Chris Gardner In The Film 'The Pursuit Of Happyness'

If I told you that an African American single parent in the 1980s went from homeless to opening his own investment firm you’d probably think I was teasing. However, that is exactly what transpired to Chris Gardner as so brilliantly depicted in the film The Pursuit of Hapyness. In this film, based on a true story, Chris Gardner who is played by actor Will Smith, is a very bright self employed marginal salesman in San Francisco who invested in 40-pound bone density scanners to try and profit and make a living for him and his girlfriend Linda (Thandie Newton) and son Christopher (Jaden Smith). When they don’t sell, life starts to go downhill for Gardner. Tired of carrying the load, Linda leaves Chris and her son, and they (Gardner and Christopher) eventually get evicted from their apartment. When Gardner lands an internship at a stock brokerage film in hopes of a job there, the two endure many hardships, including jumping around from homeless shelter to shelter in hopes …show more content…
In a film based on a true story, Chris Gardner goes through thick and thin to provide for himself and himself. While he struggles with finding a place to stay night to night, the growing issue of homelessness comes to light. It is not a coincidence this film came out when the country had one of its highest homelessness rates ever. We also see how then there was a low number of female and minority employees and in owner positions and although those numbers have risen they are still quite low. However, this film brings to front the best advantage of coming to this country which is pursuing the American dream. Under the worst conditions, in spite of being a single father, hungry, and homeless, Chris Gardner was able to work his way up from intern to opening his own firm which can’t be done in many other places