Film Study: the Pursuit of Happyness
This is a rough breakdown of the questions you will be required to answer on Film Study
Paper. Use this handout as a means to keep track of interesting things during the video
that you think will help you in answering each question. Your final paper must be done
individually and be typed using complete sentences and have specific headings that
address which question you are answering.
1. Imagine yourself as the now adult son of Chris Gardner. What are the main life lessons your
father taught you, especially during the difficult period portrayed in this film?
List at least 5 distinct moral values, and elaborate on each in 2 to 3 sentences.
(10 marks)
2. Exercising human freedom
2.1.Describe 3 instances when Chris Gardner violated ethical principles.
(3 marks)
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2.2.Choose 1 of these instances of unethical behavior, and evaluate his actions according to
the following criteria drawn from Chp.2, in which we examined the principles of human
agency when exercising our freedom to act.
(8 marks)
 Who? the agent
o What promise or commitment was Gardner acting on?
 What? the action
o Did this unethical action define Chris Gardner? Why or why not?
 Why? The motive
o What value(s) motivated this unethical action?
 How? With what means? Under what circumstances? With or against whom? With
what outcome?
o How did Chris’s action undermine his good intention?
o Does Chris remain responsible for the outcome of this action?
2.3. Consult Chris Gardner’s official website. Find information that may indicate he has
atoned unethical actions in his past. Be sure to quote accurately and to cite your source.
(3 marks)
3. the role of Conscience
Consult Chp.3 of your textbook, which discusses 6 aspects of the human person that are
important for ethics. Choose any 4 of the aspects listed below, comment on them as they are
raised in this film, and respond to the questions that accompany them.
(8 marks)
a. the importance of others
 How does Chris Gardner embody the principle of placing others ahead of himself?
b. the importance of direction in life
 How did Gardner’s commitment or moral stance shape his identity?
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c. The importance of communication and language
 What importance did you observe Gardner attaching to language?
 How did his choices concerning language contribute to his moral stance, and to the
moral upbringing of his son?
d. the importance of character and one’s body
 Choose 1 of the following quotes, and discuss it in connection with Chris Gardner:
o “Character is what results from the values we make our own. When a value
has woven its way into the fabric of our being, we delight in doing what
pertains to that value …” -Richard Gula
o “Habit fixes our tastes and aptitudes and shrinks our field of availability; the
range of the possible narrows down; my life has taken shape.” -Paul Ricoeur
e. the importance of conscience
 Identify how conscience as Capacity, Process, and Judgment were at play in this
story.
f. the importance of the development of one’s conscience
 Consult the diagram on p.58 of your textbook.
Choose any 2 elements in the mandala, and show their connection to Chris
Gardner’s life as he sought the good for his son and himself.
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Choose either Question #4 or #5.
4. Recall the scene when Chris Gardner attends a church service with his son. What effect did
this appear to have on him? How do you think his faith life served him in his search for the
good? What effect has faith had on you in your search for good? Use a specific example in
your life to support your answer.
(5 marks)
5. Gardner states that a key moment of insight occurred in his life when he understood that
happiness is something that must always be pursued. Give your interpretation of what this
meant to Gardner. Do you agree with him? What would such an understanding entail in your
life? Describe a specific example to prove your point.
(5 marks)
Total: 37 marks
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