Comparsion of The Films Pursuit of Happyness and Hidden Figures

In Hidden Figures, directed by Theodore Melfi, and The Pursuit of Happyness, directed by Gabriel Muccino, the viewers meet characters who are defined by their status in life and throughout the course of the films they break the barriers holding them back, to become great success stories.

Hidden Figures follows the story of three unassuming African-American mathematicians, Katherine G Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson in the 1960’s working at NASA’s Langley Research Centre. These three women played a vital role in the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit as well as orchestrating his safe return.

The Pursuit of Happyness follows Chris Gardener, a financially unstable salesman, who struggles to get by in day to day life having to support himself and his young son, Christopher. Chris eventually lands an unpaid internship as a stockbroker which sets the course for his rise to greatness and wealth and finding true happiness.

The protagonists in both films discover that it is their inner resources and not their social status or race that gives them the success they achieve at the end of the films. Both story lines demonstrate great success stories, however, Hidden Figures highlights what can be done in the face of adversity, when sexism and racism put you in a box and what can happen when you break free of those confines.

The three women highlighted in Hidden Figures each face hurdles due to their race and sex. The film focuses on Katherine G. Johnson, however, by the end of the film, all three women have risen above the societal challenges placed on them to make invaluable contributions to the NASA space program. Their success not only achieved personal success for the three women but for all women working at NASA and their contribution is now part of the history of not only NASA but for the struggles women and more particularly, women of colour faced in the 1960’s.

In the Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardener’s pursuit is not about the pursuit of money but rather about the happiness that being a responsible father will bring. It would be easy to misunderstand his real pursuit as he is struggling with financial hardship and earning money is his prime goal, however, that merely demonstrates that having financial security makes life easier and therefore creates a happier life.

Throughout the movie, Chris Gardener makes numerous difficult moral decisions which takes his life in different directions. His perseverance in trying to sell his medical machines when no-one was interested in buying demonstrated his perseverance but also his naivety. Where a lesser person would have given up, like his wife did, his commitment to being a good father was put above all else and whilst it would have been easier for him had he not had his son in his care, we was not going to give up. He defines his happiness, his success, as being a responsible father and accepts all difficulties that come with that decision.

To conclude, whilst both films demonstrate success, they are both different versions of success. The first is the success of finally being accepted for their mathematical genius rather than their sex and race and the second is the success of finding true happiness in being the best father he can be (with financial success thrown in as a second).

Success should not be defined in monetary terms or acceptance by others but rather how you choose to live your life and about what brings you happiness, satisfaction and meaning.