Happy 2011 Film Psychology

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.

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.

Happy brings to light important truths, such as it can be very easy to focus too much on improving one’s material state rather than looking within at one’s soul to adjust one’s attitude. Many times, I have looked back on my own life and wondered why I was not more satisfied with my circumstances. Usually, the reason was rooted in my mood state, not my lack of money or beauty. But it is important not to idealize poverty or to deny the fact that truly extreme poverty and deprivation can make even the most upbeat person depressed. The rickshaw driver in the documentary felt happy because he believed he was improving life for his son, not because his son would live under the same circumstances as himself.

I try to ensure that the six elements of human flourishing are in my life by keeping a positive attitude and remaining engaged and interested with whatever is around me, whether it is listening to a friend or co-worker, or being intellectually engaged with what is being taught at school (Soots). The fact that I have a goal of improving myself through education has undeniably been of great value to me in sustaining me through difficult times. It makes sleepless nights of doing homework much easier. I think I need to give myself greater credit for my self-esteem and optimism as a result, given that without these qualities I would not be able to ignore short-term needs and focus on the long-term. But I also think, in regards to the contention that circumstances only relate to 10% of one’s happiness, that I have also been blessed with a supportive family that has enabled me to seek out friends and develop inward resilience, so that I can make the most of my circumstances.

Works Cited

Happy. Directed by Roko Belic, 2011.

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