The Pursuit of Parenthood

Like most people, I was expecting this winter to hit hard. But this season’s leading cause of sniffles, for me, was not the weather—it was a shrewdly touching movie: The Pursuit of Happyness. Based on a true account, this film tells the story of San Franciscan Chris Gardner (played by Will Smith), a hardworking salesman who one day awakens to the harsh reality of a failing business and a failed marriage. Just when he decides to accept a training internship at Dean Witter in order to become a broker, and it appears that things are starting to look up, tragedy strikes again. The meager funds that he earns selling medical equipment while attending the nonsalaried program fail to cover his living expenses, and eventually he and his young son are rendered homeless.

Before actually seeing the movie, I had the opportunity of catching several television interviews with the real Chris Gardner. One that impressed me in particular was on The Oprah Winfrey Show. I sat glued to the television, riveted, as the now multi-millionaire Gardner spoke about his ordeal. With pain in his eyes and eloquence in his voice, he recounted some of the horrific events he faced. Never losing his desire to succeed, he struggled to survive for a year on the streets with a young child.

As the interview progressed, interestingly enough, there were a few issues with the movie that Mr. Gardner seemed compelled to address. The first was with Hollywood’s readiness to take liberties in embellishing certain events, which quite frankly, comes as no surprise.

But the second, more significant issue that he raised about Hollywood was its willingness to exclude and/or minimize events and issues that for him were profound and life-altering. For example, the presence of ageism and its psychological effect—which he experienced as a mature man trying to gain entrance into an intern program geared toward younger applicants. Or the harsh reality of economics, glossed over by the film. Mr. Gardner received what the film called “a stipend” during his internship—the point is, the actual amount of money he received was much less than a part-time salary. The real Mr. Gardner keenly felt the inequity of his position compared to those of the more fortunate and financially stable participants. To him, being asked to work a full-time job for a part-time salary was utterly debilitating. Honestly speaking, after hearing his account of these details, and then seeing the movie, I must admit, I concur that Hollywood overlooked issues of great practical importance to anyone struggling to support a family.