"You Will Be Happy"

Created by APOLLO / Arts & Performance Art, Lingual Literacy, Raising Awareness

2-minute read

- The Authoritarian Surveillance State
​- Identity-based Tribalism

Screenshot from "You Will Be Happy" - Leonardo Of Biz

​APOLLO ART ΞXCHANGE

The following work is a handpicked piece from the full Apollo Art Archive.

“You will own nothing, and you will be happy.”

​Welcome to the Authoritarian Surveillance State.

In its initial introduction we're set in the endless and pointless scrolls of social media which have degraded our attention span over countless hours of use. Our main subject awakens with his Virtual Reality headset owned by the mega conglomerate of Facebook, Amazon, Google, Windows, Apple & Netflix.

He enters his communally-shared shower space before retreating back to eat a "NuMeat" microwaved instameal. The screen of his phone lights up to notify him of the start of a 3 day timer for the execution of his monthly rental Smart Contract.

Next he receives a notification for the arrival of his rideshare as his vaccination status sits conveniently near the side of his screen.

Our subject goes outside just as his autonomous rideshare pulls up. We’re introduced to this grand sense of scale as if we’re nothing but another drop in the bucket here. Note the censorship devices over the citizen’s mouths. Messaging on the public transportation pod speaks in both English and Mandarin in a bid to the possibility of Chinese global dominance by 2030.

After arriving at work we’re herded like sheep past a titanous mural which presents the intersectional utopia which the party has finally achieved.

We’re sitting at our desk within a cubicle whose 6 sides are completely translucent with a vast sense of vulnerability all around. The screen of our desktop opens with pavlovian snapping alongside a personal tributary to prove both loyalty and submission to the party. Our main character looks up to see that his manager can view him from any angle simultaneously as he realizes he can never escape from the view of the Big Brother party.

His manager asks him how nice his pod is. Upon the slightest sign of dissatisfaction the entire room turns blood red as a deep low siren rings out in dismay. He is now the black sheep.

"Oof. That's bad speak."

Our subject's phone lights up in red to notify him that he's violated the terms of his employee Smart Contract by saying:

"Yeah. It's a bit cramped though"

This of course is in direct contradiction with the verified Snopes fact that workpods are "comfortably spacious, combining the safety of closed cubicles with the communal spirit of open office environments."

Due to this his social credit score has decreased by 20 points, throwing him into the red as he no longer has money for rent.

Overall this dystopian motion picture presents a lone subject traveling through the authoritarian surveillance state which he lives in as every aspect of the film stands to remind us of the possibility of falling into a societal state of centralized power and oppression.