Happy 2011 Film Psychology

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Film Reflection: Happy (2011)



The 2011 documentary Happy seeks to understand a very simple question—what makes people happy? As well as interviewing professionals in the field of psychology, the filmmaker Roko Belic solicited the opinion of a wide range of individuals, spanning from a rickshaw driver, a victim of a car accident, and individuals from a variety of nations, occupations, and socio-economic statuses. Belic’s search was spawned by the fact that while some individuals in the developed world enjoy high levels of affluence, they are very rarely happy. How is it possible that someone can be happier as an impoverished Cajun fisherman or a rickshaw driver in India than someone with all of the material comforts one could want in an American suburb?



Belic found that community and a sense of purpose was the driving factor in what made people happy. For example, the rickshaw driver he interviewed said that earning money to enable his son to survive was what sustained him. This suggests that the focus on materialism over community and shared values is often the source of modern unhappiness. People may have their physical needs met but not their spiritual needs. The film seems to confirm that the majority of what constitutes happiness is due to internal factors, such as a positive mindset.

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Although I would agree to a great extent that attitude can make a great deal of difference in a person’s life on one hand, on the other hand I think the film overstates its case. Poverty and hunger can make it very difficult to concentrate on anything in one’s surroundings. For example, if a child is living in deprived circumstances, it may be challenging for him to go to school every day, see his friends, and participate fully in his education. Even if the child has loving parents who would want him to experience all life has to offer, that child will have significant deficits in comparison to a middle-class child with similarly committed parents. Of course, it is easy to think of people who fit the stereotype of the poor little rich girl or boy, in other words, people who have had many opportunities but who are still unhappy. On the other hand, giving a child the correct opportunities with the correct emotional support would seem to be the greatest way to facilitate happiness.
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Works Cited

Happy. Directed by Roko Belic, 2011.

Soots, Lynn. “Flourishing.” The Positive Psychology People. Web. 4 May 2018. http://www.thepositivepsychologypeople.com/flourishing/

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