Who
has seen the crazy flash mobs all over YouTube? There's tons of them, and most
are really cool to watch. This is a pretty cool phenomena in the last 9-10 years
that I have yet to participate in but would love to get involved. I did a
little quick wiki-research and apparently the first flash mob was performed in
2003 in a Macy's with over 130 people all trying to agree on one "love
rug" to buy. (I'm not making this stuff up I swear.) I'm not sure if I
believe Wiki on the true "first mob" but let's move on. In recent
years there have been countless more all making a scene for the unsuspecting public's enjoyment. There have even been groups created to do these crazy gatherings
like Improv Everywhere. Check them out HERE. Too bad I live on the other side
of the country or I would probably participate in the annual No Pants Subway
Ride. Even better yet though are their MP3 experiments. These are flash mobs
where everyone is listening to the same MP3 track and it tells you what to do! This
is what we in 301 would call a little algorithmic art. Check this video out: (Watch
till the end, it gets a little crazy.)
Yup, epic craziness that I wish I
could have been a part of. Improv does these and many more experiments, each is
as good as the last but they are not alone. There's even prisoners doing it!
Check it:
What? How? Why? Prison? Anyways this
video does bring up a small debacle. Is this really a flash mob or a choreographed
dance? It's hard to define a Flash Mob and the reason is because it is used to describe
everything from 130 people all in Macy's trying to buy one rug, to a Michel
Jackson dance by prisoners. Flash mob in my mind mean a spontaneous gathering
somewhere thus creating a mob. Probably doesn't happen much though. For a more
experienced opinion here's Improv Everywheres' take on it:
How can you call it “improv”? Your
missions are clearly pre-planned!
We are not claiming that what we are doing
is improv. The majority of Improv Everywhere Agents met each other through the
Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York, the nation’s most awesome improv
comedy theatre and school. While staging organized stunts in public places is
obviously completely different from improv comedy in a theatre, the two
activities do share similar techniques. We stay in character at all costs and
usually have no script beyond the mission’s idea. We have no clue how people
are going to react to us, and that is where the improvisation comes in. If I
could go back in time and chose a different name, I would. After 11 years, I
think I’m stuck with it.
Aren't these flash mobs?
No. Improv Everywhere was created about 2
years before the first “flash mob.” While some of our missions may have certain
similarities to a flash mob (large numbers of people engaging in a coordinated
activity in a public place), we have never embraced that term. Some missions
use just a few folks while others might use thousands, depending on what suits
the idea. Also, our projects are rarely over in a flash. Many last for hours.
Over the years the term “flash mob” has
been beaten to death by the media and co-opted by marketers. It’s become a
lazy, catch-all term to describe things as varied as people dancing at a Black
Eyed Peas concert to surprise Oprah Winfrey to teens meeting up to commit
crimes in Chicago. I’m not sure what it even means anymore, and I don’t really
care to use it to describe what we do.
So there you got it. It's not a definitive
answer but no one really cares about what we call them just where and when they
happen. I'd encourage you to try participating in one if you ever get the
chance. Like I said I would love to myself. Maybe I'll run into you at Macy's
one day. Till then - Laters
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