Flash Mob Videos

Below are a number of videos of flash mobs that have occurred here in New York and elsewhere around the United States and Europe.

The first is from Philadelphia, and shows how the model of the flash mob was negatively co-opted and used to perform a series of robberies. 

The second video is actually a commercial or advertisement for T-Mobile, titled "Welcome Back."  This flash mob took place in London at the Heathrow Terminal 5.

This third video occurred in New York City a few years ago and was performed by a group known for its varied performances of flash mob. They call themselves Improv Everywhere. In this particular mobbing, individuals enter a Best Buy dressed in their uniform Prank

In the fourth video, Improv Everywhere strikes again, yet this time they press the "Mute Button."

Perhaps one of my favorite flash mob events ever to occur in NYC was the "Frozen Grand Central" mob, again performed by the group Improv Everywhere. It really redefines (and therefore recreates) the "moving" space of Grand Central Station in an artistic and visceral manner. What are your reactions to this event?

Perhaps one of the more amusing and certainly awkward annual flash mob events that has been in existence since 2006 is the "No Pants Subway Ride." Here, footage from the most recent no-pants-ride this past January is shown.

Lastly, the annual "MP3 Experiment" stands as a beautiful and colorful testament to the various critiques of control and autonomy that flash mobbing exposes. Still, the purpose of simple and sheer entertainment could never be more apparent than in this footage from the eighth installment of the MP3 Experiment. If you're interested in participating in this year's experiment save the date for Sunday, 7/14/13. More information on the event can be found here.