Will

Smith discusses jumping the shark in Chapter 14, and this discussion demonstrates the responsibility he feels to both his art and to the people who depend upon him. He says, “I had successfully fulfilled a promise to myself that I would never get caught in a cycle of deterioration without the next thing on tap” (252). He shares words that John Amos said to him about the show: “None of these execs, or producers, or businesspeople give a shit about your family. Do not let them fuck off all of your hard work and passion. It is your responsibility to make sure these people get to leave this show with some dignity” (253). Smith takes these words to heart. He pays close attention to them because they correlate with his own desire to do well by the people in his life and to bring success to others when success comes to him. This is a theme that persists throughout the entire memoir, as it is a core value Smith holds.

Smith’s marriages and children introduce a new layer of complexity to the theme of The Importance of Parental Involvement. Parents’ bonds to their children are stronger than those forged by marriage, which leads to fraught emotional situations when the parents’ marriage ends. When Smith divorces Sheree, Quincey Jones advises him to be good to her because she will be in his life forever due to their child. Jada encourages him to repair his marriage for his child’s sake, but he ultimately chooses Jada. Smith’s parents’ divorce is not finalized until many years after it was initiated, and the bitterness that lingers between Daddio and Mom-Mom is demonstrated through Mom-Mom’s pursuit of child support even after the children are already grown. Marriage was not enough to keep Mom-Mom safe or to keep the two together, but each parent’s devotion to their children keeps them in contact with one another. Jada is hesitant about marriage, harboring doubts about the institution. She ends up getting married only to make her mother happy when she gets pregnant, demonstrating the way children mediate adult relationships. Despite her lack of belief in the institution, Smith and Jada’s is the longest lasting of the three unions and is the only one that provides lifelong support and companionship. Part of what makes this possible is Jada’s support for her stepson, Trey, and for Will’s desire to be as involved in Trey’s life as possible. Smith’s experiences demonstrate that mutual respect and a desire to be together are more important than legal marriage to a successful union.

The theme of The Importance of Words and Stories takes on new depth in this section of the memoir when Smith learns about the hero’s journey from Steven Spielberg. In the basic structure of the hero’s journey, the hero responds to the call to adventure and embarks on a journey during which he encounters and overcomes obstacles. He learns important lessons along the way that he uses to help his people when he returns home. This is the precise journey Smith undertakes over the course of his memoir. He sets out to become the most famous movie star in the world. He travels the world pursuing this goal through music, television, and film. He discovers along the way that this success does not make him or those around him happy; thus, that Money and Fame Cannot Buy Happiness is one of the lessons Smith learns on his hero’s journey. He comes to a greater understanding of what it is that makes people happy. In the last section of the memoir, he goes on a journey to reach this enlightenment.

Another one of the lessons he learns on his hero’s journey is that he is courageous, after all. Smith spends much of his life in the pursuit of courage. From the very beginning of the memoir, Smith believes he lacks this courage, and he sees himself as a coward. That is one reason why he considers being punched in the boxing ring a pivotal moment in his life. When he gets hit, he can walk away. After all, he is an actor playing a fighter, not an actual fighter. He does not do this. He stays in the movie and learns to fight. This is an important step on his way to seeing himself as someone who can overcome his fears and as someone who can do what is necessary to achieve his goals.