Pursuit of Happiness Assignment

Which movie did you choose to watch for this assignment? Why?
"The Pursuit of Happiness" is a wonderful and true based story about a fathers love
for his son and working hard to achieve dreams, it is more than that. Pursuit of
Happiness is also a poignant portrayal of the problem of homelessness in our society.
Perhaps what makes the film so powerful is that it is based on a true story. The problems
that Gardner faces are problems faced by many in our society every day. This is why I
choose to watch this for my assignment.
Describe the central ethical conflict(s) in the plot.

Chris has at least two of those epiphanies in the movie. The first is when he
discovers what the driver of the sports car does. This first epiphany results in a moral
decision on Chris' part. He decides to investigate the broker training program. A few
scenes later he submits his application. But these decisions are not of much
consequence for Chris. Neither getting the application nor submitting it commits him.
And even his wife thinks less of him for doing so. He could back out. The next step is
that Chris takes the interview for the internship. Still he does not commit himself,
although when he's accepted as an intern and doesn't immediately accept it, his sponsor
is upset.
Later, however, Chris makes his second epiphany and acts on it. This is his
decision to call on the CEO of Pac Bell against the advice of his instructor, Alan Frakesh.
In making this decision and acting on it, Chris risks the internship. If he messes up his
relationship with the CEO, Water Ribbon, and Chris will have self destructed the entire
list of managers at Pac Bell and his chances at being hired by the brokerage firm.
But it is this decision that becomes his true Moment of Grace, because it
changes his otherwise status quo method of following sales leads to a new level. Up
until this moment Chris was calling names on his lead list much the same way he was
making scanner sales calls. One call at a time. But it is his association with Walter
Ribbon that multiplies his results. One appearance with Mr. Ribbon and lower managers
start handing Chris their business cards without his ever placing a telephone call. And it
is his ability to sell so many new accounts that he gets the job at the brokerage house.
Who was impacted by these characters decisions and actions? How?

Chriss five-year-old son, Christopher, is the one who impact his decisions and
actions the most. With self-confidence and the love and trust of his son, Chris Gardner
rises above his obstacles to become a Wall Street legend. His top priority was to be a
good father to his son. But he believes that, as long as he can fix the hands of medical
equipment, as long as he can fight for a performance more than others, as long as he
emerged from the 20 interns, he is convinced that his son will be able to bring a better
tomorrow, the pursuit of happiness smiles .
What did the characters lose by making unethical choices? What did they gain
by making ethical choices?
During the period that Chris pursued the internship program his girlfriend had
disappeared and taken his son; Chris looked for them but couldn't find them; after he
had passed the broker's exam and was working as a stockbroker, the girlfriend suddenly
appeared and dropped off the boy; Chris could have worked for another broker and
earned enough money to put a roof over his son's head but Chris wanted to spend his
time building his own clientele because this would allow him the chance to become rich
faster than if he worked for someone else; working to build his own client base meant
that Chris wouldn't be able to afford a place to live for a year or two; faced with a choice
of providing a home for his son and putting off his dream of getting rich or being
homeless for almost a year while he tried to build his own client base, Chris chose to
subject his son to the dangers of homelessness; in other words, he put his own interests
ahead of his child's safety
Why do you think integrity and fairness are important?
First, living a life of integrity means that we never have to spend time or energy
questioning ourselves. When we listen to our hearts and do the right thing, life
becomes simple. We judge fairness in a relative way, usually in comparison with our
peers. In fact much of our perception is based on comparison with others. For
example, Chris had faced many problems when he attended the interviews just
because his skin is black. This is unfair to him because this is one kind of racist to him.
How do the characters actions relate to your own behaviour?

Regardless of our age, income, or talents, we can help the homeless. We could
volunteer at a shelter like Glide Memorial or at a food bank or some other agency that
helps homeless people. Most likely there's one not too far away. Those who want to be
more active can organize a food drive at school or work with a local shelter or soup
kitchen to arrange for days when students can come and volunteer. Our imaginations
and our willingness to help are the only limits on what we can do.
How can you relate the film back to your own incident?
"The Pursuit of Happiness" tells us that homelessness isn't a problem for "other" people;
it's a problem for "real" people. It's important to remember The Golden Rule: treat others
as you would like to be treated. What if you or members of your family were without a
place to sleep and there was no one to help you? Having a large homeless population is
not inevitable. By working together, learning about the causes of homelessness, and
thinking creatively, we can provide housing for all of our people.
What lessons have you learned from watching and thinking about this movie from
a critical perspective? Has this critical reflection inspired you to make changes in
your own life?
I was fortunate to see this movie in a screening. I really enjoyed it, and felt that it
lived up to the teary and heart warming trailer. While the movie has an uplifting "go for
your dreams" message, the deepest theme is that of family. Second, does the movie sell
the message that if you work hard, you will succeed, no matter what. I think that the
movie is open to interpretation. Some will see it as an indictment of poverty in America.
The scene of carefree rich people driving past the line to get into a homeless shelter is
pretty devastating. Other people will become angry because they believe that the
movie's depiction of hard work leading to rewards, in some cases, is too facile.

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Which movie did you choose to watch for this assignment? Why?

Describe the central ethical conflict(s) in the plot.

Who was impacted by these characters decisions and actions? How?

Why do you think integrity and fairness are important?

How do the characters actions relate to your own behaviour?

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