Title: The Pursuit of Happyness

Date: 2006

Media type: Film

Format: Complete

Category: Parenting, Family Resource Management

Keywords: types of parent (single), parent-child relationships, goal-setting, financial management

Rating: PG-13

Audience(s): High School Age, College Age, Parents, Adults

Language: English

Film/Episode Summary: Chris Gardner (Will Smith) invests his family’s life savings into buying portable bone density scanner that he hopes to sell to doctors and clinics in the San Fransico area. When no one buys them and the family is out of money, Chris’s wife leaves him and their 5 year old son. In an attempt to make a better life for him and his son, Chris looks to take on a job as a stockbroker, but before he can be considered for a position, he has to complete a 6 month unpaid internship. The film follows Chris and his son as they battle issues of poverty common to many families such as losing their house, moving in and out of homeless shelters, and living one the streets.

Comments or Recommendations for Teaching: What are some of the most prevalent struggles Chris and his son face? What are some of the issues Chris and his son face that are similar to other families, but are made more challenging from their impoverished situation? As portrayed in the movie, in what ways does poverty test the parent-child relationship?

Contributor: Carly Baumann