cheery scene

I like the idea of flash mobs. In this video, I especially like watching the reaction of the people walking through the station. In general, I think that all of us get sort of used to our lives, the expectedness of the routine, and a flash mob seems like a way to shake us out of that unthinkingness. There's something about the balance between "planned" and "spontaneous" that works differently than, say, a scheduled performance on a set of risers off in some corner of a mall or train station or street corner. Those types of performances are on the side, something apart from where we are, things that may also be beautiful and harmonious but that don't require our notice. Seems like a flash mob changes that, maybe because it's performed by people who seem like us--people who aren't separated by a velvet rope or matching candy-cane striped sweaters or whatever. I like the way, too that the group disperses randomly after the event—the sense that "normal" life goes on after a group of people has come together, momentarily, to accomplish something amazing.