ENGLISH 23
(A.K.A. CLIMATE CRISIS 101)
Deep Dive
Are we destroying the planet in a misguided pursuit of happiness?
“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer.”
Jim Carrey
I agree with you that while the message of the film has good intentions, I would find it difficult to convince those who are in deep struggle or poverty that money won’t give happiness. Security is an amazing feeling, and the United States, it is apparently not a right for everyone to be house or to a basic income.
What really resonated with me is when a person in the film explained that happiness is a skill that you have to develop.
One of my favorite quotes from the film is “…with happiness, the more you have, the more everyone has.” I think the statement is a stark contrast with our concept of money and material wealth. I also believe that this statement symbolizes humans’ motivation for cooperation, rather than the motivation for competition between one another.
I expected to feel hopeful and comforted while watching “Happy,” and at first I did, but I mostly felt disappointed. I knew a Western capitalist lifestyle wasn’t treating me right, but now a better lifestyle is staring me in the face asking why I’ve wasted so much time. I’m inspired by these people living simple lives in tight-knit communities, and I want to abandon my suburban home filled with stuff I don’t need surrounded by neighbors whose names I don’t know to go live a life with more meaning, but if I do that then what was the point of all the time I’ve spent working? So many of my goals revolve around capital success, and coming to terms with the fact that maybe that shouldn’t be a top priority means accepting that I’ve made a lot of sacrifices that I didn’t need to. I know I’m young and there’s ample time to change course, but I feel like the capitalist spirit of competition has taken years off my life.
Realistically, I know the answer is to gradually model my life after those that inspire me. This is doable, and that’s comforting. I think it’s really interesting that so much of a climate crisis class has centered on happiness (minimalism, mindfulness, community, etc.), which seems entirely unrelated to the climate. I think there’s a lot to be said about being connected with the world and how harm to the planet is harm to ourselves, but I’ll leave that to a more spiritual person than myself. I also think it’s worth noting that a lot of the changes we’ve been advised to make, for both the environment and our wellbeing, bring us back to a way of life that our culture would consider “primitive.” We owe indigenous peoples and developing nations a MASSIVE apology for – among many, many other wrongs – demonizing parts of their lifestyles that are exactly what’s going to get us out of the deep hole we’ve dug. We should be begging for their input on how to solve the climate crisis and the cultural problems we caused, because in a lot of important ways they know a lot better than us.
One of the first things that I wanted to do after watching this film was to go meditate or go do some exercise outside. I really have never been into meditating mostly due to the fact that I was skeptical that it would actually be helpful. However, the older I get, the more my friends and family tell me just how great meditation can be and how it can make them feel happier. Not only this, but I definitely notice that on week when I have more free time with less schoolwork, I am much more happy on those weeks because I have time to skateboard outside which allows me to do something that I love to do and helps me release dopamine while also practicing and concentrating on getter better at something that I love. It allows me to forget about the future my day to day stresses and helps me focus on the present. Making music has also allowed me to stop worrying so much and allows me to get outside of my thoughts. I truly wish that American society would focus on the importance of happiness for its citizens than money. The nordic model or the governmental system that Bernie was advocating for sounds like a great start in centering the american life more around happiness. We can see in the 5 happiest countries that universal healthcare and free education as well as more paid vacation with less hours of work per week has allowed for more happiness while also making the society more efficient because the citizens are more happy to work when they have to. America could learn a lot from these countries.
Personally, a silver lining of the pandemic is that it has made me prioritize what makes me happy in my life and filter out the things that don’t make me happy. Ultimately, it’s the little things for me. At home it was things like taking my dogs for walks, cooking with family, talking with friends, and watching great Netflix content. Up in Isla Vista, the things that make me happy include going on walks along the beach, finding a great study spot, making new friends, and trying new restaurants.
Whenever I think about happiness, two professional fields come to my mind: education and community-based non-profits. I have been fortunate to have attended schools where the teachers are truly happy because they are doing work that they love and are changing lives. And I have worked with several community-based non-profits where the employees also are truly happy because they are doing work that they love and are changing lives. I think the core reason behind their happiness, is that they don’t do it for the money, they do it because they LOVE it.
As we are in the middle of both a climate and mental health crisis, our leaders aren’t more focused on the correlation pointed out by Ken and the film “Happy.” The American ideals such as big homes, cars, and lots of stuff are carbon fueled desires. It is absurd to me that as a country, we are not concerned more about how the people whose lives aren’t aimed towards this carbon lifestyle are living much happier lives than us. A man like Bernie Sanders, who simply tries to point out the kind of democracy in Scandinavian that do provide things like healthcare and education to their people, is often called radical or laughed at by conservatives in America. I feel almost as though we’ve been brainwashed. Despite being presented with the fact that big homes, nice cars, and a surplus of stuff do not correlate with happiness, consumerism is still shoved down our throats on the daily and we eat it up. As a generation I feel like we must take initiative and start acknowledging that these ideals are causing most of us to live tireless, and unfulfilling lives. If we don’t, a small portion of people will continue to hoard wealth while over half of the country will suffer and and work to survive, all while we destroy our planet its life in the process.
While watching the film “Happy” I was reminded of the Positive Psychology seminar that I have been taking for the last two quarters. I found it so interesting and incredibly inspiring that psychologists want to study happiness instead of studying the things going wrong in our psyches. Both the seminar and this film help to reaffirm my gratefulness for what I have in the present moment; they also give me time to reflect on all the privileges and wonderful memories I had while I was growing up. Yes I did not have much because my family is poorer than others, but I am almost positive I have had more laughter in my life than most people I know. I pride myself on enjoying the little things and telling people I love them with every ounce of genuineness I can muster. I haven’t always been able to count my blessings or smile/laugh from deep in my gut because for the longest time I did not think I deserved life, let alone happiness. I am so utterly grateful I can enjoy my life with the ones I love and look to a bright future even with all of the atrocities that are happening all around the world and me. Life is a perfect gift and there is no one out there who can change my mind about that.
“care about something bigger than yourself to cultivate happiness”, is the quote that stuck with me from this film “Happy”. Happiness has been proven to be more about feelings of compassion, gratitude, and acceptance rather than successes checked off on a checklist. People who are happier are not striving just for their own happiness but for the betterment and happiness of those around them. Just as the man in the film quit his banking career to volunteer and help those in need felt more whole than the following pursuit of money and material things. I think this message has been said within my life quite a bit, but I feel like it speaks to me more than ever as I decide what kind of career/life path I want to start setting myself down. I could choose a profession that guarantees a great income or I can set aside material things and look to what I am truly compassionate about and also see how I can strive to make the world a better place. That sounds so cheesy but it’s true as the world is so focused on material wants and gains rather than how a certain job or action makes a person feel.
After watching happy, I think has brought our central topic of the Course to another level. Before I have watched the movie, I have heard a lot about the studies on happiness from my major. As presented at the beginning, psychologists have been trying to seek the factors that influence happiness and they have found that to live a happy life, one needs to have basic needs met, then have friends and families, and have time to do activities one enjoys. On the opposite side, psychologists claimed that the material goods can’t make a people happier than those who don’t have them, rather, these kind of people will be more stressed and depressed since they need to work hard for their desires. This information further supports the things we have discussed in earlier weeks that we don’t need lots of clothes, lots of cars, biggest house to be happy and if we don’t want these things, we can protect our climate at the same time.
One person that I remembered the most was the lady in Denmark who was divorced with three girls. According to her, she was depressed because she had no goals in life and can’t stand the pressure on her shoulders. However, she found the co-housing community where 20 different families live together to share meals, spend times together. This kind of co-housing concept has been so popular in Denmark as a way to reduce environmental pollution and connect people together. Each family is only responsible for two meals in a month and they will have more time to do what they want each day and be able to communicate with each others to increase their satisfactory level for life. As the lady in the film, she was able to find a place where she is cared by her neighbors and her kids were loved by others kids and adults in the same community. It helped them to get over the depressing past and face a better future. So as one can see, the co-housing solution for climate change seems hard and uncomfortable at first, but it can better increase the satisfaction in life and make people happier overall yet at the same time protect the climate.
It is great that Ken has been talking about how climate protect is important not only for the earth but also for ourselves. Maybe people will have doubts toward climate change and its solutions, but it is clear to see that these solutions can impact how good we live and our happiness even when people didn’t apply these solutions for climate protection.
The part of the documentary that stood out the most to me was the co-housing opportunities in Denmark. It is such a counter-cultural lifestyle when considered in our rather greedy American context, yet I found it to be a very attractive idea. It made sense in every way I could think of. It is more practical, as it gives you more time (since chores and cooking are shared responsibilities). It provides community to watch over your children and be extra helping hands. It also appears to be more fun. It sort of combines the best part of college, where you can be living in close proximity to many friends while still having your own space, with the best part of adulthood, growing a community with friends and raising a family. I found myself wishing I grew up in Denmark, where there is additionally free healthcare and public education through college. People in Denmark might not have their own room in a giant house, or their own car, but they seem to be just as happy as us Americans, and most-likely even happier. There is a lot to be learned from Denmark. I believe that if they can live fulfilling and more sustainable lives, so can we
Before watching this film, I actually reflected on why I felt depressed over the last couple of weeks——everything was fine, I had enough sleep and rest, and it just seemed like nothing went wrong. Then I just sat in front of my diary for one hour and kept trying to find what’s that one missing ingredient of happiness. Then I found the answer, and it was also mentioned in the documentary——the flow when you’re doing something you’re passionate about and social interactions. Now that I’ve been doing remote learning with a time difference for over five months, I realized no matter how hard I try to live a normal, healthy life, it’s always different from high school where my friends are around all day and we can just run downstairs and throw frisbee on the front lawn. I played ultimate frisbee during high school and we had training twice a week. Those training, frisbee-throwing practices, interactions with my friends and teammates are what I miss the most.
After coming up with the answers, I made a list of the things that would make me feel happy and tried to lower the boundary of “happiness”. It seems like happiness is harder and harder to attain nowadays, especially during the global pandemic, but I think as long as people focus more on their intrinsic goals (i.e. personal growth/relationship/desire to help others), we can all be happier.
I watched “Happy” in English 22, but it was a great refresher after taking the course in 2019. What caught my attention this time were the people from developing countries who prioritized the happiness of their people. For example, Bhutan does not prioritize economic policies, but instead focuses on the happiness of their people. They do this because they began to see people losing their cultures, environments, and social systems. The Rickshaw driver at the beginning of the film stated that despite angry customers and his tiring job, he was happy. He said “I feel that I am not poor, but I am the richest person,” after describing how his family brings him happiness. This reminds me of my grandparents who are Mexican immigrants. They didn’t grow up rich nor were they rich when they came to America so they always explained that they found happiness in people and their family. They always taught me to appreciate what I had, to care for family and others, and to help those around me. One particular story my grandpa told me at a young age stood out after rewatching this film. He told me that when he was young he used to help his mom sell tortillas door-to-door. Every once in awhile his mother would give him a small portion of the money he made to treat himself and his brother. He would specifically buy a coca-cola drink in these instances. He said that even though he was poor, helping out his mother and this small treat made him the happiest little boy. Similar to what the film stated, the more people help each other and appreciate those around them, the happier they are. The intrinsic values that the film explains are personal growth, relationships, and the desire to help others. It is proven that these values improve happiness more than extrinsic values, which leave you less satisfied with life.
I think what most connected to me was the guy who had been surfing since 1966. While my life definitely revolves around more than surfing, it brings me a certain type of happiness that only surfing gives me. If you’ve ever paid attention, you’ll see that there are always surfers in the water, even if the waves are absolutely terrible. Sometimes people will surf “just to get in the water”. There’s something very calm and serene about just sitting out in the lineup in your own thoughts. In today’s world, people are impatient; they need things done down to the second. In surfing, you have to wait for waves, sometimes for 10-15 minutes. Whether you’re sitting waiting for a wave or actually surfing on one, the whole experience is refreshing. If I’ve had a long day or I’m frustrated about something, paddling out always seems to help. In my experience, you can’t beat a good sunset session.
I could not help but make connections to the Climate Crisis while watching this film. This film highlights the higher levels of happiness humans can achieve when working as a community or team. The Climate Crisis is going to take a unprecedented amount of teamwork to be addressed effectively. Through breaking down our fetishized relationship with the individual we can work to attain higher levels of cohesiveness in society that will work in our benefit when addressing the climate crisis. This climate aware community could not only be a strong force of climate action, but also serve to uplift the happiness in each and every person. The film provides the example of Okinawa, Japan and the people’s ability to work as a cohesive unit. Although not directed at the climate, this unification of peoples that are interested in the betterment of things other than their own personal wealth, can be a powerful framework to follow in the years to come.
This film was purposefully made, and made well. It’s deep and scientific approach to happiness intrigued me and made me analyze myself. I was curious to see what others had to say about this article, and as I was reading the comments, I saw a lot of the same thoughts as mine. This film made me think, and ultimately I decided that a lot of the things in my life that I thought made me “happy” are just not doing it. Of course I got the message that materialism doesn’t make me happy, but that really wasn’t a big takeaway for me. I began to realize during this film that happiness needs to come from the mundane. It doesn’t need to come from mexico trips, or Disneyworld, or going to a party, it should come from the things I do everyday. It was so amazing to see everyone’s perspective in this. The analysis of happiness is always an important facet of life. I really enjoyed this connection to the course, I love how it somehow fits right into the material, even though it is not outwardly tied to the climate crisis. This is such an important moment in all of our lives, we have so much time in life to make change, and this is the time where we get to figure out what makes us happy. Like the woman who was run over by a truck, motivation is key. Everyone has something that can motivate them to push through and forge a better life, and hopefully I, and we all, can find that soon.
Having watched this documentary in English 22 last year, I came in knowing what to expect, but even so, this film still had a profound impact on me the second time. It is fascinating to see our original concepts of happiness be completely broken apart. I appreciate this film a lot because it inspires me to find inner peace the way that these people have without material focus. Seeing people from all over the world with such drastically different living conditions be able to find joy in their lives really puts everything into perspective. This film was able to encourage people to make changes in a way that was very inviting. From the start of the film, seeing someone who may be viewed to have an unpleasant job and life from the standards of the American Dream, claim to be happier than most Americans was very eye opening. He was able to make the best out of every situation he was in and you could tell from the film that he truly radiated happiness. The people in this film that were the happiest had a large sense of community and were able to connect with simpler things in life. For example, the community aspect in Okinawa, Japan was amazing to see. People young and old gathered and built a foundation together. One of my friends has family in Okinawa and she told me her great-grandmother lived to be 97. It is hard to believe that the age is on the younger side of how long people live till there. It was shocking to see such a stark contrast between other parts of Japan where people literally work themselves to death, to the life on this small island. Parts like this of the film brought out very emotional responses in me. Those sad moments, coupled with seeing inspiring changes around the world made this film influential enough to watch a second time, and many more times after that.
After watching this film, I immediately called me Grandma and urged her to watch it. I’m honestly not too sure why I thought of her from the get go because she is one of the happiest people I know, and you’d think maybe you’d refer this film to someone who needed one happiness in their life. Nevertheless, my Grandma called me back within hours and told me how much she enjoyed the film and how she resonated with it. My Grandma has been around the world and has talked to probably millions of people of different countries, languages, and cultures at this rate and I’m sure she saw some of what “Happy” portrayed in those people. What I got from my conversation with my Grandma was that we don’t need much to be happy. All we need is the happiness of life, friends, and family. Most people get so caught up on the little things and forget what really matters in life. I think we all should take a step back and evaluate what brings us joy, and if these things are temporary joys or are really fulfilling. I feel like I’m rambling at this point but I just really enjoyed this week’s film and hope that everyone else who watched felt the same as I did after watching it.