Measuring Happiness
A Documentary
How do you measure happiness? While there are many theories and ideas out there, happiness means something slightly different to each and every one of us. Everyone perceives happiness in their own way—there is no “correct view”, each person has a different experience.
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Measuring Happiness is a documentary, a collection of ideas surrounding Happiness from a group of 15 people connected to the University of Michigan in various ways.
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About the Filmmaker
Hi my name is Amy Zhang and I am currently a Senior at the University of Michigan studying Organizational Studies and Psychology with a Minor in Writing.
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​Happiness is a topic I’ve always been interested in. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about happiness because I’ve noticed that it is so different for everyone: it plays a different role, means something different, and is experienced so differently for each and every person. When I studied abroad in Denmark, I was shocked to learn how simple happiness was to the Danes. They believe in Lige Nu- living in the now and Hygge- a cozy feeling. Their simple everyday appreciation allows them to stay positive and rank as one of the happiest countries in the world. Engaging in these experiences through both my coursework in Positive Psychology as well as through living with Danish roommates only caused my curiosity to grow.
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This documentary is the embodiment of my exploration, as I strive to learn about what happiness means to different people. The end of the documentary is not the end of my exploration, but a new and better informed beginning.