01x03 - Happiness Is A Condom Box Burial

[bunniefuu]

- So are you ready?

- Yes, sir.

- How are you today?

- Doing OK, thanks.

[engine turning over]

I've never been
a glass half full kind of guy.

[light music]

* *

I'm more
of a glass half empty...

[baby screaming]

- But then I accidentally
drop the glass,

and it shatters,
and now I'm just left

holding a bunch
of broken shards kind of guy.

[baby screaming]

* *

- Thank you.

- Very excited.

We're gonna go talk
to people about happiness.

- Oh, oh, beautiful.
You guys are going to like it.

- Are we gonna find
some happiness here?

- Of course.
- Yeah?

- I can feel it.
- OK.

- Trust me.
[chuckles]

[horns honking]

- If the point of this journey
is to find happiness,

I need to force myself
out of my comfort zone.

So I'm visiting one
of the statistically most

optimistic countries on Earth.

This place is an avalanche
of smiles and cheeriness.

I--well, I can't
get past the feeling

that all this positivity
is gonna be the end of me.

* *

[Nicky Blitz' "Blast Off"]

- * Getting too close,
better pull on back *

- What if I travel the world,

exploring what makes some
places happier than others?

- * Need a one-two... *

- I'm looking at the ways
that where we are...

- * Yeah, I'm a-comin',
I'm a-comin' *

- Affect who we are.

- * Whoo, I'm a-comin' *

* I'm a-comin', yeah... *

- It's been said that
the search for happiness

is the chief source
of unhappiness.

- * I'm a-comin',
I'm a-comin'... *

- Well, that's okay.

I'm already unhappy,
so I've got nothing to lose.

- * Let's go *

* Let's all blast off *

[car horn blaring]

[horns honking]

- Hey.

- There's something
you don't see every day,

beans everywhere
and iPhone cases.

[light music]

I am baffled by Ghana's
capital city of Accra.

If we take the annual rankings
at face value,

Ghana is not
a very happy place.

In 2022, it ranked 111th
on the World Happiness Report,

amongst the bottom third
on the international scale.

[fast percussive music]

* *

- But there's something
remarkable happening

in this West African
nation of 32 million.

When the Happiness Report
asked folks

to predict their happiness
in the coming years,

a metric known
as future life evaluation,

Accra was amongst the most
optimistic places on Earth.

Even if Ghana isn't
currently a happy place,

people here
overwhelmingly believe

good things are to come.

So I've come to Ghana to find
out how much of our happiness

is a matter of perspective.

[laughter]

To get started, here I am
hailing a random taxi.

- Hi, how are you doing?
- I'm good.

How are you?
- Fine.

- Until you notice that
my driver is already mic'd up

before I've even gotten in,
so clearly, this was planned.

- Are you comfortable in here?
- I'm very comfortable.

- Leg room?
- Yes, this is beautiful.

- So my name is Esenam.
- Esenam.

- And I'll be your driver
for the day.

- Wonderful.

- We're gonna do something.
- Mm-hmm.

- Can you stretch out
your palm?

- Yeah.
- Just like this.

- OK, mm-hmm.
- Good.

Can you put it together?
[claps]

- Yeah.

- So now can I see you sliding
those hand down your pocket?

Can you do it?
- OK.

- Do it, do it, do it.
- All right.

- Do you know what
you've just done?

- What's that?
- Ha-ha.

You folded your country
and tucked it into your pocket.

So now we're going to start
on a very clean slate.

[laughs]
- I put my country away.

- Very important.
- Ready to start with a clean--

- I want--

- Mind, an open mind,
and a new experience.

Today, my driver
is Esenam Nyador,

otherwise known as Miss Taxi.

She might just be
the most delightfully charming

revolutionary I've ever met.

You see,
Miss Taxi was denied entrance

by all of the male-dominated
taxi unions in Ghana

because parts of the country
still operate as a patriarchy.

So she said,
to hell with all of you,

and started her own all-female
transportation service.

[upbeat music]

OK, so this is Accra.

- To our right-hand side,
that's the Bank of Ghana.

- Bank of Ghana, OK.

- You do know
that if we are short on cash--

- OK.
- You know--

- We're gonna rob that?

- I didn't say rob.

- Well, you kind of hinted rob.

You kind of were like--

- But if you're caught,
I don't know you, honestly.

- I have documentation
that you actually do know me.

It's on camera.
- [laughs]

* *

- I'm gonna make a little
documentary on my phone.

Freedom and Justice, 1957.

- Exactly.

For me, this space is
very, very important.

It's the majestic space
of independence.

* *

Such a breath of fresh air.

* *

- Hey, how are you?

You're selling sunglasses.

- Whoa.

That's a rap star.

- Too Elton John.
- [laughs]

- You know Elton John?
- This looks a bit feminine.

- What do you think
about this one?

I'm OK
with the divine feminine.

I like to express
my femininity.

- Oh, I like it.
- All right.

Here we go.

Oh, what do we got here?

- Oh!

- Oh, beautiful.
I'll take one of those.

- Thank you.
- Keep the change.

- Medaase.
- Medaase.

- [laughs]
- Thank you.

* *

- Tell me about your life
as a female taxi driver.

- For me, being a taxi driver
was my statement

of gender deviancy.

The taxi unions
I spoke to wouldn't let me in

as a female taxi driver.

But I stood my ground.

It motivated me
to give other women

the opportunity to be trained

in the transport industry
in Ghana.

- So how does your family feel
about this struggle

that you've undertaken?

- I'll tell you something.

What my sons see me doing today
actually informs

their perception
about life as they grow.

My sons see a gender fight
being fought here.

- Right, right.

- And this space says it all.

The Black Star, it's actually
the star and guidance

for Africa's freedom and unity.

- Mm.

* *

For 150 years,
Ghana was the center

of the British sl*ve trade,

with millions sent
across the Atlantic

from these shores.

From timber to gold to cocoa,

Ghana's rich soil
led to centuries

of that wonderfully
European arrangement

in which the colonial power
pillages all the resources

from a place
and gives nothing in return.

But in 1957,
Ghanaians banded together

and kicked out the Brits...

- Ghana is free forever!

- Making them
the first sub-Saharan nation

to gain independence
from colonial rule.

Ghana has maintained
a stable democracy since 1992.

And today, Miss Taxi
is the cheerful symbol

of the incredible progress
being made around here.

- I would say Ghanaians take
their joy from helping others.

- Yeah.

- Seeing my fellow women
have a space

to explore their talent
and not be limited

by who they are
for the sake of gender,

for me, that's bliss.

- Study after study tells us
that investment in something

bigger than ourselves
is crucial to a happier life.

The root of Miss Taxi's
happiness is the meaning

she derives
from helping others.

Have I been going
about this journey all wrong?

Perhaps I should be looking

for something bigger
than myself,

chasing meaning,
not happiness.

For answers,
I'm going somewhere

to get my a*s kicked.

[upbeat music]

* *

- Looking for stuff to buy.

These are very nice.

These yours?
- Yes.

- That's--this is a man's one?

* *

What do you think?

I feel more masculine.

Look at that.

This market is one
of the most incredible places

I've ever seen.

They say
money can't buy happiness,

but let's see what it can buy.

Can I buy a cheese grater?

This is a nice cheese grater.

Wonder if these would fit me.

Is this a fan for like this,
keep you cool?

Here, I want this big--
this big pink one right there.

OK, I'll take that.

What are these fish?

- Stew?
I don't eat it right like this?

[fast percussive music]

Pulsing across every
city block in Ghana,

there's momentum.

[all singing]

- It's as if everyone here
knows that the full potential

of an entire nation
is about to be realized.

Hello.
- Hi.

- And nowhere in Accra
is this more apparent

than in the teeny-tiny
neighborhood of Bukom.

[upbeat music]

This village is no bigger
than a few football fields,

yet it has somehow produced
more world champion boxers

than anywhere else on Earth.

From Joshua Clottey to
the Professor Azumah Nelson...

- He's down!
The fight is over!

- Bukom is boxing's Mecca.

OK, we're gonna
do some training.

I'm meeting with legendary
trainer Carl Lokko,

who promises to introduce me

to a ruthless
up-and-coming fighter

who just might teach me
a thing or two about optimism.

You're--you're the boxer?

- Yeah.

- Uh, OK, hi.

- Hi.
- I'm Rainn.

- Don't let
her pint size fool you.

Carl's 13-year-old daughter
Najat is a decorated boxer

with a brutal left hook...

* *

A left hook I'm about to put

my face in front of,
apparently.

Just hit the AC there, Carl?

That'd be great.

- OK.

What made you want to box?

- How did you know
that Najat was talented?

- I can see clear that she's
fond of doing everything

with some kind
of different energy.

- What is this?

Ah, that's like a running man.

That's a dance.

- [laughs]

- Now you're going to come
try the workout, right?

That's it.

* *

- Yes.

- What are you laughing at?

- [laughs]

- Come on now.

I'm pretty badass.

You gotta admit it.

[groans]
- Push it.

Push it down.

Uh-huh.
- I have a big melon.

- [laughs]
[bell dinging]

- Go on, go on.
- OK.

What if I just go like that?

She can't hit me.
Oh!

- Yes.
Get close.

- Oh, she got me.
- Get close, go.

Get close, go.

- I'm already exhausted.
- No.

No, go on, go on.

- Can I throw up
in this helmet?

Well, I guess it will come...
- Go on.

- Right out the bottom.

How is this?

What are you gonna do
about this, huh?

- That's it.

- I'm gonna pull that down
over your eyes.

- Good, Najat, good.

- I'm gonna pull
that over your eyes.

[grunts]
- Uh-huh, nice one.

- Her left is so fast, ah!

[laughs]
- Stop.

[bell dinging]
- OK, OK, I give up.

Ding, ding.
- Yes.

[laughs]

- Oh, my gosh.

All right, all right.

- Oh.

- [grunts]
- Whew.

Wow.
So that was intense.

I'm ready to pass out.

I don't even see a drop
of sweat on her.

- [laughs]

- You're an amazing athlete.

What's special
about the Ghanaian boxers?

- They always believe
that they can be somebody.

They are making Ghana proud
by winning

world titles for Ghana.

Najat now is going
to fight for Ghana.

All of us who sit at one place,
that is where you see

Ghanians showing their love.

- And where do you hope to go?
What do you hope to achieve?

- OK, so you want
to do it for Ghana,

not for yourself,
not for your dad?

- I love this image
of Ghanaians

eating from the same bowl.

Back home, I squirm
if someone stands to close

to me in line
at the coffee shop.

Jab, jab, right.

Najat's dream isn't wearing
a medal around her neck.

It's having the whole
country rally behind her.

- Good.

- The national pride here
is so inspiring.

No wonder everyone feels so
optimistic about the future.

- Yeah, keep it up.
You're doing good.

- But what does all
this positivity even get you?

I feel exhausted.
- No.

- Can I get a smoothie?

Well, OK, fine, a lot.

It gets you a lot.

The gold standard
for measuring optimism

is known
as the Life Orientation Test.

It asks people how strongly
they agree or disagree

with a series
of statements like,

"If something can go
wrong for me, it will,"

or, "In uncertain times,
I usually expect the best."

Researchers from Harvard
tracked female nurses

over the span
of four decades and found

that those who reported
an optimistic outlook

had a 30% reduced risk
of mortality

versus the pessimists.

The optimists were less likely
to die from everything

from cancer to heart failure.

Fortunately, optimism
is proven to be contagious.

And nowhere is that more
apparent than in Ghana.

Hello!

- Hello.
- You must be Deijha.

- I am.

- Meet Deijha Gordon.

Deijha's family
is from Jamaica,

where countless Ghanaians were
sent during the sl*ve trade.

So after moving here in 2019,
she started a food truck

serving Jamaican delicacies
to return a piece

of Ghanaian culture
to its people.

And she hasn't looked back.

So tell me your story.
You're from Brooklyn.

- Yes.
I'm from Brooklyn, New York.

And I used to work
for the post office.

- Uh-huh.

- And I visited
for the first time in 2015.

And I was sold right away.

I had a vision
that I started a restaurant.

It was so profound
for me that I felt like

I had to follow that calling.

- And it brought you here.
- Yes.

- Deijha packed up her life,
moved to Accra on her own...

[car horns honking]

And made her vision a reality.

- Do you know what it takes
to move across the world,

get a food truck built,
start a business?

Hey, come to my food truck.

But the love
is real here in Ghana.

- You're here, baby.

- So what was
the difference you felt

coming from the United States
to Ghana?

- So I didn't realize
the pressure that I had

as a Black woman
living in America, right,

until I came here,
and my skin color

wasn't a thing for me.

I'm able
to create my own identity

and be my true, authentic self,

and not have to worry
what anyone thinks of me.

And then also,
a lot of Ghanaians

love the fact that I
gave up my Western world

to come to their country.

They welcome me here.

- People from all
over the world are flocking

to Ghana as the country
capitalizes

on its Year of Return campaign.

2019 marked 400 years

since the first documented
sl*ve ship landed in Virginia.

- Over the past year,
the country marked

the anniversary
by hosting cultural events.

- In 2019,
over a million people

visited Ghana
during the Year of the Return,

an effort by the nation to
unify members of its diaspora.

Your ancestors, how do you feel
a connection to them?

What would they be saying
to you right now?

- Whew, you are
my wildest dream, for sure.

I just imagine
what it was like for them.

You know, they're living
in their homeland,

and they get stripped
of their identity,

and there's no return.

But I returned.

So for me,
that was so powerful to pay

that respect to my ancestors.

And I think
they'll be pretty proud of me.

* *

- All right, thank you.
I'll bring it back later.

[upbeat music]

There's no mystery
to why Ghana ranks low

on the happiness scale.

A quarter of the country
lives in poverty.

* *

Only a third has access
to clean water.

And yet people here
have an uncanny ability

to focus on the good.

The goats are adorable.

[goat bleating]

And I want to figure out
where it all comes from.

[goat bleating]

A little over an hour
outside of Accra,

just beyond the shadow
of its modern skyscrapers,

there's a whole other Ghana,

Prampram,

a small fishing village

and home to an absolute
legend in these parts.

I heard someone refer to you
as like the mayor.

You're the unofficial mayor
of this place, is that right?

- Yeah, kind of.

- Anny Osabutey is a writer

who was born and raised
in Prampram.

He won an award as an African
journalist of the year,

attended the prestigious
Columbia School of Journalism,

and has since been recruited

by the world's biggest
news agencies.

But his devotion
to this place drew him

back home in 2017
because for him,

returning here
wasn't a choice.

It was his duty.

Now, you have an amazing story.

You could be working
anywhere in the world.

Why did you move back here?

- Yeah.

In my life, I've lived
in about six different states.

I don't have
the same reverence

for any one spot
like Anny does with Prampram.

But Anny is not alone.

The time-honored
fishing community

which keeps Prampram afloat,

it's comprised
of hundreds of others

who share
the same determination

of doing what it takes
to help this place thrive.

- OK.

I don't think I would
make much of a fisherman.

- [laughs]

- But we're going to find out.

Anny explains that we must
first pay our respects

to the tribal chief,

a widespread practice
in much of West Africa.

- Ah, wonderful.

Thank you.

- Go ahead and take a seat.

- Amee.
- Amee.

- Now, whatever that we
are here to do in the town

should be very,
very successful.

- [speaking Akan]

[soft music]

* *

- For the second time
on my international quest

for happiness,
I find myself involved

in an aquatic-based activity
that has me terrified.

But this time,
if I'm going to drown,

at least I'll look good
doing it.

It's like sexy traffic clown.

* *

Safety meeting.

* *

How are you gonna--
how am I doing this?

One, two, three.

- OK.
- OK.

OK.

- Hey-o.

- OK, I know.

OK.

- Some rough seas, huh?

- [shouting]

- This is absolutely nuts.

- Hmm, that's not good.

- [speaking Akan]

- Ah, OK.

[laughs]

* *

- Then, just like that,
everything changes.

A collective calm.

* *

- All right.

Whoo!

It's dinner.

[thunder cracking]

A storm is on the horizon,
so we head back to land.

* *

But before I go,
there's something

Anny wants to show me.

Fort Vernon,
built here in the 18th century

by the Royal African Company.

Hell on Earth fashioned
from stone and swish.

Countless Ghanaians
were sold into sl*very

from forts like this,
shipped across the Atlantic,

never to return home.

- Yeah.

And this would be the path
that they would walk.

* *

- It's absolutely
just terrifying

and heart-wrenching to think
about all of those families

being kept here.

* *

- Anny's traveled the world,
found success,

and yet
Prampram called him back.

Thank you so much
for welcoming us here.

- Absolutely.
Thank you, thank you.

- Like most Americans,
I've always viewed

the pursuit of happiness
as an individual quest.

But Ghana has opened my eyes.

I saw it with Miss Taxi,
with Carl and Najat,

and now with Anny
and Prampram.

Happiness is
utterly intertwined

with other people.

Nor'boa, togetherness,

based on past,
based on present,

and based on future.

[rooster crowing]

- Hi, goat.

Hi, I'm new here.

- [laughs]

- I wonder, is it possible
to become more optimistic?

Hello. Hi.

As it turns out,
optimism is partly genetic,

up to 36%
according to one study.

Beyond that, our worldview
is an active choice we make,

which means,
doing some quick math,

64% of me is choosing to worry

about every stupid
little thing.

And who's this guy?
Hey, buddy.

Hi, sweetie.

Does he have a name?
- Sunipa.

- Sunipa?
- Yeah.

- Sunipa.
- Sunipa.

- Sunipa.
- Yeah, Sunipa.

- [laughs]
- Fear human being.

- Fear human.

- Sunipa means fear human?

- Yes.
- Hmm, OK.

I'm not quite sure
how I feel about that.

But how do we become
more optimistic?

[both singing]

- I need inspiration
from someone who, like me,

hasn't always had
such a rosy outlook.

That's amazing. Wow.

So I've traveled
several hours northwest

to the town of Kofi Pare
to meet Doris Korkor Nyame...

I can't wait to see your farm.

Thank you for having us here.

A cocoa farmer
who only later in life

found her true calling.

Do you grow any beets?

[chuckling]

This is really gorgeous here.

What are these?

- They're cocoa beans.
- These are cocoa beans?

- Yeah.
- Wow.

Watch this.

Look at this, America.

[grunting]

Hey, I did it.

Ooh, it's covered in ants.

And the ants
are all over my hand.

And that is part of the job
of a cocoa bean farmer.

Doris, you move so fast.

- [chuckles]

- I'm gonna put the humidity
at about 98% right now.

- Can you carry it?

- Yes.
- OK, so can I help you?

- On my head?
- Yes.

- Not like this?
OK, here we go.

[grunts]

All right.

I think I'm pretty
good at this.

Don't you think
I'm pretty good?

- Yes.
- Would you hire me?

- No.

[laughter]

- OK, I'm not gonna
be able to do this.

I'm sorry.

I really don't--I don't want
to cut my fingers off.

- [laughs]
- Hi, OK.

Yeah,
you help me out with that.

OK, this guy is good.
Is he the best?

- The best.
- He's the best, right?

- I'm best farmer, best farmer.

- You're the best farmer?
[laughs]

OK.
What's your name, my friend?

- Emmanuel.
- Emmanuel.

- You can eat.

- It's so gooey.

I can eat this?
- Yeah.

- Hey, that's pretty good.
- Yeah.

- It's sour.

[laughter]

I've never had
a cocoa bean before.

Delicious.

Now, did you grow up
being a cocoa bean farmer?

- For most of Doris' life,
she felt stuck.

But that's when
she found the thing

that truly makes her happy.

And now everything's
coming up Doris.

Recently, you ran
for assemblywoman of the area.

What prompted that?

- What has that transformation
been like for you

over the years?

- So much of what you do
is about giving.

And I've noticed this so much
with the Ghanaian people.

It's giving back to the land.

You give to your family,
help support your family.

You're giving
to your community.

[metal crashing]

- Emmanuel,
we're trying to make a movie!

- I'm sorry!
- Oh, man!

[laughter]

- [indistinct]

- Research tells us
that if you want

to become happier,
more optimistic,

then find your purpose.

Here we go.
One, two, three.

Ready?
Look here.

Think long and hard
about your personal gifts,

and ask yourself if you're
making the most of them.

Doris questioned
whether or not

she was living the life
she wanted.

And when she found
the answer was no,

she searched
for greater purpose.

That's intense.

And it makes me wonder,
have I failed

to discover
my own full potential?

- [laughs]

- Do you need
a campaign manager?

- Yes.
- Yes?

- Yes.
- OK.

- Yes, I want--

- We're gonna start
with yard signs.

"Doris now."
"Think Doris."

"Join the chorus.
Vote for Doris."

- [laughs]

- Boom, there it is.

But I think we could
go even bigger.

I'm thinking television ads,
OK?

We start on a cocoa bean.

We pull back.

It transforms into the world.

And then that transforms
into your head.

I don't know.

I'm just--tons of ways
we could go with it.

[chickens clucking]

- We got a little
push-up contest, OK?

Let's see how this goes.
Let's go.

Come on.
Here we go.

Ooh. OK.

Ready?

Let's hit it.
Come on.

Go ahead and show off.

Just go ahead.

[upbeat music]

I'm now a few days
into my time in Ghana,

and it's clear that this place
has a gentle way

of getting you
to let down your guard.

[laughter]

Cut.

Everyone else feels
so chipper and easygoing.

Why shouldn't I feel the same?

- We Ghanaians,
everybody's family.

- It is a nation
that we love--we love people.

- And Ghanaians are known
to be very hospitable.

And they know how
to treat people well.

- We are selfless,
and we are free spirits.

- But amidst all
this Ghanaian feel-goodery,

I want to see
how optimism persists

even in the face
of unthinkable struggles.

- Whoo!

- Two.

- Ay!

[cheers and applause]

- That's amazing.

Tonight, I'm invited to join
a local theater troupe

for one
of their weekly hangouts.

- One.

- I think I saw
the kids playing this.

- Two.
- What's it called?

- Ampe?
Someone teach me.

- And then do I want to try
and mirror your leg?

- OK, so--

Yeah.
- Hey.

Yes!

I feel like
I've been transported

back in time to
the happiest era of my life.

In high school,
I'd stay up half the night

with my fellow acting geeks
in someone's basement,

playing theater games and
doing Monty Python routines.

OK, OK, I can do it.

[cheering]

Oh, my God.
- Something like that.

- All right, I'm out, I'm out.

[laughter]

- Whoo!

- Tell me about Drama Queens.
What is Drama Queens?

- Drama Queens
is a youth-led organization

that uses arts
for social change,

particularly
in the lenses of feminism,

LGBT rights, pan-Africanism,
and environmental activism.

- Mm-hmm.

- This squad of brave actors

has performed together
since 2016,

tackling subjects
that are taboo

in many parts of Ghana.

- Who's the best actor?

- Actually--
- I think myself.

- [laughs]

You volunteered
yourself for that?

- Yes, please.

- OK.
[laughter]

- But these days,
the Drama Queens are forced

to conduct their meetings
in secrecy,

changing locations
every week for the sake

of their own safety.

How important is it
to create a safe space,

and what are you up against?

- For the most part,
the notions

in the Ghanaian community
is that it's either

q*eer people do not exist
or are in hidden spaces

and should stay
in hidden spaces.

We always have to be very,
very conscious about,

how are we prioritizing
the safety of people

that we are going
to invite to this space?

There's been cases where
q*eer people just meet up,

and they've been arrested for--

- Arrested?
- Arrested, exactly, then--

- So is it against
the law in Ghana?

- It's not, but--
- It's complicated.

- It is complicated because
all of this was crowned

by the introduction
of the anti-LGBT bill,

the Proper Ghanaian
Family Values Bill.

It's an anti-LGBT bill
that targets people

who identify as h*m*.

- Members of the LGBTQ
community in Ghana

say their lives will become
a nightmare if a new bill

is passed into law.

- Promotion of Proper
Human Sexual Rights

and Ghanaian Family Values
Bill, that's the name of it.

- It coerces LGBTQ Ghanaians
to choose between jail time

and so-called
conversion therapy.

- It even goes further to say
that if a person supports

or shows sympathy
to a q*eer person,

you would be penalized
for five to ten years.

- So what you're doing right
here, right now is dangerous.

- It's dangerous.

[soft music]

- These are extraordinarily
difficult circumstances

to play games under.

- [laughs]

- For lots
of q*eer people in Ghana,

they come into their self,
their sense of self,

in solitude.

And so the work we do
lets them know

that they're really not alone
and that there's more

than just sadness and darkness.

* *

- One of our themes this year
is joyful resistance,

which is like,
be intentional with joy.

Let's let the spaces that
we are creating be more fun,

be more celebrated
for ourselves.

The world will provide you
millions of things

to be sad about,
to be depressed about.

But in the darkness,
will you allow yourself

to find any glimmer of light?

- Mm.
That's so beautifully sad.

* *

This, of course,
pisses me off.

Whether it was theater,

or my love
of Dungeons & Dragons,

or playing the bassoon,
I've been labeled an oddball

and a misfit my entire life.

I discovered myself
in those years,

goofing off
with the so-called outcasts

in classrooms
and study halls after school.

In their company,
I found my voice,

my artistic curiosity,
and my passion.

I felt most at home with them,
and I still do to this day.

For Raku, Michaela, and
the rest of the Drama Queens,

the simple act of being
in each other's company

may soon be criminal.

Yet even in the face
of blood-boiling injustice,

there persists an undeniable
hopefulness in this group...

- Ah!

- More powerful
than anything I've witnessed

on my journey so far.

A yo-yo.
- Yes!

- Spinning a yo-yo.
[laughs]

Do you guys ever play
the game Zip Zap Zop?

Do you know that one?
- Oh, yeah.

- You have to say it
in this order, zip, zap, zop.

The Drama Queens maintain
a genuine conviction

that as long as they're
in each other's company,

they are strong,
they are determined,

and they are worthy.

* *

I head back to my cushy hotel,
a world away from everything

I just witnessed,
but I can't sleep.

And I'm still trying
to make sense of it all.

I'm just so incredibly moved

by what I saw tonight.

And that phrase
stuck out to me so much,

joyful resistance.

Joyful resistance.

That's really what we need,
isn't it?

We need a joy rebellion.

I've met so many people
here in Ghana

that are on that mission,
that bring joy,

feel joy, share joy.

And it's remarkable.

It's a remarkable place.

- I think this is it.

Ghana is shaking me
to my core.

It's incredible how a place
with so many real concerns

today maintains a cheery
outlook for tomorrow.

Hello.
- Hello.

- The Ghanaian people
put a positive spin

on literally everything,
even the thing that,

frankly, scares me the most.

I'm not very handy.
- Oh, OK.

You can try this.

- This way?
- No, that way.

- OK.

How's that?

- But you make sure
it's stable.

The plane is stable.
Uh-huh.

- I think
they're laughing at me.

[laughter]

So I could be a coffin maker.

- It's gonna be a while.

[laughter]

- Wow.

Eric Adjetey Anang
is an artisan creating

the rare kind of art
that you can take with you

even after you're gone.

- My granddad, he was the one
who started the whole idea

of designed coffins.

- Designed coffins.

- I know some people
would say fantasy coffin,

but I wouldn't say
fantasy coffin because--

- The fantasy--
it trivializes it,

makes it too funny, too light.

What are some of the designs
you've made over the years?

- Oh, so many.

I mean, like the seahorse,
Kalashnikov.

I mean, you know--
- A machine g*n coffin?

- A machine g*n,
yeah, yeah, yeah.

The thing is, we do everything.

You just bring a picture.

- And you'll make it.
- We'll make it, yeah.

- Yeah, I'm really afraid

that guy is gonna
slice his finger off.

- No, he's been doing
that for forever.

- That is a crazy technique.
I've never seen that before.

- [laughing]

[metal clanging]

- Eric runs a 70-year-old
family business designing

coffins in the shapes
of lions, and fish,

and airplanes,
and a different kind of fish,

and a box of condoms,
and a rooster,

and a BIC ballpoint pen,
and a Twix wrapper,

and a third variety of fish,
and pretty much anything else

you can imagine
being buried inside of.

It's all part of Ga tradition
to spend eternity

in a coffin modeled after
your profession here on Earth

or reflecting your aspirations
for the next world.

What's going on here?

Looks like
it's gonna be a race car.

Did this man pass away?
- Yeah.

- And this was his car?
- This was his car.

- And he really loved his car?
- Yes.

So he's a taxi driver,
so they can make...

- Oh, wow.
- A taxi for him, yeah.

- You'd think he was
in a taxi his whole life,

he'd want to be buried in,
like, a boat or an airplane.

- Actually, he worked
all his life to--

doing that to take care
of the children.

- An homage to him
and the work that he has done.

[upbeat music]

* *

- This is a beer bottle.
- Yes.

- So you know how
that person died.

This is for someone
who really liked corn?

- A corn farmer.

- A corn farmer.
- Yeah.

- OK.
- Yeah.

And then we have
this shoe over there.

This could be, you know--
- A cobbler.

- Not really.
A gentleman.

- A gentleman with nice shoes?
- Yeah.

- But it could be for,
like, Daniel Day-Lewis.

- [laughs]

One thing
I also tell people is,

this is the thing you have
to get for yourself

when you're alive
because that is the only thing

you get to go with.

- So your coffin
would be shaped,

perhaps, like a coffin.

- Yeah, I actually built one
for myself.

- You did?
- Yeah, I did.

But I made it in a cabinet form
so I could--

my TV was on top of it.

There were some drawers and
stuff where I could put stuff.

- That's a good idea,

coffins that double
as TV stands.

- As TV stands.
- Until you die...

- [laughs]
- And then boom.

This might be something
you take onto "Shark Tank."

- [laughs]

- Yeah.

In different cultures
around the world,

death and the rituals

of funerals
are very different.

And in the United States,
it's very solemn.

You're supposed
to have a very nice casket.

It's very sad.

But it seems to be a little bit
different here in Ghana.

- Yeah, people mourn,
but we try to put in more

of a fashion, and celebration,
and stuff too,

right, than just crying.

[upbeat music]

- Oftentimes, Ghanaian
funerals are epic celebrations

filled with pots
of jollof and waakye,

drinking, live music.

And it's unlike anything
I've witnessed back home.

* *

My father passed away
about two years ago,

and he was a painter.

And I'm thinking now,

we had a very plain
wooden coffin for him.

- Mm-hmm.

- But it would have
been great to have

maybe some of his students
paint some of his paintings

on the coffin itself.

That would have been
a really nice testimony to him.

I've struggled
since my father's death.

I was a toddler
when my mom left,

and he pretty much raised me.

He shared with me
his love of storytelling.

He wrote
science fiction novels,

like this one
about an android sent to Earth

to redeem humanity
and fight giant bats.

* *

There's something
absurdly wise

about the Ghanaian
relationship with death,

and it brings me joy imagining
the giant, bat-themed coffin

my father might have been
buried in had he met Eric.

Embracing death,
the reality of death,

the naturalness of death,
the celebration

of a life well-lived
is an important part

to finding meaning
in someone's life.

- Yes, whenever a family
shows up here,

I spend between an hour
and two with them.

And it's all about stories,
I mean, like,

what a person was doing,
how life was.

And they don't go out crying,
but they go out smiling.

- Grief is hard work,
no matter how you choose

to experience it.

I'm realizing now that we have
Ghana figured out all wrong.

We use the words
interchangeably,

but positive psychology
makes a distinction

between optimism and hope.

Optimism is the belief
that everything

will work itself out
in the end.

Hope, on the other hand,
is the belief

that through
our own unique actions,

we can make things better.

Ghanaians aren't optimistic.

They're hopeful.

They're actively fighting
to make this a better place.

- I'm someone
who loves to help others.

And in a country like Ghana
with so many problems,

that always motivates me.

That makes me feel like
this is the right place

I'm supposed to be.

- Everyone helps me here.

Everyone's welcoming me here.

And that's happiness
for me in Ghana, yes.

- Yeah.

- Yeah, a little bit, yeah.

I think the biggest piece
I'm taking with me from Ghana

is how connected our happiness
is to other people...

Our family, and our neighbors,
and taxi drivers,

and yes, even our coworkers.

[soft music]

* *

My visit here has been
a much-needed reminder

of just how much choice
I have in all of this,

in how I choose
to view the world

and how I choose
to make my days worthwhile.

Our happiness,
or the lack thereof,

is never
a foregone conclusion.

We just need to fight for it.

* *

The deeper down the rabbit
hole I go in search of bliss,

the more things
become complicated.

Happy places, sad places,
places that seem happy

despite having plenty
of reasons to be sad.

It's all a bit overwhelming.

[laughter]