Day 116 - Freeze in Place in Public

Date: May 2nd, 2010

I love the idea of flash mobs, but unfortunately, they're one of the things I can't do.  I mean, there are laws against that and, well, I'm trying to become a lawyer.  Apparently, they don't get too happy when you, ya know, strip in public.

Wait.  What's that? That's not what a flash mob is?  No kidding...

Turns out, the term "flash mob" is actually a pretty broad description.  The short definition (which is highly paraphrased because I did not feel like looking it up) is a group of people that gathers, does something unusual and amusing and then disperses.  In a flash.  I guess.  There are lots of popular ones.  International Pillow Fight Day, which I participated in, started as a flash mob in a single place and grew to an annual event.

There are all sorts of flash mobs and I intend to try out as many as possible.  Especially after this weekend.  On Sunday, I went out to Briarwood Mall with a group called ImprovA2 that sets up various improvised performances and flash mobs.  I found out about their hilarious shenanigans at the Pillow Fight and vowed to join up as soon as possible.

On Sunday, they had scheduled a freeze.  It's the beginner's flash mob.  Really.  I promise.  About the only way to mess it up is to not understand the meaning of the word "freeze".  And if you don't understand the word freeze, let me give you some tips.  If you hear the police shouting it at you, stop moving.  Ok.  Now you're good to go.

The turn out was not spectacular.  I blame finals, the weather, and, umm, Mercury going retrograde.  The few things I've done with ImprovA2 have all been fantastically cool - turnout aside.  Its a group that captures the free spirit of Ann Arbor incredibly well.  In fact, what made me the happiest about Sunday was that despite the low turnout, there was no question that we would still do the freeze.  Instead of standing at the center of the mall, we went to the Apple Store and froze for five minutes.

I loved it.  I felt like a badass.  No, I'm not kidding.  Stop laughing.  Its hilarious - people stop and stare and poke and they have trouble understanding what's going on.  That is a huge part of the premise behind flash mobs.  It's a joke that no one is in on until the very end.  The punchline is when you go back to acting like everyone else around you.

Of course, I must admit, it wasn't quite as amazing as the Holy Grail of flash mobs, but few things are.  That video is required viewing - its a flash mob that essentially shut down Grand Central Station.  It is also the mob that kicked off the trend.  While there were flash mobs before this one - they weren't famous or popular.  Now they're totes what all the cool kids are doing.  Like, seriously, and junk.