Providence Journal

Jay Williams
Advanced Composition
March 27, 2015

A Documentary that should be viewed by everyone

Happiness is defined as feeling pleasure and enjoyment because of your life,
situation, etc. In the documentary Happy, written and directed by Roko Belic, we are
given a chance to take a look at other peoples lives and shown what makes them happy.
We are presented with people and families from countries ranging from Bhutan to
Denmark and they tell their stories about happiness. Facts about happiness are also
presented throughout the film by researchers and psychologist in different scenes.
I really enjoyed this film because it showed how others who are less fortunate still
appreciate what they have. This film connected with me emotionally in so many scenes.
The opening scene is about Monaj Singh a man from a Kolkota Slum in India, during his
job as a rickshaw driver, drunken passengers abuse him, he gets painful sunburns on his
head and feet in the summer, and he gets soaked with rain in the winter. He is just as
happy as the average American. I was surprised to find that this was because he does not
see himself as poor because the love he has for his son. He is thrilled to come home and
see his son is waiting for him. He lives a happy life because he is connected with others. I
was shocked that something so small could still make someone happy.
I was astonished to see how the Japanese are practically working themselves to
death. After World War II, Japan had to rebuild its self, and this meant that people would
suffer. The people of Japan work long hours and are living very stressful lives. Death

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from over working and being stressed is so common in Japan that they have a word for it,
Karoshi. Japanese workers who live these stressful lives are clearly not happy and this
makes Japan the least happy in the industrialized wealth nations. I immediately thought
about the city of Providence. I wondered how many people in our city are living these
toxic lifestyles and how they handle the stress.
What surprised me about the documentary was that a busy United States city or
town was not included in a scene. I would have been able to connect with that very easily
and would love to have heard what some of the Psychologist said about more busy parts
of America.
Before I watched the film, I didnt think money could buy someone happiness,
after watching Happy I understand how money and happiness work. For example, money
can get you out of hardships like homelessness and a persons happiness would increase
dramatically. However, when your basic needs are met, the more money you have, the
more you want. This is because we adapt to the wealth we have and we will always want
more. Having more money does not contribute to happiness because we will never be
satisfied and will want more.
This documentary intrigued me; I was constantly learning new things about
happiness. For example, Sonja Lyubomirsky Ph.D, a professor of phycology at UC
Riverside, suggest that happiness is 50% genetically inherited, 10% from circumstances,
40% from intentional activity. It surprised me that only 10% of our happiness was
affected by our income, social status, and career. I thought this would have been a higher
number because of how often I hear others complain about not making enough money or
wanting a different job.

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Happy is a film that should be viewed by everyone because it is very insightful. It
opened my eyes and showed me how grateful I should be for my life. Others have far less
than me and are clearly happier. I enjoyed this film and would watch it again if given the
opportunity.