Tuesday, January 16, 2007

The Pursuit of Happyness



Along the lines of black over-comers, Will Smith shines again in this great movie. My family and I saw it on New Year's eve. It is a good story about a decent man struggling to use his talents to finally break through a life of near poverty. He got a tip from a stock broker that if he was good with figures and good with people he could make it. This role was appropriately played by Will Smith who is an African American with a great attitude. He is playing a black man who overcame any racial obstacles with a good attitude.

It has great family values - a father fighting to take care of his son. I didn't realize that Will's real life son plays the son in the movie. At one point, credit is given to God for his success, showing his faith in God. It's a must-see.

Of course, it brings up the question, is the American dream pursuing happiness actually individuals pursuing their own selfish ends, thus, we end up with a society of some getting rich and many more getting poorer, and no real utopia achieved? The pursuit of happiness only makes sense if it means that we are free to make choices to pursue what we believe is important in life, and to have the means to do it. This is the story of a man who is able to get beyond a meager existence and use his talents to live a prosperous life. But it suggests that there are values that he considers important with which to live his life, making his pursuit more than material.

2 comments:

Kev said...

Cool... an African American playing the role of a black man. Just playin' with ya! ;-)

I do want to see that movie.

imfreenow.blogspot.com said...

funny! Will Smith does a good job of playing a black man, don't you think?