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

"The Pursuit of Happiness" is a wonderful and true based story about a father’s 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?

Chris’s 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.