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Flashmob- a word that relatively recently became very popular, especially among young people and other active people interested in world trends.

This word comes from the English language and is a combination of two words: flash and mob. Translated from English, the word flash means a flash, lightning or instant, and mob is translated as a group of people or a company. That is, literally translated, a flashmob is a moment of a crowd.

The combination of these two words was first used in a fantastic story by Larry Niven, which was written 40 years ago. 30 years after this, American sociologist Harold Reynolds wrote a whole book about how in the 21st century, thanks to the development of information technology and greater accessibility of communications, people will often gather at various mass events. In his scientific writing, a slightly different term was indicated: “smart mob”, translated from English as a smart crowd.

The meaning of the word in the modern sense

A flash mob is a different mass action of different people: acquaintances and strangers. Most often, flash mobs are planned in advance, thanks to a means of communication such as the Internet. Usually, random passers-by react differently to such mass actions; for some they bring a smile to their face, but for others they don’t like it, which depends on the people’s temperament. Various numbers of people can take part in such actions; there are large-scale flash mobs, which attract thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of people, and there are flash mobs for a small audience, for example, for 10-20 people.

There are various groups of young people who organize flash mobs, such as skaters, roofers, gamers and others.

The world's first flash mob

The very first in the whole world this action was registered in New York. This happened on June 17, 2003, when a relatively small number of people, about two hundred, gathered near the Macy's department store and told the sellers that they were all a commune living on the outskirts of New York. They wanted to buy the so-called “Carpet of Love”. After this, a wave of flash mobs swept across the planet. To begin with, other American cities supported this movement, then it spread to the European continent, Australia and others.

A little more than a month later, the first flash mob in Europe took place in the capital of Italy - Rome, and people taking part in such actions also received the name - mobbers. This movement reached Russia and Ukraine in mid-August of the same year

The main distinguishing features of a flash mob are:

  • A crowd of people in one place.
  • Lack of leadership.
  • Strangers can take part in the flash mob.

Purpose of the flash mob

The purpose of each such meeting depends, first of all, on the type. Typically, flash mobs do not serve any special purpose, but are a means of entertainment for the participants, as well as various passers-by who happen to be at the location of the action. People can do anything to achieve these goals: fall on the floor while walking, make different costumes and wear them, do the same hairstyles, sing, dance, and so on.

But there are shares that are filled with a certain meaning. For example, to act as a protest against political or commercial figures, against sea or air pollution, as well as for other equally good purposes.

Development trends

Flash mob in the modern world is one of the many means of self-expression of people. No one around you can expect hundreds of people to simultaneously fall to the floor or start dancing or singing. All this lifts the spirits of both participants and passers-by, of course, not everyone, some may twirl their finger at their temples with misunderstanding, but as practice shows, the overwhelming majority of the population supports such actions, which leads to their development. The peculiarity is the attempts to involve the same passers-by in the flash mob, which most often succeeds.

Every year people find more and more original and non-standard methods of holding flash mobs. Also, marketing companies have picked up this wave of self-expression and are actively using it to advertise a particular product. The most popular now are dance flash mobs.

Such dances are becoming more and more interesting, people come up with new ways to surprise, they can divide the general group of people into 2 or 3, each of which will have their own dance, together with others, representing a whole picture - it looks very interesting and aesthetically pleasing, especially from the side or from above.

Connect to this wave, it can be a good way to take your mind off everyday work, study or other matters, a kind of recharge, both physical and psychological.

Hello, dear readers of the blog site. I can say with confidence that you have already heard about flash mobs and even seen strange people doing something together synchronously.

However, there are those who do not fully understand the meaning of this word. In this article, I will try to explain in simple words what a flash mob is, what types there are, and I will give an example of the most popular of them.

What is a flash mob

Let's start traditionally with the definition of the word.

A flash mob is a deliberately planned event with randomly selected participants.

Like most slang expressions, this word came to us from English and is derived from flash, which means lightning or flash, and mob - crowd.

What does a flash mob look like from the outside? Sometimes it's quite strange.

A crowd of strangers gathers in one place, performs a certain action (usually a dance), and then goes about their business as if nothing had happened.

This is organized to surprise specific people or generally everyone around them. Often such actions have a social or ethical message, but sometimes they become part of advertising campaigns.

Flash mob goals

And although you already know what a flash mob is and what its basic principles are, I propose to talk about the goals that this action pursues.

I will give only a few of them, because the list can be continued indefinitely:

  1. Entertainment. Sometimes a flash mob has no other purpose than to cheer up others.
  2. Wish . Participants in the event are trying to destroy generally accepted stereotypes of behavior and feel freedom.
  3. The desire to impress. Not every person can decide to commit a certain act in order to impress someone, due to his position in society. Participation in a flash mob allows you to temporarily forget about your position.
  4. Emotional uplift. Any flash mob is an emotion for both the participants of the “show” and the audience.
  5. Opportunity to make new friends. Of course, the chance of finding a true friend is extremely low, but life is full of surprises.
  6. Charity. Sometimes flash mobs are held to draw attention to a certain problem or as part of a charity event.

The main advantage of a flash mob is attracting attention to a specific event in a non-standard way.

In addition to mobbers and spectators, such an action can attract the attention of the media and, as a result, their audience. Also, a similar technique is used by marketers to sell goods, and often organizing a fake flash mob bears fruit.

Principles of the action

You may be surprised now, but flash mob has certain principles, which cannot be violated. Among them:

  1. absence of a leader: no one tells you what to do;
  2. spontaneity from the beginning to the end of the action;
  3. inability to count on personal gain, pursue advertising goals, or highlight an event in the news;
  4. participation of people who ideally do not even know each other.

Types of flash mobs

These actions are organized for various reasons: someone wants to express love for an idol, someone wants to morally support sick people, someone wants to have fun. Sometimes such events are held in honor of a holiday or a specific date.

Today there are quite a large number of types of flash mobs, the most popular of which are:

  1. Mob-house is an event lasting several hours, the plot of which is similar to real life;
  2. L-mob - a planned action that has a script and takes place at a time convenient for the mobber (this type is often used by marketers);
  3. Experimental mob - actions that may be indistinguishable from the rules and norms accepted in society;
  4. I-mob - flash mobs that are held on the Internet;
  5. Fun-mob - an action with a spontaneous plot, intended solely for entertainment;
  6. Art-mob - an action in which several people perform a small artistic performance;
  7. Date-mob - meeting couples randomly;
  8. Extreme-mob - an action in which petty hooliganism by mobbers takes place.

How to get involved

The most popular flash mobs of recent years

Sometimes flash mobs are global in nature, and the majority of social network users participate in them. In the last few years, the most popular of them are:

Brief summary

That's all, dear friends! Now flash mob for you is not just a youth slang word with an unclear meaning. I hope that after reading the article you will no longer have any clarifying questions. And if they suddenly arise, you can always ask them in the comments: I or other readers will answer it.

Good luck to you! See you soon on the pages of the blog site

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What is a flash mob? Not everyone gets to witness a flash mob.

But those who find themselves in the whirlpool of the event are unlikely to easily forget it or pass by. What is a flash mob and who needs it?

Imagine that you are walking along the central city square and see a hundred or two people who do not know each other. They seem to be in a hurry to run errands, sit on benches or take photographs.

But suddenly the clock strikes noon - and all these random passers-by begin to perform the same actions - screaming, kissing, falling dead, freezing like “mannequins”, dancing a rehearsed “jig-jig”.

Five minutes - and everyone goes their separate ways, as if nothing had happened.

This is a flash mob - a spontaneous, spontaneous mass event in which strangers participate, which begins and ends unexpectedly for those around them and proceeds according to a pre-agreed scenario.

This action does not have any selfish purpose, neither advertising nor political. It has nothing to do with PR campaigns and protests.

No one except the participants themselves knows about the flash mob: you will not see an advertisement in the newspaper about the upcoming fun.

The word flashmob can be translated as “flash of a crowd” or “instant gathering.” Fans of this entertainment have a whole movement; they call themselves flashmobbers and actively participate in mass performances.

What is their purpose? Just have fun, take a break from the mundane everyday life and spend some free time.

The movement has its own slang. Thus, random onlookers are called “fomichs”, “agents” distribute instructions, “mob” is the actual performance. “Afterparty” (simply “after-party”) – a meeting of satisfied participants, “debriefing” and making plans.

Despite the scary terminology, there is no need to fear flashmobbers. Their actions are completely peaceful, do not cause harm and do not offend anyone.

Movement has its own laws. None of the flash mob fans will approve of a scenario in which moral and ethical issues are disputed.

They will never promote violence, racism or drugs, or interfere in political and economic disputes.

You need to be a good actor to fit into their ranks. It's not so easy not to laugh out loud during an ethnic dance with tambourines performed by a thousand people! The more absurd the scenario, the more serious the faces should be.

Why do people go to flash mobs?

Certainly not for the sake of money - this event does not involve payment. Someone wants to test themselves (“Isn’t it too weak for me to loosen up and do something really stupid in public?”).

Others protest in this way against conservative norms and strict public opinion.

Other motives include getting adrenaline, searching for one’s own freedom and the desire to join a major common cause.

If you understand the psychological background of this game, you will notice: the goal of mobbers is to show a different picture of the world, full of chaos, spontaneity and oddities.

To make casual spectators blink their eyes, perk up, wake up and feel how “the mind starts moving” and the head goes off the rails.

At the same time, the faces of the participants are inscrutable, they act as if it is completely normal to sing “Ave Maria” in the middle of a public library. It’s not surprising to think about “attack of the clones” and alien abductions!

This is a flash mob.

Concept

The flash mob is designed for casual spectators, causing mixed feelings of misunderstanding, interest and even participation.

Among the possible options, flash mob participants often look for:

  • entertainment;
  • feel free from social stereotypes of behavior;
  • make an impression on others;
  • self-affirmation (test yourself: “Can I do this in public?”);
  • trying to get a thrill;
  • a feeling of belonging to a common cause;
  • get the effect of group psychotherapy;
  • emotional recharge;
  • making new friends.

The goals of a flash mob are achieved through the “crowd effect.” Participants in such actions are often quite successful and serious people in life. Some psychologists explain their participation in flash mobs by the fact that everyday life and everyday worries tire them.

Basic principles of flash mob:

  1. Spontaneity in the broadest sense.
  2. Lack of centralized leadership or elected commander.
  3. Absence of any financial or advertising purposes.
  4. Depersonification; Flash mob participants (ideally, these are complete strangers) during the action should not show in any way that they are connected by anything.
  5. Refusal to cover the flash mob in the media.

Generally accepted flash mob rules:

Story

The origin of the flash mob is associated with the October 2002 release of sociologist Howard Reingold's book Smart Crowds: The Next Social Revolution, in which the author predicted that people would use new communication technologies (the Internet, cell phones) for self-organization. The concept of a “smart crowd” (English: smart mob; see also Smartmob) became fundamental in the further development of flash mobs and other similar events, all of which, in essence, are varieties of a smartmob. In June 2003, Rob Zazueta from San Francisco, having become familiar with the works of Reingold, created the first website for organizing such events flocksmart.com.

The first flash mob was scheduled for June 3, 2003 in New York, USA, but did not take place. He was prevented by the police, who had been warned in advance. The organizers avoided this problem when holding the second flash mob, which took place on June 17, 2003. Participants arrived at a predetermined location where they received instructions about the final location and time just before it began. Approximately 200 people (other sources say 150) gathered around one expensive rug in the furniture department of Macy's department store and began to tell the clerks that they lived together in a warehouse in a "suburban commune" on the outskirts of York and had come to buy a "love rug." Within a few days, a wave of actions swept across America and Europe.

Of course, actions that could be qualified as a flash mob could have occurred long before the appearance of Reingold’s book. But these were rather isolated cases, not a mass phenomenon. Only the availability of convenient and fast means of communication and more or less established rules allowed the flash mob to rapidly become popular almost all over the world. Therefore, it can be argued that it has a unique ideology and has no analogues in world history.

The most massive flash mob took place on September 8, 2009 in Chicago at the opening of the 24th season of the famous Oprah-Winfrey show with a celebrity concert. The flash mob that the audience staged shocked the group Black Eyed Peas, who performed the song “I Gotta Feeling.” Even Oprah didn't know anything about it. This flash mob is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest in the world. About 21 thousand people took part in it.

Flash mob in the CIS countries

The first Russian actions were organized through LiveJournal and took place simultaneously in St. Petersburg and Moscow on August 16, 2003. Their participants with incomprehensible signs greeted passengers arriving by train at the station.

The first Ukrainian mobs also took place on August 16 in Dnepropetrovsk and Kyiv almost simultaneously. On August 23, the first flash mob took place in Odessa.

In general, flash mobs in the CIS countries have received strong development in terms of ideology. In Belarus there arose political mobs, appeared in Ukraine and Russia stuffing(most of the actions took place in St. Petersburg), a movement arose monsters(originally in Novosibirsk). Flash mob festivals are held annually - mobfests.

Terminology

Initially, there was no terminology and classification of shares at all, and the process of its formation continues to this day. Initially, the movement arose in the USA, and this is why there are often copies of English words: “mobplace”, “afterparty”, etc. The word “flash mob” itself entered the Russian language almost without changing its phonetic sound. There are often different spellings: “flash mob”, “flash mob”, “flash mob” and others. It would be more correct to write “flash mob”.

Dictionary

Also, terminology often differs from city to city. You can often find specialized dictionaries on the websites of various flash mob movements. In the CIS countries, dictionaries usually have something like this:

  • Agents- people handing out leaflets with instructions for action participants.
  • Promotion, or simply mob, - action, performance, specific final embodiment of the scenario.
  • Afterparty(abbr. AP; English afterparty), sometimes aftermob, contemptuously vulgarization- meeting of mobbers after the action. They get acquainted there, exchange discs from previous mobs, watch if there is already a video from the mob they just carried out, discuss and invent scenarios, and quite often the mobbers on the AP decide to carry out another mob.
  • Play (mobilize, mobilize) - execute the script. For example: “We already played this scenario last year.”
  • Fork- clocks located in public or other places, by which mobbers synchronize their own clocks in advance for precise arrival at the action. As a rule, such hours are on the website through which the flash mob was organized.
  • Classic- FM action, built on the primary foundations of the movement’s ideology: instant crowds, absurdity of actions, etc. Sometimes the word is applied to scenarios that were probably played out in every city with a flash mob movement (for example, “Remote Controls”).
  • Passphrases- phrases used during certain actions to implement the script of these actions. Depending on the scenario, code phrases can be used to answer questions from passers-by, for contacts between mobbers and lighthouse, as well as for other purposes.
  • Lighthouse (cap) - a special person located at the site of some actions in order to give the mobbers a pre-arranged signal about its beginning. The nature of the signal is determined in advance when planning the action.
  • Media group (tenants) - official representatives of FM resources involved in filming actions.
  • Mobber (flashmobber, FM specialist) - a person who participates in promotions. Options: moblik- newbie mobber, mobster- an experienced mobber.
  • Place X, area, Sometimes mobplace- location of the FM promotion.
  • Paruskership(self-ironic from “(flash mob) in Russian”) - a phenomenon that consists of breaking the rules: talking, laughing and everything that was not planned. Paruskers- mobbers who ignore the rules.
  • Penguin, less often ribber- a person who learned about the action and, instead of participating in it, stands nearby and watches what is happening.
  • Struks- mobbers-tourists who make pilgrimages to out-of-town mob communities with the goal of “seeing people and showing off”, having a good and extraordinary time in the company of mobbers.
  • Farsher- participant in the stuffing campaign
  • Fomichi (Kuzmichi) - passers-by, random witnesses to the action.
  • Emachi(from the word emo) - widely used in different meanings. Initially, this was the name given to people who came to the flash mob from various youth subcultures or from VKontakte.ru groups and had no idea about the rules.
  • GFM(English: Global Flash Mob) is a worldwide FM event, with the maximum number of countries and cities participating in it.

Mechanism of organization

Flash mobs are usually organized through Internet sites. There is one site in each city to avoid confusion. Some actions are organized through social networks (such actions, as a rule, are characterized by poor preparation of mobbers and violation of flash mob rules). On the Internet, mobbers develop, propose and discuss scenarios for promotions. The scenario, place and time of the action are assigned either by the site administration or by voting.

Promotions are held in crowded places. Instructions for the promotion can be published on the website, or instructions are issued before the promotion by special agents.

In order not to cause a negative reaction among casual spectators, such actions take place quietly and without noise, calmly and generally barely noticeable. In order not to cause laughter among casual spectators, the participants of the action do everything with a serious look.

At rallies, participants pretend that everything is spontaneous and quite ordinary for them. Therefore, it should not be complex and with any bright attributes.

The action begins simultaneously with all participants. For this, a time is agreed upon or a special person is appointed ( lighthouse), which should give everyone a signal to start the action.

Such actions do not last long (usually up to five minutes), otherwise random spectators begin to become active: pester them with questions, call security and law enforcement officers, ignore them and continue to go about their business, and the like.

Participants, as a rule, pretend that they do not know each other and disperse simultaneously (or according to the situation) in different directions. Simultaneous leaving of the mob reveals that the action was planned, turning it into a flash.

Participants in the protests try not to answer questions from spectators, or their answers do not reveal the true meaning of what is happening. Answers for passersby can be discussed in advance when planning the action.

Promotions usually take place on weekends. Details of the rules may vary, which is preliminarily specified in the promotion script.

The open interest of the media in what is happening at the action can spoil the effect of the action. Many flash mob sites have a special appeal to the media with a call to refrain, as far as possible, from covering in the media anything related to the flash mob movement.

  • Do not repeat other people's or your own actions that have already taken place.
  • Do not participate in raising ratings in any voting.
  • Do not do anything for any specific group of people or one person; all actions are aimed at temporarily distorting the meaning of everyday life of random witnesses to the actions of mobbers.
  • Don't help anyone, but don't punish anyone either.
  • Do not disturb public order.
  • Don't leave trash behind.
  • Do not communicate live before, during and after the events.
  • During the action, mobbers should not create inconvenience for ordinary people who, by chance, find themselves close to the place where the action is taking place.
  • Do not violate the action script and strictly carry out everything specified in it.
  • Do not withdraw your shares openly.

To avoid conflicts with law enforcement officials, you must have an identification card with you.

Types of shares

As the flash mob phenomenon continued to exist, scenarios began to appear that did not comply with its rules. However, they played, and then it became clear that the term “flash mob” was no longer able to satisfy everyone. Later, the word “flash mob” itself became a household word, and it began to be used to describe any action in which a number of people participate.

Although all new types of actions “emerged” from the flash mob, some of them became so different from it ideologically and organizationally that they can no longer be classified as varieties of flash mob in the original sense of the word and can be considered separate varieties of the embodiment of smartmob technology. The one thing most stocks have in common is the desire to do something together. All promotions are unexpected for casual viewers. The unifying factor for many actions is self-organization through modern means of communication, but not for all: events organized “from above” can also be called “flash mobs”.

Therefore, a flash mob in the original sense of the word is now called classic flash mob.

In general, we can distinguish types of actions that spun off from the classic flash mob in the process of its natural development, but remained closely connected with it ideologically, maintaining primarily an entertaining and disinterested character (non-spectacular mob, art mob, etc.), and independent forms of flash mob or smart mob, which are fundamentally different from the classic flash mob ideologically and/or organizationally (i-mob, political mob, advertising flash mob). The question is debatable as to which group of these actions can be classified as entertaining in their essence, but organized “from above” and/or not involving the creation of a surprise effect on others.

Classic flash mob

Built on the primary foundations of the movement’s ideology. The main goal is to surprise casual viewers, but in such a way that they do not feel disgust or laugh at what is happening. It is difficult to maintain the border between surprise and laughter, therefore, in its pure form, a classic flash mob is a rare phenomenon.

Types of promotions similar to the classic flash mob

Unspectacular mob

Unspectacular mob (real flash mob, nonspectacular mob, X-mob) are actions in which participants try to model a subtle, sometimes subtle socio-communicative space, in which the experience of the participants themselves comes first. It may be invisible to others. There is no goal to impress the outside viewer. The participants’ actions are so close to everyday life that their image begins to “flicker.” It becomes unclear whether the actions performed according to the script are visible, or whether these are just the actions of an ordinary passerby who accidentally repeated what is written in the script. Changing everyday life with everyday life, designed to create déjà vu tactics and create a feeling of quiet insanity in passers-by. This mob generates a consciousness-altering effect similar to the effect of psychotropic substances. Example options:

Art mob

TO art mobs(or mob art) include actions that have a certain artistic value and, as a result, are difficult to implement, which sometimes requires a deviation from some of the flash mob rules. As a rule, they are performed by a small number of participants using props. They are more focused on entertainment and aesthetics. Mob art requires rehearsals; mob art has a team consisting of directors, screenwriters, and people who help with the organization. But he does not cease to be a mob, because all the basic rules during the action are valid.

On September 14, 2008, residents of Chelyabinsk in yellow raincoats lined up an 80-meter smiley. The flash mob “Chelyabinsk smiles at the world” was included in the Russian Book of Records as the most popular emoticon; from 3 to 6 thousand people took part in the action. The smile was recorded by videographers and photojournalists from a helicopter, as well as a Google satellite that flew over the city during the action.

Dance flash mob

Mobbers lurk in the crowd, sometimes in suits. One of them includes music to which the dance has been prepared in advance. Mobbers, several at a time, emerge from the crowd and begin to dance. After the end of the dance, the mobbers go back into the crowd.

The most famous and most massive dance event to date has become the “Thrill the World” event, which took place in 10 countries around the world. In Moscow, the action was held at one of the All-Russian Exhibition Center squares. More than three hundred young people, well made up to look like the living dead, performed a dance from the “Thriller” video by Michael Jackson. Participants in the action spent a month rehearsing the dance with instructors and using video tutorials distributed on social networks. A special feature of the Moscow action was the presence of a large number of journalists, spectators and police officers who had previously cordoned off the square.

Another type of dance flash mob is dance walks around the city Dance Walking.

Dance walks in the urban environment were invented by journalist Ben Aaron from New York, who spotted them from an unknown master on the streets of the Big Apple. In 2014, they started in Moscow and spread with varying success throughout the cities and villages of the former USSR at the instigation of Alexander Girshon, a dance and movement therapist, improvisation teacher, performer, choreographer, and his students. They are regularly held in St. Petersburg, Kharkov, Izhevsk, Yekaterinburg and dozens of other cities with varying frequency. This idea also caused a response in the world, although there does not seem to be such regular activity.

The idea itself is as simple as possible - participants walk and dance. In headphones, under one playlist in different places. You can't hear anything from outside, so there's just a group of people moving strangely. From the inside - the simple pleasure of moving in an open space in your “dance tribe”.

People gather, make playlists from applications, discuss different options for walking, synchronize in time with different cities... In general, this is a small distributed life of a simple idea that a simple walk around the city can become a dance festival.

Extreme mob

Shares with a clearly expressed extreme orientation. Some moral principles may be violated (or even actions that qualify as petty hooliganism), or even somehow provoke random passers-by. Such promotions do not comply with the flash mob rules. For example, Pillow Fight.

L-mob

Also widely known is the Internet mob “Regularly!”, which occurred on the Russian website of the BBC news television company. This site published an article “Cologne is killing Russians,” which stated that the majority of Russian alcoholics who died at working age drank alcohol not intended for internal consumption, and outlined the conclusions of research on this matter. The article included a survey: “Do you drink cologne, antifreeze or detergent?” - with answer options:

  • Regularly
  • Rarely
  • Never
  • I do not drink at all

Most readers were amused and even offended by this question. As a result, about 90% of the votes were cast for the “Regular” option. Due to the fact that the counter was not designed for such a number of votes, it was reset several times a day. Many cartoons and even comics were created on this topic. In some cities, a real “Cologne” flash mob was even played, when mobbers, in front of a large crowd of people, pretended to taste colognes, shampoos, and glass cleaning liquids. In fact, the bottles contained drinking liquids: drinks (“Tarragon”, “Lemonade”), instead of shampoos there was yogurt, etc.

At the same time, Internet mobs are often created by website owners themselves to increase traffic to their resources. Among web designers, the word “flashmob” even appeared for this method of attracting visitors.

Politmob, sociomob

These are actions with a social or political overtone. They are a simpler, faster and safer way of expressing public opinion or drawing attention to certain problems than rallies and demonstrations.

For example, after the elections in Belarus in 2006, a number of such actions took place. Several people gathered in the center of Minsk, opened the newspaper “Soviet Belarus” and began to tear it into small pieces. In another similar action, about 30 Minsk residents demonstratively blindfolded themselves and turned away from the screen installed in the square, which was broadcasting the speech of the prosecutor of Belarus. At the peak of their popularity in April 2006, “political flash mobs” in Minsk attracted up to 100-120 people. In order to suppress such actions, the authorities followed the tactic of detaining from 10 to 20 people, which within 2 weeks reduced the number of flash mob participants to 15-20 people. An example of a political mob that took place in Tomsk:

Everyone at 12.00 on June 28 approaches the building of the Duma of Tomsk and throws change into it as a sign of protest at the increase in fares on minibuses. Thus, the townspeople will be able to give money to people’s deputies so that they will collect it in their insatiable pockets and stop robbing their poor townspeople in the future.

On October 7, 2011, Russian Twitter users celebrated the 59th anniversary of President Putin with a massive poetic flash mob. The couplets written during the flash mob were far from welcoming or congratulatory, but more or less kept within the bounds of correctness (that is, they did not violate Russian laws).

Flash mobs against homophobia and for human rights against gays and lesbians have also become famous - the rainbow flash mob and the “Kiss in” flash mob.

Advertising flash mob

Often, to attract attention to certain brands, but without making advertising in its pure form, flash mobs are organized. Flash crowds marking the release of feature films for a particular product or promoting brands have become a common occurrence in major cities. So, in cinemas before the release of the third part of the film “Men in Black”, flash mobs took place with the participation of people dressed in black suits. The favorite place for flash mobs has become the area in front of the Olimpiysky sports complex. For example, the GetTaxi company organized a flash mob to attract attention to itself in Moscow.

Stock scenarios

The ideal scenario should be absurd, mysterious, not very noticeable and in no way causing laughter. Mobbers should not violate laws and moral principles. Actions should appear meaningless to casual viewers, but be performed as if they made sense. As a result, random spectators, the so-called Fomichi, take what is happening seriously, as if there is some meaning in the situation being played out that they are trying to find. They experience a feeling of interest, anxiety, misunderstanding, or even a sense of their own insanity. The script should not cross the line beyond which it becomes funny, but this happens extremely rarely.

Example scripts

"Fading"

At a certain moment in a certain place, the mobbers suddenly freeze, as if time had stopped. They stand in a frozen state for three minutes, after which they take a break for a few seconds and freeze again for three minutes. After that, everyone simultaneously disperses in different directions.

"Battery"

At a certain time, in a certain place in the city, a “lighthouse” passes. Suddenly his movements become slower, like a robot whose battery has run out, his strength fades, and he falls, pretending to fall asleep (or to recharge). This serves as a signal for the rest of the mobbers to repeat after him the imitation of loss of vitality, eventually falling into “hibernation” for exactly two minutes, counting the seconds to themselves. At the end of two minutes, the classic ending follows - the mobbers disperse in different directions, as if nothing had happened.

If you get creative with this scenario, you can switch off slowly, quickly, or on the move by simply standing up with your head bowed. They play as if the battery inside is slowly running out. You can fall completely on the asphalt, you can sit on your knee, you can “fall asleep” while standing. The main thing is to surprise others. Well, it’s logical that if the battery runs out, then the eyes are closed.

"Look to the Sky"

People gather, at a certain time they take binoculars/spotting scopes/rolled newspapers out of their pockets/bags/briefcases and look at the sky. After 5-10 minutes, everything winds down and people go about their business, leaving passers-by in bewilderment trying to find something unusual in the sky.

Criticism

Flash mobs are often criticized. When the first flash mobs took place, many politicians did not understand its essence and gave it a political connotation, although the ideology of the flash mob states that “Flash mobs are beyond politics and economics.” There have been statements that this is “Western foolishness,” although it was in the CIS countries that the ideological component of the flash mob especially developed.

Most critics consider it a pointless exercise. Although many psychologists have a favorable attitude towards the flash mob phenomenon, since it (to a certain extent) has a beneficial effect on the psychological state of the participants, helps participants lose inhibitions and fear of public opinion, develops the ability to self-organize, provides an opportunity to meet like-minded people and brings variety to life.

Flash mob as a tactic of organized crime

Other critics note that flash mobs create a sense of permissiveness that can provoke participants into group hooliganism. The National Retail Federation (USA) classifies such actions as “multiple-offender crimes” that use “flash mob tactics.”

Mark Leary, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, said most episodes of flash mob violence involve crimes of violence that are not typical of the daily lives of many of the individuals who committed such acts during the flash mob, likely , that the provoking factor for those was a suddenly emerging organized group aimed at committing criminal activities: “The main factor mobilizing people through social networks to commit crimes is the feeling of permissiveness, the feeling of individual participants that their actions will go unpunished, since it seems to them that they will not be able to be identified."

Dr. Linda Keels draws parallels between “flashmob gangsterism” and the “Occupy” movement: “As the prevalence of social networks increases, the likelihood of flash mobs being used for political and criminal purposes will increase.”

Legislative restrictions and prohibitions

The city of Braunschweig, Germany, was able to stop flash mobs by enforcing strict compliance with an existing law requiring permission to use any public space for group actions. In the United Kingdom, a number of flash mobs have been banned due to the threat they pose to public health and safety. , in which he describes how instantaneous teleportation allowed huge numbers of people to appear almost instantly anywhere in the world where action worthy of attention was taking place. The crowd at the scene of the action appeared immediately after information about the event was published in "In order to save the daughter of a millionaire taken hostage, the hero - an Internet advertiser - organizes a dozen flash mobs of various subjects in the port, as a result of which he finds himself in the center of attention of the press .

The beginning of flash mobs began with the appearance in 2002 of a book by the famous writer Howard Reingold. In this book, the writer wanted to predict that in the future, modern technological accessories will serve not only as a means of entertainment and communication, but also as a means of self-organization of people.

The debut flash mob was organized on June 3, 2003 in New York, but due to the fact that the police found out about everything in advance, they prevented the event from happening. But those who wanted to hold the action did not despair and repeated their idea two weeks later. Only this time, each participant in the flash mob was informed about its time and location several hours before the crime. About 150-200 people attended the action. They came to the supermarket, surrounded an expensive carpet and began talking about their lives and their desire to now buy a “carpet of desire.” After this, other countries also learned what a flash mob is.

A short digression into the history of creation

The largest flash mob was held in September 2009 in Chicago. It was held at a celebrity concert during the start of a new stage of the show by the famous American presenter and actress. As the hip-hop music group performed their song, the audience gradually began to perform the same movements. Approximately 21 thousand people took part in this action.

In Russia, for the first time such an action was held on August 16, 2003, at the same time in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The activists' task was to meet passengers who arrived at the station. The participants held incomprehensible signs in their hands.

Flash mobs are prepared thanks to Internet sites. As a rule, in every part of the world, for convenience, there is one such resource. There is an option to organize an event thanks to social networks, but these events are characterized by disorganization and uncoordinated participants. All the details of this event are published either on the web service itself, or sent by the organizer to each participant personally.

A prerequisite for events is their organization in places with the largest concentration of people. Its members feign complete ignorance of each other. The event ends with the performers gradually moving away in opposite directions.

Types of shares:

  • Classic flash mob. The purpose of this event is to amaze, and not upset or amuse, the viewer.
  • Unspectacular mob. Its goal is to create a feeling of insanity in the viewer. Participants in this flash mob perform actions that are ordinary for every person (stumble, open a bottle of water and douse themselves with it, post up advertisements, try to button a jacket, etc.).
  • Art mob. Its purpose is to evoke aesthetic pleasure in those who witness this event. The difficulty is that it is difficult to find people who can draw beautifully, and without this skill it is impossible to carry out this flash mob.

An art mob was held in Chelyabinsk on September 14, 2008, during which participants built a smiley face measuring 80 meters. This emoticon was called “Chelyabinsk smiles at the world” and it was included in the “Russian Book of Records”.

Dance flash mob.

  • Extreme mob. This type of flash mob has the nature of petty hooliganism, it can cause aggression from passers-by, so it does not comply with the laws of flash mobs. An example of an extreme mob is a pillow fight.
  • L-mob or long mob. It lasts for a week. Anyone involved performs a certain action wherever and whenever he wants. For example, over the course of a week, participants in the action trace the outline of any objects (bottles, benches, pieces of paper, trash cans) with chalk, and after a week the entire city will be outlined, which will certainly arouse interest among residents.
  • Farshing. During this event, each of the participants forgets about his complexes, life principles and performs an action with the help of which he “breaks himself.” For example, pouring ketchup on yourself, doing exercises on the street in your underpants, smashing your phone with a hammer, etc.

We can conclude that thanks to such events our lives become brighter and much more interesting! “Don’t worry – be happy!”

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