Final Exam Review/Preparation

Happy, a documentary

What does a thesis need?

a theme
3-4 ideas that prove that theme

(POSSIBLE) Thesis Format:

Although ______(previous belief/false belief)______, ______(theme)______through/because/such as______(ideas)______.

Thesis Examples:

Although 50% of happiness is dependent on an individual’s genes, it is in our own creation of experiences, relationships, and compassion that one can find true happiness.
Although everyone experiences happiness differently, there are three main components of happiness: doing something new, genetic make-up, compassion for others rather than materialistic items make someone happy.
Although some people believe happiness is strictly internal, through family interaction, caring for others, and being kind, one becomes truly happy.
Although many believe that happiness comes from money or pre-existing conditions, Happy illustrates that happiness comes from intrinsic values such as personal growth, relationships and family, and the desire to help others.
Although many people believe happiness is tied with wealth, money cannot guarantee happiness because people receive joy through family and friends, activities, and community service.

What does analysis need? (Do not start sentences “This proves the theme because…”)

Example that says the device
How does the device function? Be specific.
How does this provethe theme?

Analysis Examples:

The director emphasizes the importance of relationships in the creations of happiness through the use of anecdotes. Breaking the fourth wall serves to encompass the audience into a lifestyle which would otherwise be unknown. Eating dinner with Roy Blanchard’s family includes the audient in the family dynamic. With the family speaking directly to the camera, the audience experiences the joy of these family gathering and even the cameraman chuckles within the conversations. This engagement of the audience demonstrates the power of family in cultivating happiness. The time spent with family allows for the creation and sharing of memories. Claiming that she would have become depressed, a woman expresses the gratitude she has for the community lifestyle she has found in Denmark while crying, creating a feeling of empathy within the audience. In an on=screen interview the woman describes the success she feels in her family, due to co-housing, even after a divorce while images and videos of her children play. The co-housing allows for more quality time with her individual family, bonding with other families, and the creation of a large close-knit community. These relationships allow for a sense of peace, thus she is capable of being happier.

A defining aspect of happiness encompasses family interactions that provide a steady support system and steadfast love. In Okinawa, Japan, the word “monchu” means “one family” and characterizes the people of the village as one unit and heart rather than a group of individuals. This anecdote displays the effect family relations has on the population of people and how the spirit of an individual can be mended with the love of one’s family. In Kolkata, India, a man lives in the slums with little to nothing but his family and he still claim to be happy. The tedious work effort during the day makes it all worthwhile when he comes home to his loving family. The joy of his children provides him the love and energy that no amount of money can supply. The loving innocence of children’s hearts proves that our pursuits of materialistic items are futile to the nature of human beings and their happiness. Cultivating a happy person is achieved by doing something that makes you happy or compassion for others. Roy Blanchard lives in Louisiana on the bayous. He finds himself most of the time on his boat around nature or around his family. Put on the bayou he never knows what he is gonna see but it makes him happy. Nature is a good medicine. It brings joy, happiness, peace and a place to kick back and relax and reflect. The background music is calming which creates a mood of tranquility. While filming Mr. Blanchard the camera is not always on him. The nature its filmed all around him to give the audience the sense of happiness that was brought to him. This reflect back to the theme that happiness is brought upon someone by from finding something that makes you happy. Andy whimper works at Mother Theresa's home for the sick and dying. Whimmer before volunteering here, he found himself looking toward shaving money and consumption of materialistic things. When shimmer started working here within the first ten minutes he knew this was where is happiness was found. The camera films all different patients at different stages being helped by many different people. Throughout the whole time smiles are across everyones face. Relating back to the theme of happiness is found by doing things or being around people and serving them makes people happy.

MihalyCsikszentmihalyi, author of the book Flow and Professor of Psychology at Claremont Graduate University, explains how an individual’s amount of flow impacts their happiness level. Cs.’s degree in psychology and studies he has conducted makes him a credible source who has the correct backing to discuss the idea of happiness. Through the anecdote of Ronaldo Fadul’s surfing-based lifestyle, Cs. Idea of “flow” emerges. Flow revolves around a person’s physical experiences/ activities, which for Fadul revolves around suffering. Fadul’s lifestyle focuses on surfing to create a happiness that he wants and enjoys experiencing which avoids an artificial happiness and a boring lifestyle. Mihaly Cs. Idea of participating in physical activities to create happiness results in the discovery and enjoyment of an activity that makes a person truly happy. Gregory Burns, a neuro-scientist, explains that it is medically proven that dopamine is increased by physical activity, which in return increases happiness. he also mentions that as you get older you slowly lose dopamine that can never be regenerated. The director shows visual aids of the neurological process of dopamine in the brain.

Close relationships between friends and family have a great effect on a person’s happiness. In Happy, the contrast between scenes of daily life in Japan versus scenes of daily life in Okinawa serves to demonstrate the importance of family relationships. A scene from the city of Japan depicts a man coming home from work and his daughter not remembering him because of his intense working habits. A later scene in Okinawa of children running to elderly and embracing them in joy portrays the difference in lifestyles between the two places. These real life examples function to demonstrate how one’s close relationships affect people’s happiness by the abrupt contrast of the solemn scenes in Japan versus the overwhelming scenes of community in Okinawa. The viewer is informed of the importance of family for one’s happiness. The example of the Blanchard family sitting at an old, run-down wooden table with many elderly family members, laughing and engulfing each other's company demonstrates the importance of close relationships. By seeing him and his family in this environment, the importance of close relationships is shown because they are laughing and joyful. Rather than interviewing the man in a studio, the viewer can more easily see how happy the family is in their setting. They were so overjoyed the interviewer seemed confused on who to talk with because they all wanted to talk about their situation and how they often they got together to have meals. The lighthearted setting had the intention of making the viewer feel like they were part of the family to further prove the importance of family in happiness.

Happiness is cultivated though sense of community which can be adhered through co-housing or village living. When living in a co-housing community people gain social skills and learn interdependence leading to a stress-free life. In Happy, the movie provides an anecdote of a woman and how her family who moved into a co-housing community with twenty families which enabled her to move past difficulties in her life, to find a new sense of happiness. Happiness is cultivated through a sense of community and meaning in the machine of life this can be achieved through co-housing or village living. Its interesting that as Americans we must look to the bushman who seem to be the poorest or poor by our definition. The truth is however in the tribes traditions the have found a unmeasurable wealth by not just caring for the physical heath of their sick they work toward a deep goal of caring for the mental happiness of their fellow neighbor. This speaks volumes that even with modern advances in medicine the rituals still hold true because they have found the fix so many Americans work there lives for: true love and happiness.

Being with family and friends is a common source of happiness. Melissa Moody was in a tragic accident that changed her life forever. When she was young, she never experienced true happiness. The accident allowed her to adopt a different perspective on life. The film provides images chronologically to prove that she can overcome adversity through strong relationships. The pictures begin with Moody as a young girl on her farm. The images transition to graphic depi9ctinos of her suffering though the accident. Lastly, Moody is portrayed surrounded by her family and friends with newfound strength and joy. This sequence of images function to demonstrate he journey and to prove that relationships can be fulfilling even in tragic times. The images of Moody depicting her facial reconstruction surgery initially did not allow her to accept her as she was after the accident. Moody became truly happy when she met her new husband, appropriately named Happy, who accepted her for who she is now. No matter how tough an individuals life may be, family values have been a know cause of increase in a persons happiness level, no matter the type of life that person leads. In Happya clear example of this is after the use of logos in an statistic about the rising depression rates in Americans, where the director implements the use of shift in music to signal the difference between two cultures that is seen from America to India. After this shift the audience is introduced to an Indian man who pulls a cart for a living. Despite having a much more taxing life than the average American he still finds much joy in life due to his family.

As evident in "Happy," community often plays an integral role in procuring happiness even within the most desolate settings and circumstances. The director frequently uses anecdotes containing various people across the world in order to facilitate the idea of happiness within a community. For example, Roy Blanchard was depicted with his family joyously eating crab, all the while explaining what the joy of living a delicate southern lifestyle surrounded by people closest to him may bring. The director employs this anecdote to relate to a broader audience- to further demonstrate that happiness can be achieved by anybody, and not just those living in affluent settings. This same device is also employed when the director includes anecdotes of Melissa Moody, the Danish housing complex, and Ronald Fadul. Furthermore, the director utilizes music during these segments to highlight the uplifting nature of the topic. Higher pitched rhythms and faster tempos connotate a tone of happiness and the music director successfully paired this will all of the uplifting stories of commentary. Contrast this to the dark, slower paced rhythms of sadder stories such as the overworked Japanese man. Explaining Karoshi, death by too much work, the music becomes slow, deep notes, with a violin as the main instrument to create a somber mood. The feelings evoked during these contrasting scenes coupled with the images showed to make the audience more interested in the community-centered life.

The bonds people form with one another are one of the most impactful factors of one's overall happiness. Studies show that Denmark is rated as the overall happiest country in the world according to an article from The New York Times (compared to the 23rd ranked United States in the same article). One contributing aspect of Denmark's society that leads to such a high rating is the housing complexes around the country. In these complexes, there are normally numerous families living together and sharing all the responsibilities of the complex such as taking care of the kids and cooking for everyone. In Happy, there was an image that displayed all of the children living in a particular complex cramming onto a couch with one another. This shot serves to demonstrate the inseparable bonds these families have formed and the feelings they have towards each other. Having these tightly wound friendships and family ties play a pivotal role in one's overall happiness. The woman interview for the film, Anne Bechsgaard, even claimed that moving to this kind of housing situation was the best decision she had ever made. In addition, the Blanchard family of Louisiana is depicted to have an incredibly strong family relationship as they are perceived to be one of the happiest families in Louisiana. An image is shown of the entire Blanchard family together eating a meal together and they are all enjoying themselves and having a good time. Once again, this image accentuates the importance and value of one's family. The Blanchard's prioritize family time and incorporate it into their daily schedules and are seemingly better off for it. They do not need money or materialistic items to enjoy their lives; all they need is each other. This is an aspect of American life that may be starting to disappear, and could be a key factor for the United States’ rankingas the 23rd happiest country in the world.

Humans can achieve true happiness through meaningful connections, and the director establishes this through personal anecdotes like Melissa Moody’s story, as well as through powerful imagery and changing music. Melissa was once beautiful and surrounded by friends, she never felt like she was truly unhappy until the truth came out. When Melissa was hit by the truck, the only she had allowing her to form relationships was taken away. She was no longer had the physical beauty she had before, and thus, she had no one anymore. Through this devastation however, she met a true friend, someone who loves her for her authentic self rather than her outside appearance. The strong feelings evoked from the description of her accident and her response to it help draw sympathy and awe from the audience which allows a deeper appreciation of the anecdote in relation to happiness. When the picture of her as a beautiful prom queen was shown then immediately followed up with a new picture showing her disfigured features, the audience took away a more powerful message regarding relationships effect on happiness. Had Melissa never been put through these hardships, she would have never obtained true happiness with her new, loving husband. Another instance where happiness bloomed from an unexpected source when clips of the hustle and bustle of modern America were immediately paralleled with scenes of Indian slums. In America, there was obvious wealth, clean living conditions, and brightly lit screens showcasing its tremendous technological power, and it was compared with the seemingly hopeless and simple lives of the inhabitants of the slums. Although the music was fast and upbeat, the American citizens were all frowning and separated. In the Indian slums, however, people were happy and united. The people had virtually nothing, but because of their close bonds with each other, they felt as if they had it the best in the whole world. The bright and joyful atmosphere shown of America was inferior in comparison to the genuine happiness radiating from the people of the dark and dirty slums of India. This contrast allows for a stronger display of the value of relationships, and through the commanding differences, the audience is compelled to feel guilt and desire to change. This is the true power of connections to others, and because of these examples, audience members will want to seek these bonds.