Flash-Mobs and War Chants

Flash mobs, it's that thing of it being so many people, and suddenly the few bystanders find themselves caught up in something magical, the surprise is there but plays really a minor part, is temporary, ushers in the magic of the moment. What I find more touching, more moving, is that there I am, that bystander, caught up in this performance by so many people who have obviously given lots of thought and practice and hours of preparation into the whole thing, and it's there for me to enjoy, to be touched by, to takeaway as a precious moment, the many doing a special thing for the few.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO3kFno6gB0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARwZ3scXQ7U&feature=related

And what you see is dance and song, performance of physical ability, mass synchronicity of movement. There's always been this kind of thing, think of the dance routines on B/W American movies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=9OawiTae0bA

it's people feeling freedom, a break out of unexpected behaviour
breaking out of expected behaiour
breaking free from the social norms

Flash mobs are used as political tools

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdxTcaCS65Y&feature=related

The crowd gatherings of old, Martin Luther King,

And its the normalness of the people, the age range that is presented, it's the non-agressiveness, peaceful protest, creative conflict,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujlkqLoV5Ng&feature=related

Of course, the clichees of video present
get entangled, post production editing and cutting, the pretence of continuity, the pretence of being a milling passerby,

and yet, you see the smiles on people's faces, the joy that is released, the occasions when others, the uninitiated dare to join in the festivities,

I mean you have to endure the comments on youtube,


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GfrfDmXDb0

The freeze ones I don't get on with so much, but now they are such a phenomenon, they are relatively known as a phenomenon, a bit like planking really, something although that operates on a different kind of level, there is this proliferation of them of flashmob videos to choose from, and so the choice of title becomes prominent in the selection process for people who are intrigued andinvestigating, or know there is enjoyment to be had from observing them and the processes, the faculties of adjudication come into play, of what I like, what I wnat to see, what makes for a good flashmob, a bad one, one that I want to wathc, that attracts or dupes people into watching it,





There are different ways to run with this, looking at other traditional forms of group display,
LSV march out Haka
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rDoV0EBu44&feature=related

which moves easily into rugby hakas

a consideration of what it does for the performers,

military parades a country showing it's molitary might, but then

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnY4dhzZdAU&feature=related

the use of youtube to recontextualize by soundtrack to downright subvert

the original intention of miltary parades

the pretence of spontaneity as a necessary thing, typically the one person stepping out in a crowd, in an open public space and doing something unexpected

other phenomenon of ordinary people getting a chance to have a public stage, for example, Britain's Got Talent,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSrAJsWvEIc&feature=related

aha, singing again, an ordinary person doing something remarkable

the post talk by the judges


switching back to rugby and the all black haka, the haka as war dance intended to intimidate,

how do people respond? Wales
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncu6SzmHe3E&feature=related

these preliminaries to warfare, to sporting action as the modern day equivalent of warfare between two tribes,

the natural world's approach of pre-fight procedure to see if a dominant party is found and violence avoided


rugby league in southern hemisphere, oz v all blacks old enemies

all blacks v france

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g3QbH_i2VU&feature=related

¿ and how does it relate to a christian context ?

so, first, what is the protocol of the haka?

¿ if this is a show of strength, what is it for a christian to be strong ?

¿ if this is a connection with their god, how does a chirstian connect in this way with their god ?

¿ if this is a sign of respect for their enemy, what place does this have in christian worship today ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmSNN7vZt_o&feature=related
"he was planking" comment at the start

and the reaction of the chicks

¿ performing in front of a crowd, what is enough ?

the text for the New Zealand Haka and some explanation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y&feature=related

loud chanting, aggressive body movements, fierce facial expressions, Taringa whakarongo! Listen up with your ears!
Kia rite! Prepare yourself! x2
Kia mau, hi!(long) Hands on hips, bend the knees!
mix match this to the sequence - do as part of the air thing,
Ringa ringa pakla! Slap the hands against the thighs!
Waewae takahia kia kino nei hoki! Stamp the feet as hard as you can!
¿ What happens when you do this, how do actors prepare before a performance, how does anybody prepare before a performance ?
Kia kino nei hoki! As hard as you can!
Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora! I die! I die! I live! I live! x2
Tenei te tangata puhuru huru This is the hairy man
Nana nei i tiki mai Who fetched the sun
Whakawhiti te ra And caused it to shine again
A upa … ne! ka upa … ne! One upward step! Another upward step!

¿ which is the most spine tingling part of the Haka for you ?

A upane kaupane whiti te ra! An upward step, another … the sun shines!
hi (long) rise/dawn

some people complain about flash mobs not being flashmobby enough

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEmCh8dF1hM&feature=related

haka is a challenge, and a way of firing themselves up

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omftL4fWRHs

samoa v all blacks

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUP3v1xgObQ&feature=related

19:30