If you’re happy, and you know it — well, you’re about the only one.
A filmmaker from Connecticut has traveled to each of the 50 states and well beyond, asking people one simple question: Are you happy?
Atdhe “Theo” Trepca, 29, was shocked and saddened to hear that people all around the world — from commuting New Yorkers to farmers in the Philippines — essentially have the same response: No.
“It’s kind of crazy,” he told The Post. “There is a thread between all the answers, no matter where you’re from.”
“The overall consensus is, I think, people actually are not happy, unfortunately.”
“What does that mean?” a volunteer at a blood stem cell donor drive answered back, laughing nervously when queried — her response ended up going viral on Trepca’s TikTok channel, which boasts 4 million followers.
When a gray-bearded man was posed the question, he admitted he was “a little sad” after losing his wife.
“Cherish every minute, because it comes to a tragic end,” he said into the camera.
Trepca explained that most of what upsets people “speaks to what we want as humans, which is ‘I don’t want to be alone. I want to be loved. I want to be understood. And I don’t want to suffer.’ ”
He considers these issues “the core kind of human desires.”
However, the peripatetic vox-popper said, when he gives people a second to stop and reflect on the question, most will wind up reconsidering their response, even conceding that they’re — gasp! — grateful.
“They’ll say, ‘You know, I’ve had a difficult life. I’ve gone through this and that and the other, but now that you’re asking me, and I actually get to reflect on it, I have a lot to be grateful for. So, yeah, I’ll say I’m happy,’ ” he said.
However, some do recognize their good fortune more easily, like boldface name Bill Murray, who was stopped in New York’s Washington Square Park.
Asked what advice he would give to those struggling with happiness, the “Caddyshack” star said: “Whatever you were feeling just a minute ago doesn’t matter anymore. You gotta start right now.”
‘A global look at mental health’
Trepca decided to hit the road with his microphone back in 2019, after being inspired by the French documentary “Chronicle of a Summer,” which followed three psychologists doing the same thing, but in Paris, back in 1961.
“There’s never been a more crucial time for the series,” Trepca says in the trailer for a planned “Are You Happy?” documentary, as scenes of domestic political strife and global warfare flash across the screen.
The intrepid interviewer could have a point. The rate of depression has reached an all-time high in the US, according to a 2023 Gallup Poll — nearly 30% of adults admitted to having been diagnosed with depression at one point or another.
To whet audience appetites for the film, Trepca began by sharing snippets of his man-on-the-street interviews on TikTok.
Viewers were so inspired by Trepca’s videos, they reached out and asked if they could contribute by going out in their communities asking the same question.
The clips quickly connected with a large and appreciative audience — a community of 20,000 or so has led to a viewership in the millions, spanning 161 countries.
“What’s crazy is that it’s become bigger than anything I could have ever imagined. What started as a documentary series ended up being this global look at mental health,” Trepca said.
As to why the videos became so popular, Trepca said it goes back to those core human desires.
“I think it shows people they’re not alone,” he said. “That there’s someone else out there that’s also going through what they’re going through.”