Fifty People, One Question

Fifty People, One Question is a social experiment that was conducted in a couple of places. It works by interviewing 50 passers-by and asking them an in-depth question. A couple people pause before answering, others don't even take a second. These short videos reveal so much about how people act, what they use to convey meaning, and emotion, and even how they behave in front of a camera. The first one was conducted in New Orleans, and is also my favourite video out of the bunch.


I love how the beginning of the video features a blurry lens, while the people being interviewed are preparing to answer the question. We only find out the question through the people that repeated it. They were asked: By the end of today, what would you wish to happen? While watching the video, I could help but put myself in the participants' shoes. When they said something funny, I laughed; when they said something sad or maybe unclear, I listened attentively and searched their faces for more information. The first theme that arose during this short is work. Some people wanted to get more accomplished, others wanted to find some. Next, money was a popular wish. "I want to be a millionaire" or "More money" were some answers that came up. Finally and most importantly is the theme of relationships, whether friends, family, or lovers. One man wished that "a nice lady would join me smokin' a cigar", and another wanted to get married one day. One young man hoped the adoption papers would be approved, another hoped his son would come back.

These kind of videos often prove to me how tightly knit people really are to one another. We all want similar things. We want more money. We want to work somewhere we'd like. We want to have people in our lives to love. This experiment has really proven how human we are. Now, on to Video #2, by PostSecret.


The question of this interview is once again expressed through one of the interviewees: What's your secret? I was expecting to see more resistance from these people, but some jumped right in. Some became serious, others were more humorous. The first theme would be love. One guy admitted that he can't only date one girl, another admitted his sexual orientation, and a young girl admitted to transferring schools to be with an ex-boyfriend. Some people had funnier secrets that made me smile: a young boy said he hated peanut butter and jelly, and another man told the story about how his computer broke because he actually urinated on it, not spilled coffee on it.

There were moments during the short film where you hear people say something that can be very personally revealing when they don't even notice it. For example, a young man said he fantasized about being a special agent. At the end of his interview he nonchalantly suggested that it might be because of the lack of excitement in his life. This got me thinking: Is he unhappy about it? Does he dream of doing funner stuff, or going out more? Is he shy, introverted? Another girl, who I found tried looking tough and cool in front of her other friends, said something I don't think she initially intended to reveal: "I act like an idiot 'cause...I don't know, 'cause I have a void in my heart." What or who is this void about? Does she try being funny to avoid other emotions? Does she even like how she's acting?

Finally, and definitely the most touching part of the video, is the interviewed couple. I think it's rather unclear if they are friends or dating, so there are different assumptions that I couple with the type of relationship between them. I personally am assuming they are friends. He guiltily admits that he ran over the girl's cat. The interview cuts to other respondents, then goes back to the couple, and the girl admits that the books she doesn't let him read consist of love poems about him. Now, the only thing that tips me off that they might be friends is the face he makes. The looks that spread across his face range anywhere from surprise, to flattering, to shyness, and it almost looks like he's even in love with her. The look on his face when she divulged the secret was incredibly heart-warming.

The last video takes place in Brooklyn. The question is revealed to be: Where would you wish to wake up tomorrow?


The answers for this question were a bit tamer than the last two videos. The two most prominent themes were home and places around the world. When asked the question, a lot of people simply said they'd like to wake up where they woke up that morning, in their bed. I think people attribute a feeling of safety when they are in their own bed. Others wished they'd wake up in Alaska, Kenya, Paris, and London. These represented the dream places of the people who answered. Some interviewees wanted to wake up in fictional or unfeasible places such as Paradise and outer space. The rest of the respondents wanted to wake up next to someone they loved/ wanted to love.

My overall opinion of these videos is that I loved the concept. You can really see the different facets of a person just by letting them speak, or describe something in a certain way, or in an ever so subtle gesture. I don't think people can often see how revealing these can turn out to be, even if they don't mean it or were not hinting at it.

It makes me think about how much attention we pay to the people we talk with on a daily basis. When you ask your wife how her day went, does she say, "Good," look away and tuck her hair behind her ear? Does that mean something went wrong at work, or did she just have an off-day? When you ask your friend how they are today, would they ever be honest enough to admit that they feel really homesick today? Why are people in such a rush to answer verbal questions unless they are stopped and asked to elaborate? Why does everyone automatically say "I'm good, you?" instead of "Not that great. I lost my car keys and was late for work this morning"? Why can't we speak to each other? We talk too much, only to fill the silence. It looks to me as though we're dealing with a colossal population of people who have trouble speaking with others, and the members of this population talk to each other, further exacerbating the situation. Where are those people you can always go to to talk to? People are embarrassed about, or ashamed of, or hurt about stuff that is normal, but no one thinks there are others that feel similarly. It sounds strange to say it, but when I watch these videos, I can see how truly human people can be. They're real: some things make them laugh, other things make them worry, feel sad, mad, scared, excited. People are just melting pots of emotions, yet we forget others are just the same way. Everyone should have someone to talk to.


Want to see more?
The videos in today's blogs can be found here:
Video 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Chrq17zKI
Video 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mAQtbTqDefw
Video 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJAUGg4081Q&feature=related