whatsoever is in the heavens
And the earth
Glorifies Allah
___ And He is the All- Mighty,
All-Wise
His is the dominion,
And to Him belong
All the praises and thanks,
And He is Able to do
All things.
 DEDICATION

I dedicate my project to

ALLAH Almighty
Who has no flaw in His Perfection, that He is Far above any imperfection.
Who is far above and beyond any similarity to His Creation
And above all kinds of association (shirk) and any un-attributes.

Grandparents
Who taught me to trust Allah, believe in hard work
And that so much could be done will little.
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

My deep gratitude goes to my Mam Nimra Shahzad who expertly guided me through project
and for his unwavering enthusiasm for this subject and kept me constantly engaged with my
project and his personal generosity helped make my time enjoyable during this work.

I also admire the help and guidance of my parents who have been the continuous source of my
knowledge and inspiration.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sr. No. Titles

1 Overview

2 Director Goals

3 Introduction

4 Movie Review

5 Movie Analysis

6 Critique

7 Conclusion
Directed by : Gabriele Muccino

Produced by : Todd Black

Jason Blumenthal

James Lassiter

Will Smith

Steve Tisch
Written by : Steven Conrad

Narrated by : Will Smith

Cast

Chris Gardner Will Smith

Christopher Jaden Christopher Syre Smith

Linda Thandle Newton

Jay Twistle Brian Howe

Martin Frohm James Karen

Alan Frakesh Dan Castellaneta

Walter Ribbon Kurt Fuller

Mrs. Chu Takayo Fischer

Chinese Worker George K. Cheung

Doctor at 1st Hospital David Michael Silverman

Ferrary Owner Geoff Callan

Hippy Girl Joyful Raven

Cab Driver Zuhair Haddad

Release date(s) December 15, 2006

Running time 145 minutes

Country United States

 Language English

A. INTRODUCTION

The Pursuit of Happyness

The Pursuit of happyness is based on a true story. However, not all parts of the
movie are as happened in reality, as written at the end of the movie....

The unusual spelling “happyness” instead of “happiness” of the title

comes from a graffiti Chris Gardner saw outside the daycare facility his son
attended. Later in the movie Chris Gardner indicated that the word “happyness”
had a special meaning. That is something he had to pursue, as Thomas Jefferson
put the phrase “pursuit of happiness” as a basic right in the Declaration of
Independence "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". In short, this movie
shows the audience the bitter sweet of a salesman’s struggles from rags to
riches, to his happiness.....

B. SETTING
Setting of Place : San Francisco, USA
Setting of Time : 1981
Socio, economic and
Cultural setting : A city modern life. Mostly gives the pictures of
‘struggling’ side of busy San Francisco when USA was
 facing economical problem as mentioned by President
Ronald Reagan that the country was under great
financial defisit.

C. PLOT

1. Exposition (Prologue)
The story began in 1981, when Chris Gardner lived with his wife, Linda,
and Christopher, his only son. They spent their entire life savings on portable
bone scanners for a living. He sold the revolutionary machine to doctors at
hospitals, while his wife working as a part time worker. They lived in a simple
apartment in San Fransisco. He could not expect too much from the scanners as
it turned out that many doctors thought that his scanners were just unnecesarry
luxuries. So, selling at least two was only enough to finance their daily needs.
The problem was that Chris could not sell any scanner for a while to fulfill the
living costs such as the taxes, daycare fee, and parking tickets. His wife, who
seemed to be dissatisfied and distressed with the financial conditions asked her
husband for more.

2. Complication

When selling his scanner, Chris met a broker with his luxurious red Ferrary
car in front of his office building. Impressed by the man and people around him,
he wanted to try to be a stock broker. From the friendly broker that day, he learned
that to be a rich and happy stock broker, he did not have to go to college. He only
needed to be good with numbers and people. The problem was, his wife did not
support him. She even discouraged and underestimated him by askingy him why
he didn’t want to be an astronout instead! The problem got worse when they both
had their own decisions. Linda decided to leave and stay with her sister in New
York, while Chris was determined to be a stock broker by applying for the six-
month training program. While Christoper would stay with Chris. Chris met a
manager of Dean Witter and impressed him by solving a Rubik's Cube during a
short cab ride. This new relationship with the Dean Witter manager earned him the
chance to become an intern stockbroker. The manager, Jay Twistle, invited him
for an interview. Despite arriving there shabbily dressed like a garbage man due
to the fact that he had to spend the night in the police jail the night before, Chris
was offered the internship. He took the offer though it was hard for because there
was no salary and a job promise in the six-month training. His only resource was
that he had to sell his six scanners. So he had to be able to sell them in order to
live, and attended the important training to succeed to become a stock broker.

3. Crisis/Climax

He was happy for only a moment as he had to continue his hard journey. A
letter arrived and he had to pay his income taxes. If he didn’t pay them, the bank
would block his account. That’s what happened. He had only 21 dollars and 33
cents left in his account. At the same time, Ralph, the owner of motel, kept asking
for money for the rent. From a simple apartment, Chris and Christoper moved to a
small motel. Now, as he could not pay the rent again, they had to be evicted from
the motel.

As a result, they became homeless, and once were forced to stay in a

bathroom at a subway station! They were suggested to find the Glide Memorial
United Methodist Church, which had a homeless shelter primarily for single
mothers and their children. The church's owner did not let him stay due to the fact
that it was for women and children. However she told him about a local church
that also provided shelter, but had very limited space. Due to demand for the
limited rooms, Chris had to race from his busy internship work early each
afternoon in order to get in line on time. Luck caused Chris to get his lost bone
scanner back from a demented man who believed it to be a time machine. He lost
it in the subway station when running away from a taxi driver because he could
not pay it. But it was now damaged. A doctor did not want to buy it. Then Chris
finally repaired it after selling his blood to replace the broken bulb of the scanner.

4. Falling Action

The doctor then bought that scanner. From the money he got from the
scanner, Chris and Christopher stayed one night in a hotel, went to a beach, away
from buses, noise and his disappointment.
 5. Resolution (Epilogue)

At the end of the internship, Martin Fohm informed Chris that he was
accepted as a broker in Dean Witter. His work had paid off and he was offered the
position. With tears running on his cheeks, he rushed to his son's daycare,
hugging him. Last scene of the movie shows them walking down the street,
joking with each other and were passed by a man in a business suit . This man
was the real Crish Gardner, concluding the movie version story. This epilogue
shows Chris Gardner walking steadily in his happiness..........

Other ways of staging the plot

As seen in the the title, The Pursuit of Happyness, the plot can be
divided into two big parts. The first four parts of the plot (exposition, complication,
crisis, and falling action) present the pursuit part of the story. It presents the struggles
done by Chris in order to get his happiness. The struggles shown in the movie are
actually the series of problems faced by Chris. The problems, among others, are;
difficulty in selling his scanners, being abandoned by his wife, getting parking tickets,
loosing his scanner, could not pay the taxi fee, could not pay the taxes, being broke that
made him homeless, joining unpaid training program while he was broke and jobless.
The second part is called happiness where Chris was finally accepted to work as a stock
broker at Dean Witter and built his own firm that means Chris Gardner already gets his
wealth (happiness). The falling action can function to bridge the pursuit part and the
happiness part.

The plot can also be divided the way Chris called his parts of life. Riding
the Bus is when Chris was doing his daily activities; selling scanners and sending his
son to daycare. Next, Being Stupid, when he trusted his scanner to a hippy girl but she
took it away. Running, when he had to run to get his scanner back from the hippy girl as
to simbolize how important the scanner is to his life. Internship point is about anything
happening while he was joining the training program. And the last is Happiness when he
finally won his painful struggle for his family happiness, that is being accepted to
start a career as a stock broker at Dean Witter.
Conflict(s):

As mentioned earlier, most part of the story is about the pursuit part,
meaning that this movie is full of problems of life that lead to conflicts. Conflicts
are dominated by Chris. External conflicts are, for example;

- between Chris and his wife when arguing about financial problems,

- Chris with the hippy girl who stole his scanner,

- Chris with the taxi driver when he did not have money to pay the taxi
fare,

- Chris with a homeless man who cut his line spot,

- and Chris with Christopher when he had to force Christopher to forget

his Captain America on the street in order not to miss the bus

- Chris with the owners of the apartment and motel

- Chris and his friend Wayne

Internal conflicts also happened when Chris had to decide whether he took
the unpaid internship offer or not, when he realized that he did not have enough
money to pay for the taxi fare, when he was evicted from the motel and had to
calm down Chris, and when he felt underrated and unappreciated by his trainer to
get him a glass of coffee and doughnut.

Principal Incidents

The principal incidents that make up the plot are as follows;

1. When Chris could not sell any of the scanner yet. This influenced the
financial conditions of his family and and caused the relationship
between him and his wife to be worse. This part is the beginning of the
story (prologue).

2. When Chris met a happy-looking broker with his red Ferrari car. This is
the starting point that Chris wanted to be broker and the rest of the
story tells how Chris managed to overcome his problems to become a
stock broker. This middle part starts the complication that leads to the
crisis/climax.
 3. When his account was blocked. This made Chris broke and homeless
and then brought him to the most miserable moment in his life. Here
the audience can feel the crisis/climax.

4. He passed the training program and was accepted to start a his career
as a stock broker in Dean Witter. This is the end of the pursuit, that is
happiness. So, the epilogue of the story is happy ending.

Plot development

Based on the actions of the characters, the movie develops in

chronological order from beginning the end, from Riding the Bus part of life to
Happiness. But as this movie is based on a true story and interrupted by a narration a
future narrator, that is Chris himself, the movie also uses flashback device.

D. Characterization :
1. Chris Gardner (Will Smith): Main/Major Character
- Protagonist. He is the hero in the movie that dominates the whole plot.
- Dynamic character. Chris entered the plot as an unsuccesful bone scanner
salesman, but then left the plot as a broker. Though the story ends up that
way, the audience know that the career has led Chris to be a successful
businessman.
- An unhappy-looking (gloom- looking most of the time instead) portable
bone density scanner salesman. This was due to his problem in selling his
scanners. In fact he was humorous, too. For example, he joked with Chris
and with the Ferrari owner about the car. We can also see it from the way
he narrates the story. There is no distrresed feelings in it.
- Consistent in trying to do the best for his family, but inconsistent in how he
did that. First, he believed in scanner for living but then he was ditermined
to be a stock broker as he wanted to look ‘happy’ like them.
- Had a lot of problems including tax bill notice, car tickets, scanner selling
difficulty and not supporting wife
- Optimistic, trying to be relaxed in facing problems
- As a father: he was a loving daddy, cared about his child; told his son not
to use the word “fu..”, protested Mrs. Chu about the kid’s watching TV at
daycare. Let his children know who their father was. He was a responsible
 and motivating father. He said to his son,”Don't ever let somebody tell
you......you can't do something. Not even me. You got a dream......you gotta
protect it. People can't do something themselves...they wanna tell you you
can't do it. If you want something, go get it. Period”. He did not want his
son to blame himself why she left. When Christopher asked,”Did mom
leave because of me?”, Chris answered,”Don’t even think something like
that.”

- As a husband: perhaps he was a kind of modern type of husband. He was

democratic. He let his wife speak of her expectations, complaints, etc.
Unfortunately he was not a type of husband who was convincing enough
for a wife to stay with him in joys and sorrows. He could do nothing when
Linda decided to leave. He just let her go.

- Cared about language; asking his son whether he could spell what he was
thinking of (list of birthday gift), telling the Chinese man that happyness
should be with an ‘i’ not ‘y’, telling the kid that happyness is a noun.
Suggesting the word “fu...” at the daycare wall to be erased.
- Good with numbers, the first in his class in high school among 12
students, the first student in radar class among 12 in the navy

2. Christopher (Jaden Christopher Syre Smith): Minor Character

- He is a son of Chris Garner, about 5 years old (not clearly stated). He was
obedient and easy to handle most of the time. He only protested his father
when his Captain America doll fell on the street. He wanted to get it but his
father asked him to forget it in order not to miss the bus. Also when Chris
took him out of the motel and he said angrily,”Open the door!” and at the
subway he asked,”Where are we going?”. In other words, his character can
be considered dynamic. He was not only very inquisitive about language
but also about the reason why his mom left them. He asked, “Did mother
leave because of me?”

- The existence of this character is very important since Christopher was the
reason why Chris worked so hard. Christopher was the one Chris left and
the one he came to when he finished his work daily.
3. Linda (Thandle Newton): Minor/Supporting Character

- An antagonist. Linda only appeared at the begining of the story. She had a
flat character most of the time as she showed distressed and dissatisfied
looking. Like Christopher, she existed in the story to give more emphasis
on how difficult it was for Chris to pursue his happiness.

- She represents a type of modern wife (and perhaps of western culture)

who freely to speak out of her dissatisfied feelings to her husband.

- She was also a self-selfish wife and mom as she just left her family just
because she thought that Chris could make her happy.

4. Jay Twistle (Brian Howe): Minor/Supporting Character

- Jay Twistle is only a minor character but his existence is very important.
He was the one who recommended Chris to be accepted in the training program and put
Chris on the right track for his happiness. Thus he is a protagonist. Though he is white,
he treated Chris so friendly and appropriately. He represents the American policy about
equality among black and white.

E. Point of View:

First Person Point of View . The story in the movie is narrated by the main
character himself, that is Chris Gardner.

F. Tone :

Touching/Symphatetic: Most of the tone in the movie is touching and sympathetic

since the movie is about someone’s struggle, which is not easy, in pursuing his
happiness. The audience is made symphatetic for what happened to Chris and his
family.

Loving: Audience can feel it when they see how Chris treated Christopher so
well in joys and sorrows.

Nostalgic: This is the tone that is used by Chris Gardner in narrating his earlier
part of his life when he was still pursuing his happiness, such as,” This part of my
 life story. This part is called “Riding the Bus”. Or “I remember that moment...They
all looked so damned happy to me...”. Though the scene shows himself in trouble,
the way Chris narrates the story is far from being in trouble. He sounds more
relaxed, not sentimental, even proud, like people feeling freedom.

G. Theme:From Rags To Riches

This movie tells the viewers about the struggle of someone from nobody to
somebody. At the beginning the main character, Chris Gardner, was just an
unhappy salesman as he really worked hard to be able to sell a single scanner to
finance his daily needs. The problem is he could not pay the day care fee,
apartment rent, the taxes, and the parking on time. His wife kept complaining
about the financial conditions and finally left him. When he was then determined
to be a succesful broker, he could make it despite his financial problems and
homelessness. At the end, he not only became a stock broker, but even also built
his own firm.

H. Moral Value: No Pain No Gain. Or, similar in meaning, the moslem people may quote
The Prophet Muhammad’s statement, “Man Jadda Wa Jada”. Anyone who is
serious and persistent in getting something, will get it. This movie tells us how
difficult it is to pursue the happiness. Many things could be sacrificed to get our
dream, including our loved one. (Chris lost his wife). This means that if we want
gain something, we should work very hard (pain). No success comes easy. This
movie also sends a message that everybody should know what he or she is good
at (potential). Success is when the potential meets the chance.

I. Symbol: The hard work shown by Chris Gardner symbolizes the American Dream. It is
the spirit of the Americans who want to “realize their success, fame, and wealth through
thrift and hard work”, not by ways of “getting rich quick” such as winning lotteries or
joining a tv game shows.
L. Comments:

It is a very inspiring life story especially for husbands who think there
might not be any more hope. Chris Gardner gives us that hope and tells us to be
persistent and never give up. This is a good movie and worth seeing expecially for
young people; SMA students or university students. This movie can be used as
teaching materials at schools for several aspects, among others;

1) Listening. Students can watch the movie in the lab while listening to the
dialogs.

2) Speaking. Students can learn and practice the expressions used in the movie.
Students can also discuss the contents on the whole plot or parts of it.
Discussions can also be on the characters and the moral values.

3) Motivation. Motivation of how to be succesful and help the students know their
potential.

Like other American movies, The Pursuit of Happyness also tries to show
the excellence of American people. For example, though USA was defeated in the
Vietnam War, their movies about it always present the heroism of its people.
“Rambo” and “The Last Platoon” tell about the heroism of American soldiers. The
ending is always that they can defeat their enemies. Here, the heroism is shown
by Chris Gardner who could win in his struggle to be a succesful broker.

The movie can also be used to portray the conditions of American society
in 1980s, the relationships of a husband and wife, and parents and children as well. The
conditions of the homeless people also well portrays the American people during the
economical problems.

The last but not least, the issue of racism (black and white) is minor in the
movie. Most of white people treat Chris approriately. The managers of Dean Witter, for
example. They did not see whether Chris was black or white. He was given the offer for
the internship, and he was finally the last man standing. Even Mr. Frohm did not
feel embarraced to borrow 5 dollars from Chris for his taxi. Other example can be seen
from the line for the free room. Though the line was dominated by the black people,
there were some white people too. Even when a white man sliced the line and took his
spot in the line, it was a white man who defended him. The only smell of racism was
when his trainee asked him to get him a glass of coffee, to get him doughnut, and to
move his car. It is possibly racism, but his face and gestures do not show it. Perhaps he
only wanted to test whether Chris is loyal to his superior or not. We do not know for
sure. He even the one who calls Chris to meet Fhrom to tell that he is accepted. A
participant Chris met in the lift was clearly racist. From his cynical face and utterances,
we know that he underestimated Chris. In my opinion, as portrayed in the movie, in
general, at least in 1980s, American people thought that all humans were equal. No more
racism. Racism only existed among individuals, and it was only few in number.

Director Goals
About Chris Gardner &
"The Pursuit of Happyness*"
by Michael T. Robinson

Chris Gardner, as played by Will Smith in Sony Pictures "The Pursuit of

Happyness" is the Ultimate Extreme Career Changer. What he endured and what
he eventually accomplished shows the rest of us just what is possible, no matter
how poor or how little education you have.
Just how this man went from a low paying $13,000 a year medical job to being
homeless on the streets of San Francisco to earning millions per year and finally
owning his own stock brokerage / investment firm that does $100 Million Dollar
deals is an amazing story.

The fact that while he was homeless, Chris Gardner never once abandoned his
infant son, is even more of an accomplishment.

You may have seen the movie by now or you may have seen Chris Gardner and
Will Smith on the Oprah Winfrey show, so you have some idea what I am talking
about.
 Career Advice from "The Pursuit of Happyness"

By reading Chris Gardner's rags to riches life story we can see these gems of
career and life advice in action:

You Must Have a Strong Passion for the Work You Do

When Oprah Winfrey asked Chris what was the one thing above all others that
contributed to his going from spending the night sleeping on the floor of a train
station bathroom to earning millions every year, Chris said it was that he finally
found the work he was meant to do.

By leveraging his Navy training, he had become a very talented medical

technician and researcher. However, he was only making $13,000 per year which
barely kept a roof over his head in expensive San Francisco.

Chris had dreams of being a medical doctor but for some reason he never started
down that path. It was a dream that was out of his reach. It actually was not what
he was meant to do. He had landed in the medical field by accident rather than by
plan. Fortunately, he got lucky.

Later, when he met the stock broker in the red Ferrari and when he worked as an
intern in a brokerage house he just knew that he had found his life's calling. He
had found his true passion in life.

How can you discover the work you were meant to do? Try our Career Planning
Test. It will help point you in the right direction.

You Must Focus

Chris Gardner had incredible focus, no matter what he was doing.

The fact is, you really can't achieve anything great in life if you don't focus on it.
Focus means you have to give up doing a lot of other things.

Looking back on my own life I can see that the only time I accomplished anything
significant is when I was totally focused on one thing and one thing only.
In today's world, people think multi-tasking is the key to success. For some that
may be true, but for most people I think focusing on one thing is the only way to
really get ahead.

When your multi-task you make a tiny amount of progress on several tasks, but
you don't get very far in any of those areas. You certainly don't make any
breakthroughs or make any major life changes if you are multi-tasking.

Look at people who have gone from being extremely overweight to being totally
fit and buff. They have to spend 4 to 5 hours a day exercising and eating right.
Compare that to someone who tries to squeeze in 30 minutes of exercise for 3 to
4 days per week. It's just not the same.

If you want to make a major change in your life you are going to have to drop a lot
of activities and focus exclusively on the work that will lead you to where you
want to go. It's that simple, and that hard.

Don't know where you want to go? Don't have any direction in your life. Try taking
our Career Test. It has helped people get focused and make the changes in their
lives that they have always wanted to do.

Don't wait. Time is running out. The older you are, the harder it is to make big
changes in your life.

You Must Set Goals

Chris set a goal of making 200 cold calls each and every day.

He was starting from scratch to build his client base. He had to make hundreds of
cold calls to drum up clients. he had to take a lot of rejection. But in doing so he
found clients who later brought him huge commissions. We are talking about
single clients for whom the commissions ran over $250,00 per year.
He never let himself leave the office until he had made his 200 calls that day. So
once you know your direction and what you are going to focus on, set goals for
each day. Set longer term goals for the month, the quarter, the year.

Career Change Means Sacrifice

Throughout the book, Gardner made sacrifices to make his career change work.

He could have stayed in the medical field. It was comfortable. It paid the rent. It
kept some food on the table. It was predictable. He was successful and
respected. He was very good at it.

But it was not his true calling. It was not the right path for him. He had to change.
But the transition to being a stock broker was not smooth. Career changes
usually have a few bumps in the road.

Keep Asking Questions, Keep Learning

Chris Gardner kept asking and learning from the people around him. he did it in
the Navy. He did it in the medical field. It was the questions he asked the stock
broker in the red Ferrari that set him on his true path in life.

Just Keep Moving Forward When Everything Looks Bad

When everything looks bleak you must just keep moving forward because things
can surprise you and get better.

When you are trying to achieve something new and unknown, there will be days
when you get very discouraged. On these days, all you have is your own faith.

Chris basically taught himself to stop feeling sorry for himself and to just keep
moving forward. He had to remind himself of every day when he was living on the
street.
It is usually just a few steps beyond where you want to quit and give up that you
begin to see success. You can't give up when just a few more steps will start
things going your way and your hard work begins to pays off.

Basically, no matter how bad things look you should never give up.

*Note: The spelling for "Happiness" has been changed by Chris Gardner to
"Happyness." This is not because of anyone's spelling abilities. It has special
significance in the book and the movie.

Introduction
The Pursuit of Happyness is a 2006 American autobiographical drama film based
on entrepreneur Chris Gardner's nearly one-year struggle being homeless. The
plot is based on a true story, yet some scenes were modified and added to the
real story. Directed by Gabriele Muccino, the film features Will Smith as Gardner,
a homeless salesman. Smith's son Jaden Smith co-stars, making his film debut
as Gardner's son, Christopher Jr.

The screenplay by Steven Conrad is based on the best-selling memoir of the

same name written by Gardner with Quincy Troupe. The film was released on
December 25, 2006 by Columbia Pictures. For his performance, Smith was
nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Actor.
The unusual spelling of the film's title comes from a mural that Gardner sees on
the wall outside the daycare facility his son attends. He complains to the owner of
the daycare that "happiness" is incorrectly spelled as "happyness" and needs to
be changed.
 MOVIE REVIEW

"I met my father for the first time when I was 28 years old. When I had children,
my children were going to know who their father was." So vows Chris Gardner, an
earnest salesman and father desperately struggling to make ends meet on the
hard streets of San Francisco in the early 1980s. But his chosen vocation,
peddling expensive bone-density scanners that most physicians don't want, has
left him and those he loves hovering on the brink of disaster.

Day after unsuccessful day, Chris comes home to his dispirited girlfriend, Linda,
and their 5-year-old son, Christopher. Linda pulls double shifts to stay within
striking distance of solvency, all the while chastising Chris for his failure to
provide. Predictably, she doesn't think much of his latest brainstorm: securing an
internship at the stock brokerage firm Dean Witter. Linda's bitterness and
negativity may wear on Chris, but they can't dampen the weary salesman's
delight in his son. Christopher is the apple of Daddy's eye.
Then Linda leaves Chris (and their son) for a job in New York. She's barely out the
door when Chris learns he's been offered the coveted internship. The catch? It's
unpaid. Despite the financial risk, Chris decides to go for it, frantically juggling
his schedule to get Christopher to and from day care each day. But dwindling
savings quickly result in an eviction from their apartment. And then another from
a motel. Soon, father and son are homeless, staying in city shelters on good
nights and in public restrooms on the worst.

As his desperation mounts, Chris clings tenaciously to the hope that his hard
work will eventually pay off. And his dogged pursuit of a better life forges a
powerful father-son bond that no misfortune can destroy.

POSITIVE ELEMENTS

"You're a good papa." Those tenderhearted words from Christopher to his father
as they spend the night in a homeless shelter poignantly capture the essence of
The Pursuit of Happiness. Chris isn't perfect, but one emotional scene after
another clearly demonstrate his drive to protect and provide for his son.

Physical affection (hugs and kisses) and heartfelt moments mark their
relationship. Chris repeatedly asks Christopher to trust him, and Dad proves that
he's worthy of that trust. When Linda threatens to leave, Chris demands that their
son stay with him. He knows he'll be a better parent than she would be—a reality
to which Linda grudgingly acquiesces. Later, Christopher asks his dad, "Did mom
leave because of me?" Chris responds, "Mom left because of mom. And you
didn't have anything to do with that."

Actively concerned about his son's education and mental development, Chris
gets upset when he learns that Christopher's day care provider, Mrs. Chew, lets
the kids watch Bonanza and Love Boat. Chris teaches his son word meanings,
such as the difference between probably and possibly, and the fact that
happiness is misspelled on his day care's sign. (It's mistakenly spelled with a "y";
the film's title intentionally follows suit.)

Chris encourages his boy to make a birthday wish-list, then gets him a basketball
as a present. And one of the film's most powerful scenes comes when
Christopher is trying to shoot hoops with his new ball. After a strong-but-errant
shot, Dad critically informs him, "You'll excel at a lot of things, but not
[basketball]," perhaps projecting his own experience onto his son. Christopher
immediately lives down to Dad's low expectations and takes a weak shot.
Noticing his son's downcast countenance, Chris realizes his error and rectifies
the situation, saying, "Don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something.
Not even me. All right? You got a dream? You gotta protect it. People can't do
something themselves, they want to tell you you can't do it. You want something,
go get it. Period."

A harrowing night of homelessness finds the pair killing time at a deserted Bay
Area Rapid Transit stop. Father and son imagine that Dad's bone-density machine
is actually a time-travel device that takes them back to the time of the dinosaurs.
Christopher gleefully joins in the make-believe game as they flee from a T-Rex
into a "cave"—a public restroom where they spend the night. Dad holds the door
shut with his foot, and tears stream down his face as he watches his innocent
son sleep on his lap.

In addition to such a strong father-son relationship, The Pursuit of Happyness

also presents the American Dream as an achievable reality. It begins when Chris
asks a Dean Witter broker (who he sees getting out of a bright-red Ferrari) what's
needed to do the job. The answer he gets back is this: "You've got to be good
with numbers and good with people." Chris believes he has those skills and
aggressively pursues executives at Dean Witter once he discovers internships
are available.

He hounds his first contact, Jay Twistle, until the man pays attention to him.
Several other people at Dean Witter give Chris chances to prove himself, though
they aren't really duty-bound to do so. And even though he's virtually broke,
Chris gives $5 to one of his rich superiors so he can pay for cab fare. Later, Chris
misses an appointment with an executive (for reasons beyond his control), and
goes to the man's house to apologize. The exec, Walter Ribbon, in turn, kindly
invites Chris and Christopher to share his skybox at a 49ers game.

A "live" TV clip of President Ronald Reagan includes the exhortation, "We've got
to face the truth, and we've got to work to turn things around." Chris does that,
and much, much more.
SPIRITUAL CONTENT

Chris and his son stay at a shelter that offers a gospel-oriented church service. A
choir sings, "You promised you'd meet me at the altar of prayer/... Lord, please
move that mountain." Other lyrics insist, "I won't give up," and include the line,
"Hello, Jesus."

Christopher tells his dad a joke about a drowning man who kept praying for God
to save him. The man refuses the help of two boats that come by, insisting that
God will answer his prayer. After he dies and asks God Why He didn't save him,
God tells him, "I sent you two big boats, you dummy."

SEXUAL CONTENT

We see Linda in a bra and slip as she gets dressed for work. She's also seen in a
camisole. Two scenes show Chris and Linda (who are unmarried but living
together) in bed (without any sexual activity). A brief shower shot shows Chris'
shoulders.

VIOLENT CONTENT

Sprinting across a busy San Francisco street, Chris gets hit by a car. He breaks
the windshield then is thrown roughly to the concrete (yet avoids major injury).
Linda hits Chris several times in anger; he in turn grabs her arm firmly. Twice,
Chris shakes his son in moments of extreme frustration, but manages to exercise
enough restraint not to hurt Christopher. Chris gets into a scuffle with another
homeless guy who cut in front of him at the shelter. (Their conflict is broken up
before it can turn into a full-on fight.)

CRUDE OR PROFANE LANGUAGE

A spray-painted f-word mars the slogan of Christopher's day care ("Joy. Fun.
Happyness"). As Chris explains the misspelling of happiness, Christopher asks,
"Is f--- spelled right?" Chris tells his son that's not a word he's supposed to learn,
and that it's not part of the school's motto. Other profanity includes two-and-a-
half s-words and a handful each of the words "h---," "d--n," "a--" and "b--Ch."
DRUG AND ALCOHOL CONTENT

Linda smokes cigarettes.

OTHER NEGATIVE ELEMENTS

Chris is not by nature a deceptive person. But several times he lies in front of his
son (who recognizes the deception) to keep others from realizing how desperate
his situation really is. And when he's unfairly left to pay a cab fare he doesn't
have the money for, he flees. (The infuriated cabby chases him, swearing and
yelling threats.)

Chris' lack of funds means he's perpetually evading angry landlords who want
back-rent from him. He always tells them he'll get the money, but is never able to
make good on that promise. Someone paints "Dear Chris, U suck" on the wall of
his apartment. An internship administrator treats him like an on-call servant,
asking him to do all kinds of favors (such as getting doughnuts, moving his car,
etc.). After the IRS garnishes $600 in back taxes from his bank account, Chris
loses his cool and angrily demands that a friend pay back $14 that he owes him
(as his son looks on).

Christopher dances around in his underwear in two scenes.

Analysis of the Film the Pursuit of Happyness

The Pursuit of Happyness is a Hollywood biographical movie that was premiered
in 2006. The film is based on a true story set in 1981 in San Francisco. The film
was directed by Gabriele Muccino and it features Hollywood star, Will Smith as
the protagonist. The Pursuit of Happyness was released in the middle of
December 2006 by Columbia pictures. In the film, the role of Christopher Gardner
was played by Will Smith. The character undergoes a series of challenges as he
struggles to provide for his family. In the film, Chris is depicted as a hard-working
individual who will do everything to provide for his loved ones, but his efforts do
not commensurate with his struggles because of the inequality that exists in the
society. The main theme in the film is inequality. The director juxtaposed the
circumstances that exist between black Americans and Americans of white
origin. As the movie progresses, it emerges that Gardner cannot get a nice job
that can enable him sustain his family despite the fact that he is extremely hard-
working.

The Elements of Style

The director meticulously applied numerous tactics to endear the movie to

the audience. Right from the start, the director interchangeably used low light in
the backgrounds to make the movie look like it was short in the dark. In general,
the production team used a formalized approach. This is exhibited in the way the
producer used various elements found in a standard Hollywood movie. As the
sound becomes low, the shots increase. This is noticeable, especially the last
episodes of the movie. The production team employed this strategy to give the
audience time to reminisce about earlier episodes as they continue watching the
movie. Right from scene 1 on the 12th minute, the movie portrays traditional
western lifestyle as a highly civilized life that is awash with sophisticate things, a
struggle over land between cattle farmers and home steadier (“The Pursuit of
Happiness” 2). Although this has a semblance with the nature of the American
society, it does not reflect honest opinion.

The Theme of the Film

The movie presents Christopher Gardner, the main hero, as a man who
undergoes insurmountable challenges as he seeks ways to provide for his family.
Things became worse for him when his wife, who was the sole provider,
abandons him and their son, Jaden. Gardner struggles to provide for his son and
afford him the life that he deserves. However, things are not easy for Gardner.
Given his lack of education and homelessness, it is hard for him to find a job. The
director used this scenario to illustrate the social and economic imbalance that
exists in the American society. Just as shown in the film, most Americans of
African origin are poor and live in extremely poor surroundings.

Most blacks are often homeless and do not have good education as it is the
case with their American counterparts. As demonstrated in the film, most
Americans believe in their economic system. They believe that it is the panacea
for the countries’ social and economic challenges. However, that is not the
correct position. Poverty is extremely rampant among certain communities, such
as the one Gardener and his wife come from. The movie clearly demonstrates the
challenges that the couple passed through. The director meticulously presented
Gardner as a hard-working individual who is extremely proficient in figures, but
the manner in which the system operates could not allow him earn a living from
his efforts and skills. For a long time, Gardner wanted to be a stoke broker. He
managed to secure a chance at a brokerage firm, but given his lack of expertise in
the field, he was required to do a six-month internship before he could be
employed. He works as a salesperson in a company that sales bone scanners
that most doctors cannot afford. He is not able to get a reasonable commission
from the sale of scanners due to the lack of clients.

Ideally, this was not possible for a person who did not have anything to live
on such as Gardner. The director wanted to illustrate how the much coveted
American economic system is discriminatory. The manner in which the system
was structured could not allow people like Gardner to get a job and provide for
their loved ones. This scenario is common in the American society. The manner
in which the system works discriminates against people from the lower class. The
same applies to Linda, Gardner’s wife. She works twice as hard, she decided to
work for two shifts in order to increase the family income, but the amount of
money she earns is not sufficient to cater for her family needs. She is forced to
quit when the circumstances worsen.

The Value of the Film

The director meticulously used his artistic skills to analyze the issue of
inequality and highlight the extent of inequality in the society. The aspect of
inequality is clearly demonstrated through the circumstances that Gardner
passes through. Under normal circumstances, the government has programs that
ensure that children from poor backgrounds, such as Jaden, are given a priority
to attend school and meet their basic needs. In the movie, Jaden does not benefit
from government programs despite the fact that his parents are poor and cannot
provide for him. The movie shows a pensive Jaden languishing in a day care
center watching a television as his counterparts from rich backgrounds go to
school. The circumstances that Jaden lives in cannot enable him to break the
circle of poverty that engulfs his family. Just like his father, he will not be able to
afford education that can enable him get a job and provide for his family. Unless
the government addresses inequality in the system, the circle of poverty among
the poor communities is likely to persist.

The director consciously fashioned the simplicity of western society into a

huge screen, techno colored panoramic masterpieces to come up with a symbolic
myth that resonates well with the audience. The theme of the movie rotates on
simple subjects such as racial inequality, virtuosity, and evil among other topics.
From the outset, the movie looks like a typical western movie, but in content, one
realizes that it addresses issues that are common in most societies. As the film
progresses, one is left to wonder how the land dispute between the cattle baron
and the homesteader relate to west.

Critical Opinions

Currently, the audience does not enjoy watching movies set in such genres.
People mostly prefer to watch very sophisticated content. Simplicity is no longer
popular in movies; people like to watch complex things in life, the things they
would easily associate with as opposed to simple themes. As a matter of fact,
people enjoy watching extraordinary movies. That explains why movies that try to
explore the alien world are sold more nowadays. The movie is told in a straight
narrative as displayed through the eyes of an infantile impressionable hero who
admires a mysterious gun toting hero who surfaces from nowhere. This is a
person with no front or back, he has no past or future. I think, current
productions are still similar to this scenario in the movie, only that the character
currently is not necessarily armed. Characters that are mysterious remain unique
and completely armed with weapons and destructive power.
 To rejuvenate the popularity of this sort of genre, the producer ought to have
tried to carefully blend classical scenes with contemporary sequences. This
marriage between old and recent world, if carefully crafted in the movie, can be
very thrilling to the audience. The audience today is very active and keen on most
of things when it comes to movies. The setting like the one in this movie lost
touch with the audience, because the audience could simply not connect with the
theme. Most movies that remain in the hearts of many fans are memorable. This
means that for a movie to appeal to an individual, the person must relate with it,
there must be a connection between the theme and the audience. As far as I am
concerned, the reason why romantic films are sold more is because romance as a
topic appeals to more people.

Most people disapprove such movies even though they might be very
interesting. The older generation, though, may find such scenes quite interesting.
The old, however, comprise a minimal percentage of movie fans. They are
preoccupied with other important things in their lives, and they can hardly find
time for a movie. To revive the interest on such genre, the producer needs to
think and act outside the box. They should address actors in the correct regalia,
outfit that match their description, and make a fusion between the old and
contemporary.

The movie The Pursuit of Happyness highlights the inequality that exists in
the American society. Even though most Americans believe in their economic
system, the manner in which the system works creates inequality and promotes
the dominance of the white. The director used the example of Gardner to
demonstrate the level of inequality in the system. Despite his determination and
great skills, Gardner is unable to find a stable job that can enable him provide for
his family.

CONCLUSION

Inspirational isn't a word I would normally choose to describe a great movie, as it

conjures up connotations of something sappy or overly sentimental.
Nevertheless, I think that's the word that best captures Will Smith's powerful
portrayal of real-life father and pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps worker Chris
Gardner.
As a new father myself, I'm hard put to think of any movie I've ever seen that
inspires me more to be a good dad than this one does. Days after seeing it,
memories of certain scenes continue to challenge me in my own occasional
moments of laziness or self-absorption. Suffice it to say that self-pity and lack of
initiative are two character traits Mr. Gardner simply does not exhibit, no matter
how bleak things get for him and his son. Instead, he elevates Christopher's
needs above his own over and over again. He can't always change their awful
circumstances, but Chris does everything within his power to meet his son's
physical and emotional needs, and to protect him. Nothing can deter this loving
papa from lavishing affection and tenderness upon his son.

Director Gabriele Muccino says of this precious father-son relationship, "The

movie plays like a love story. But in this case we don't have a woman and a man
meeting each other. Instead, we have a father and son walking together through
life. Their relationship is very strong, very powerful. ... Chris endures the
unimaginable and still makes sure that not even the worst moments will have a
bad effect on his son's life." The chemistry between the pair onscreen is no doubt
enhanced by the fact that Will Smith's son, Jaden, portrays Christopher.

Only a few negative elements (noted above) and the film's occasional use of
realistic, street-level vulgarities let it down. I've certainly seen PG-13 films with
more language problems, but there's still enough here (20-plus) to give
discerning moviegoers pause. What won't trip them up—and might even breathe
new life into their own relationships—is Chris Gardner's powerful, passionate
pursuit of the best life possible for his little boy.

THE END