I forgot to mention yesterday about what I think "Pursuit of Happyness" did not capture enough. It's sustained self-discipline. It is very difficult to do. The film did capture it somewhat by showing Will Smith reading while standing because his room does not have a light, the black lines under his eyes when he is in the office, and Smith did mention in one of his narrations "away from my self-discipline thing".
But I thought it should have captured it more. Yesterday I saw monetary difficulty dominates pretty much enerything else.
Anyway, here are things I found from Reddit today.
First is Iran photos: http://www.pbase.com/k_amj/throughout_iran&page=all
Shoot me, but I never know that Iran has ski resort(s). Sure photos tend to show only the good side of a place, but at least they revealed new things to me. There is a marching band on the streets of Aashura, there is that seemingly tranquil Valasht Lake, and there is a scenic spot in Tehran.
And a little reading on Spartan culture: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/femail/article.html?in_article_id=441339&in_page_id=1879
The cause is, of course, the film 300. In my opinion, this only confirms my belief that pop art is powerful. Who in Singapore cares about how Spartan lives? Well, now there are quite a few, thanks to a film.
Somebody should do the same to computer science so that people know that computer science students do *NOT* fix computers.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
"Pursuit of Happyness" versus "What Could He Be Thinking?"
With this post, I command you to read the book What Could He Be Thinking? by Michael Gurian as a tie-in for the film Pursuit of Happyness.
However, this post will not discuss the film nor the book in depth. It will mention some points from the film, but it is more about the themes I found in the film, not about the film itself. Of course there will be chances of spoilers and what not. Do not read on if you do not want to know what happens before watching the film.
Instead, this post will tell you that as I was walking out from the cinema, I felt kind of numb. What Could He Be Thinking? enabled me to see that Chris Gardner, Will Smith's character, struggled for more than just meeting end's meet and being good to his son. I think his most difficult struggle is keeping his self-worth. It *was* mentioned in the film, as Smith narrated that he felt under appreciated and used because he was the one singled out to get coffee, donuts, and move a car. Also when he blurted out to his son about never to let anyone tell him that cannot do something.
All these struggles, in my opinion, ultimately leads in how Gardner must keep himself up; convincing himself that he is not worthless; finding out his self worth; whether he is being a good father like he wants to be. And the scene in "the cave" showed that he is scared. The door banging kind of confirms his fear that he is so worthless that his son must sleep in that condition.
Had I not read the book, probably I thought the film was just okay.
Another interesting thing is that long after the film ended, around an hour or so, as I walked out the bathroom, I realized the meaning of one of Smith's lines. He said something like "Why did Jefferson word it pursuit of happiness? Maybe he knew that we cannot get happiness and can only pursue it."
What I realized is something as simple as this. Smith really meant "Why not word it simply as happiness? Why add the word pursuit?". Simple point, but once I realize it, it is kind of weird. "Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness". Why not "life, liberty, and happiness"?
Well, the actual reason was more historical than thoughtful. Read it from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_happiness
Anyway, for one reason or another, that walking out of the cinema also happened to mark what I hope to be the end of a phase in my personal life. A lot of realizations dawned on me. They are simple and probably cliche, but they feel different when I appreciate their meaning instead of reading them as words:
But then again, maybe I am looking for symbols so I see them everywhere.
Ah, one final thing: if you enjoy watching animations, do see Howl's Moving Castle. The story is weird, but the animation fully redeems it. I do admit that some characters (especially Howl himself) change look now and then, probably due to different animators' work; but the scenery animation and blending of 2D and 3D animations are... simply amazing.
(Edited on 5 March 2015)
However, this post will not discuss the film nor the book in depth. It will mention some points from the film, but it is more about the themes I found in the film, not about the film itself. Of course there will be chances of spoilers and what not. Do not read on if you do not want to know what happens before watching the film.
Instead, this post will tell you that as I was walking out from the cinema, I felt kind of numb. What Could He Be Thinking? enabled me to see that Chris Gardner, Will Smith's character, struggled for more than just meeting end's meet and being good to his son. I think his most difficult struggle is keeping his self-worth. It *was* mentioned in the film, as Smith narrated that he felt under appreciated and used because he was the one singled out to get coffee, donuts, and move a car. Also when he blurted out to his son about never to let anyone tell him that cannot do something.
All these struggles, in my opinion, ultimately leads in how Gardner must keep himself up; convincing himself that he is not worthless; finding out his self worth; whether he is being a good father like he wants to be. And the scene in "the cave" showed that he is scared. The door banging kind of confirms his fear that he is so worthless that his son must sleep in that condition.
Had I not read the book, probably I thought the film was just okay.
Another interesting thing is that long after the film ended, around an hour or so, as I walked out the bathroom, I realized the meaning of one of Smith's lines. He said something like "Why did Jefferson word it pursuit of happiness? Maybe he knew that we cannot get happiness and can only pursue it."
What I realized is something as simple as this. Smith really meant "Why not word it simply as happiness? Why add the word pursuit?". Simple point, but once I realize it, it is kind of weird. "Life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness". Why not "life, liberty, and happiness"?
Well, the actual reason was more historical than thoughtful. Read it from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life,_liberty_and_the_pursuit_of_happiness
Anyway, for one reason or another, that walking out of the cinema also happened to mark what I hope to be the end of a phase in my personal life. A lot of realizations dawned on me. They are simple and probably cliche, but they feel different when I appreciate their meaning instead of reading them as words:
- Why keep being involved in something not working?
- Why must I be nice to others on my expense?
- If it must be done, why can't I be not nice to another person?
- Why is it that by "not being nice", I think of "being nasty"? Isn't there a neutral ground in the middle?
- Why is it so bad to lose a friend whom I (now realize that I) don't even know?
- Why is it so bad to say "I don't want to do this anymore" and quit?
But then again, maybe I am looking for symbols so I see them everywhere.
Ah, one final thing: if you enjoy watching animations, do see Howl's Moving Castle. The story is weird, but the animation fully redeems it. I do admit that some characters (especially Howl himself) change look now and then, probably due to different animators' work; but the scenery animation and blending of 2D and 3D animations are... simply amazing.
(Edited on 5 March 2015)
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