The Pursuit of Happyness

Yesterday I watched The Pursuit of Happyness for the second time on DVD, and it got me wondering.  It’s a brilliant movie based on the true story of struggling salesman Chris Gardner who managed, against all the odds, to land a top stock-broking job for which he had no experience.  This despite the fact that while he was trying his wife left him, he had to raise his son by himself with no money and suffered prolonged periods of homelessness.  He fulfilled the “American Dream” and managed to create a better life for himself and his son.  A feel good movie, right?

Well, it is a clear case of where a Hollywood movie promotes values which some may see as completely wrong.  The main character is turned onto his dream job after noticing stockbrokers in their fancy cars and observing that they are all happy!  After he lands the job, the voiceover announces “This is the part of my life called happiness”, before it flashes up on the screen that he went onto become a multi-millionaire.  Whilst I don’t think money will make you happy, I personally have no problem with people making money, working in finance or with capitalism more generally.  After all, that is where I am working!  Yet, many socialists, for instance would disagree.  I wonder what they are thinking whilst watching the film.  Do they notice the messages?  Are they writhing in their seats?  Are they being convinced?  Or is it seen as harmless entertainment?

If they do disagree, I wonder how they express exactly what in the film they disagree with.  Equally, I wonder how their criticisms are taken by most of their friends- the unthinking consumers of the product who just went and enjoyed the film without analysing it.  It would appear mad to start criticising the character for his actions.  After all, it is surely undeniable that he was happier having money which enables him to properly provide for his child, and should be congratulated for following his dream and doing so by honest hard graft and labour.  You start criticising the film, and go off on one about the film’s morality, you’d just appear really mean-spirited.

Yet, one may feel that this is just because the film is engineered to mean you must come to this conclusion.  In this very specific instance, with the two very stark options, with the limited context we see, with the motivations the writer has implanted in the characters- then, yes, we must agree with the outcome.  However, one may feel the moral of the story is insidious and is detrimental to the common good.

This is how I feel about a lot of films, but unable to articulate it without seeming to have a massive bee in my bonnet.  But Pursuit of Happyness is one where others (not myself) would have the same feeling.

The Dark Knight

Whilst wanting to see the latest Batman film, I was dreading it.  How could Heath Ledger beat Jack Nicholson?  Why does Batman suddenly develop a silly voice when he puts on the Bat Mask?  What's with the Karate?  And the car!  I could go on.  However, there was one reason more than all the others, why I thought it was going to be terrible. 

That is, it got the unanimous praise for being "gritty and realistic".  Usually, that is the death knell for a movie.  It could mean one of two things.  First, it could be like with the new James Bond films which are "gritty, realistic" and just downright awful.  Take away anything interesting or "out of the ordinary" about the character; make the character an out-of-control but quite plain "hard man"; be a bit more graphic than normal; and make a convoluted or confusing plot that no-one understands. 

The second way to be "gritty or realistic" is the way of any good drama by the time its gets to its fourth series or so.  Like casualty, say.  Starts off with interesting self-contained stories but eventually (to be more realistic) start to focus on the characters.  We start to learn about their 'private lives', their troubles and the turbulent nature of their existence which has zilch to do with the present story.  In other words, it becomes a soap.  The main character can't do his job because he slept with his cat's second cousin-in-law and his son is playing truant.  I don't care.

Thankfully, however, I did enjoy the film.  The very reason I enjoyed the film was because it wasn't realistic in any shape or form.  It was utterly unbelievable, very comic book and you couldn't have any characters identical to those in the real world. 

It wasn't just entertainment though, as it's unrealism made it myth.  It's story-in-a-vacuum (thank G-d) and distinct characters unbogged down by the 'realities' of life (once again, thank G-d), meant you were projecting onto a blank canvas.  You only look at just the one element of reality and use this simplified model to ponder the ultimate thought experiments about our very own lives.  The film asked "What happens when a person's liberty is absolute, without any control or order restricting it?"  "Is it rational to choose to co-operate with a group who you don't trust to co-operate?" And many more.  Whilst the 'medium' is unrealistic (as with all myths), the questions are extremely relevant.  This is why, by the end, "The Dark Knight" could sound profound.

Of course, it's attempt at exploring such questions got things all wrong.  Never mind.

Two inspiring items from the 'idiot box'

By 'idiot box' I, of course, mean the TV. Most TV is thoroughly wrong-headed and most news very depressing. Yet there were two items which raised a smile from me last night.

The first was an interview with Ben McBean, the soldier who came back from Afghanistan with an arm and leg blown off by a mine. Now quite simply: hew was smiling! It's hard enough to find anyone smile these days, let alone from someone who had something life-changing happen to them only two weeks previous. It is so easy to get knocked off course when things 'happen to you', and get swallowed up in a motley of grief, helplessness and self-pity. Often, bad things are a chance to apportion blame and be bitter. Yet Ben McBean wasn't. He was proud do have served his country, met his prince, done his bit and come out alive. He, in under two weeks picked himself up, adapted to his condition and is now planning for his future (next year he wants to run a marathon with his artificial leg). A lesson for us all.

Secondly, on 'the One Show', they did a feature on Bletchley Park; the place where they cracked German codes during the Second World War. After reviewing what went on there, they looked at a couple who worked there met and got married, and are still together now and smiling broad smiles. Now, people that worked there, not only weren't allowed to talk to people outside about what they were doing, they weren't allowed to talk to each other. This is because everyone played different roles, were all small cogs in the wider machine; and the success relied on everybody concentrating on their own jobs. Not knowing the 'bigger picture' helped to keep what they did there a secret.

Now, that Bletchley Park was such a big secret for so many years is amazing in itself. I just can't imagine that happening now; someone would 'leak' things to the newspaper they found unfair, would tell their mates the important job they do or something similar. But not only this, we found out the couple that got married didn't talk to each other about what they did at Bletchley Park for 35 years! Only when the whole thing became public did they talk to each other about it. Not only was this secret not an obstacle to their relationship, I think it was a sign of their love that they didn't. They didn't need to 'bare all' , they were secure enough in realising that they both served a higher purpose, individually and collectively. I could say more, and what I have written doesn't sound that beautiful, but I don't want to philosophise or make assumptions about their life. I think the facts should speak to each person individually and each person should see how they 'hit' him or her.

• Face everything with a positive attitude
• Consider what service you can give to others
• Live your life with a 'higher purpose' in mind
• Smile a broad smile.

Amazing! :-)