Chris quit his job in order to sell the bone density scanners but he began to lose money because they didn’t sell as effectively as planned, demonstrating vertical social mobility as he moves from the working poor class, to absolute poverty. He is presented with the opportunity to move from below the poverty line to the working class as a stock broker and eventually make millions. Chris is given an ample opportunity to move from one class to another based on how he performs in his internship position. Chris and his son were able experience social mobility because they lived in an open system society. Another aspect we studied demonstrated in the film is the concept of social mobility. Walter got support from investors but depended primarily on his salary, and showed basic characteristics of an upper-middle class citizen. The difference was also made clear through Walter’s car and mansion and how he owned a dog, demonstrating a picture perfect family.
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The movie shows a clear comparison through the use of the baseball game that Chris and his son were going to watch from “higher up seats” versus Walter who had his own private box. However, the movie also shows an aspect of the upper-middle class compared to Chris during his encounter with Walter Ribbon, who is a member of the upper class. The job of selling scanners doesn’t make a good use of his skills, he is intelligent and determined but is forced to try to sell scanners to make a minimum living. At the bottom of the scale Chris experiences difficulties in the job market and endures periods of unemployment once his last scanner is sold. After Chris’ wife leaves Chris and his son, they transition into absolute poverty as they cannot meet the minimal standards for food, shelter, clothing, or health care. In the beginning of the movie they are in relative poverty, Chris and his family have a much lower living standard than most families, they still have food, water, shelter, and basic necessities, but they are struggling to maintain them. Chris and his son also transition from relative poverty to absolute poverty throughout the movie, as they lose their home, and Chris no longer has any bone scanners to sell and is relying primarily on his internship. This demonstrates aspects of the conflict theory, Chris is constantly trying to provide for his son, meaning he even left his internship early in order to pick up Christopher and receive a spot in the shelter every night. He had chronic difficulty in making money to support his and his son’s basic needs while depending on public benefits, such as shelters, in order to survive.
Chris also falls under the category of the working and poor class, he is poorly educated despite his natural intelligence, and works a full-time job of attempting to sell the bone density scanners while being on the verge of poverty. It also reinforces the statistical results that African Americans are more likely than whites and Hispanics to have children that live in a single-parent home. This supports Kathryn Edin’s theory that low-income women don’t believe being married substantially improves their lives, Linda believes staying married to Chris was only causing negative effects and more stress in her life. Chris is determined to sell his scanners and Linda is working long shifts in order to pay for their home and child care, but along the way they forget to focus on the emotional balance between spouses resulting in them separating. They are both trying to develop the right emotional balance between child, spouse, home finances and their outside jobs.
The movie begins with Chris and his wife, Linda and they are having financial issues and struggling with a process we know as the “Second Shift”, an article written by Arlie Hochschild. This movie demonstrates many different aspects we have studied such as race, social class, marriage, jobs, and relationship trends.
“The Pursuit of Happiness (summary Essay)”
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