Happyness Is...

Reprinted from SeeingBlack.com


'Pursuit' and Survival
Review By Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

A film based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a struggling Black father who sought a change of career as a stockbroker, could have easily turned into another corny tale of American ambition. Instead, The Pursuit of Happyness, starring Will Smith, is a poignant reminder of the frailty of American families and the so-called American dream.

For its particular meditation on time, place and Black humanity, “The Pursuit of Happyness” is destined to become one of our movie classics, alongside “Claudine,” “Cooley High” “The Color Purple” and “Antwone Fisher.” I can’t think of another film that has so capably captured the social and economic upheaval of the 1980’s, when Reaganomics and “economic restructuring” widened the gap between the very rich and poor, when legions of newly homeless filled the streets of big American cities and the American workforce quickened its daily lock-step in order to survive.

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Esther Iverem is founder of www.SeeingBlack.com and author of a forthcoming book on Black film, We Gotta Have It: Twenty Years of Seeing Black at the Movies, 1986-2006 (Thunder’s Mouth Press, April 2007). Her review of "The Pursuit of Happyness" also appeared on www.BlackAmericaWeb.com