are you happy? //// betaSP 7 min., sound //// © Rajele Jain 1993 PROJECTS //// HOME
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Are you happy?

The video consists of street interviews which I have made in Madras/India in the middle of the street. The question was simple: Are You Happy? Nobody refused to answer and everybody took it seriously.

I have tried it again in Germany but I have to confess that I gave up. After recognizing that I was NOT working for tv, I was asked what do I have to do with their answers, why should I be concerned, why should I be interested in their happiness or not happiness, why should they answer me this question.

Maybe in the West happiness belongs to the very private whereas in India it is a more general, philosophical problem.

Are you happy?

But MTV says yes in general. advertisement says yes - if you buy... - also in general.

I had got answers at least in India, so I packed them into the video aesthetics of MTV in order that the question (and the answers) could get accepted of being generally discussed also in the West.

A lot of time in my work I am dealing with the gap/relation/difference/influence between image and sound...in this video - I hope - the gap is big enough to show the difference between content and packing...