For this week’s journal article I decided to talk about the movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” and how it incorporates the myth of the American dream. The American dream is an ideology of what stands for successfulness in America. We all have our own dreams and aspirations but most people’s aspirations “represent wealth, power, beauty, self-indulgence, all the things that people now think are the real goals in life” (Browne, 2005, p. 21). Americans feel that if they have enough money or status, then they will be happy and successful. The real questions are how much money or fame do we need to have to reach success? Will we ever reach that point where we will be happy with what we have? Some individuals are so greedy that they work as hard as they can to reach their goals yet they forget about what is really important in their lives. How happy will you be if you are a famous millionaire but you have nobody to share it with? I think these are all questions we should keep in mind when “pursuing happiness.”
Will Smith’s character, Chris Gardner in the Pursuit of Happyness, felt separated from the rest of society because he was unable to make ends meet and ended up homeless with his son. He took the initiative and was offered a stockbroker internship at Dean Witter. Though he did not receive compensation for the internship, it opened many doors for him and a possibility of becoming hired on at the firm. With much perseverance, Chris was able to reach his American dream by not only becoming a stockbroker at Dean Witter but by ultimately forming his own multi-million dollar stock brokerage firm. Chris Gardner never lost sight of his aspirations nor did he lose sight of reality. All he ever wanted was to be able to provide for his family and once he came to the realization that this was achieved, he knew he was happy and successful.
Resource:
Browne, R. (2005). Profiles of popular culture. Madison, WI: Popular Press.
So the question or suggestion is that each person should have a specific goal, or desire in mind that when achieved they can stay at that level, and be happy for the rest of their lives. I would have to say that I believe that people tend to want to continually become better in all aspects of their life's. It can apply to people, money, relationships, knowledge, and achievement. Maybe it is not a negative thing for people to want more, and more as long as they go about it in a good way, and not forget where they came from, and who helped them get there.
ReplyDeleteShelby Holcomb