The American public may be forced to focus its attention on greater well-being, and away from wealth, to attain true happiness. While the recession threatens this countryвЂ™s very stability, it may in fact have some lasting benefits. With the recession hitting hard, and people becoming frustrated with the economic downturn, Americans may be forced to seek out alternative routes to happiness. Yet in todayвЂ™s world, it must be questioned. ItвЂ™s something that we so rarely question. WeвЂ™re constantly exposed to films, shows, books, family, news, everything and anything telling us that to earn money is to be happy. How do we change an equation so deeply entrenched in our culture? To dissociate wealth and happiness would undermine the very foundation of our society. Unemployment plagues our country, and thousands of hardworking men and women find themselves without jobs or any sort of monetary support. In the worst recession since the Great Depression, getting rich is not as easily attainable as it was before.

The reality of our world is that hard work and dedication are less reliable than ever as mechanisms to gain wealth.

Apparently that is where the majority of people are truly content.ДЄnother aspect of the trajectory also breaks down. Maybe in the sequel to вЂњThe Pursuit of Happyness,вЂќ Chris should pick up and move to Denmark. isnвЂ™t even on it! Instead, Denmark stands as the happiest country on the planet, with a gross domestic product per capita of only $37,400. Have you ever looked at BusinessWeekвЂ™s listing of the worldвЂ™s happiest countries? The U.S. Studies show that while wealth can have some effects on happiness, itвЂ™s only one of many factors. The trajectory does not always lead from one to the other. In reality there are numerous problems with this ideology. This ideology teaches that hard work and dedication lead to wealth, and wealth leads to happiness. The вЂњPursuit of HappynessвЂќ explicitly illustrates the cultural ideology derived from capitalism. It is this belief that makes capitalism thrive. From its inception, our country has associated wealth with happiness, materialism with satisfaction. This began the tradition of individual liberties in the United States, where Americans in this countryвЂ™s free-market system of capitalism were granted the freedom to overcome social or economic barriers and rise to prosperity. вЂњThe pursuit of happinessвЂќ is one of the вЂњinalienable rightsвЂќ set forth in the Declaration of Independence. This association is deeply embedded in the history of our country. In the United States, the pursuit of the American dream shows an explicit link between wealth and happiness. This is what makes this film so undeniably American. But isnвЂ™t wealth more compatible with the filmвЂ™s message? Chris, the main character in the film, is seeking business success, with the assumption that affluence will lead to overall life satisfaction. Despite my adoration for both Will Smith and his son in this film, thereвЂ™s something that always bothers me-why isnвЂ™t the film called вЂњThe Pursuit of WealthвЂќ? WouldnвЂ™t that be more fitting? Well, obviously the audience wouldnвЂ™t respond as well to a film with that title. The other night, while I was changing channels trying to find something to watch, I noticed that вЂњThe Pursuit of HappynessвЂќ was playing.

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