“When I was young, sitting motionless in the darkness of a movie theatre was agonizing!”

I wanted to be a part of the action in the movies and move around like the characters. This is what drew Hayakawa to the field of “interactive media.”

This piece invites its viewer to take part in the art and then, before they know it, they have actually become a part of the piece itself. Using a camera, the audience becomes a part of the movie and can interact with the characters through various prompts to make votes. Just through a simple raising of their hand. A simple movement is all it takes.

The artist revealed that “many interactive pieces aim to be exciting and fresh, so the directors will force unnatural movements. “Through this piece I hope to force these directors (the audience) to rethink the actions that they have taken as well as make them think about the different meanings behind the actions that people take.”

The raising of your hand is a natural movement in our everyday lives. By one simple movement, the audience can not only participate in the story, but completely change the course of the story itself. The audience is then no longer passive directors, but rather can feel a sense of personal connection to the pieces.

The inspiration behind this piece was sitting in lecture halls during college. In classes where there were many pupils, there were very few students who would raise their hands. This could be born from some kind of passive feelings whether it was annoyance, or a lack of motivation, or you thought someone else would raise their hand instead. The artist hopes that through this piece people can achieve their dream of participating in movies and television, but also, to bring to light the passive attitude in which we view how we influence each other.

In our everyday lives, we are living in an influx of information. As a result, there is information we should be paying attention to, but instead we dismiss it as someone else’s problem. This piece may be the impetus for us to hold a sense of responsibility toward the media we consume.