Flashmobilized

If you happened to be around the Market at 2p.m. on Saturday, you probably noticed something weird. 

Lots of frozen people. 

This 'flashmob' was called Norwich's Big Freeze, organized through Facebook, and attended by nearly two hundred people; their goal was simply to stand still for five minutes.  Part performance art, part social protest, the result was a good natured chaos in front of the Market, as some stood still, some tried to figure out why they were bothering, and a few people just pushed their way through the partially frozen crowd, irritated.  One of those frozen people was me.  That's right.  I was flashmobbed.

I first found out about it through a friend on Facebook.  The events listing  on the 'book made it look like a lively chance for a little social pranking. The idea was simple enough in theory.  From the time the city hall clock chimed at 2p.m., everyone involved in the group would stop exactly as they were when they heard it, and for five minutes stand absolutely still.  The hope is that this will draw attention, amusement, and consternation in equal measures, and hopefully pull people out of their world for just a few minutes on a nice Saturday.  There was no overt social protest, I have my own thoughts on it being something of an good-natured ridicule of the hurried nature of modern society, but that's just me.  Mostly, it's a small group having some fun with the community at large.

It's a little hard to explain--a good example of a flashmob freeze from New York can be seen in this You Tube video.  Our mob was similar, however, the New York crew were definitely more organized.  For though there was a pre-mob meeting at one o'clock at the Chapelfield Gardens, it was sparsely attended, and the majority of mobbers weren't aware exactly how the starting and finishing was supposed to work.  Because of that, there was a little time lag getting started and stopped that kept it from being completely crisp.  That being said, it was a great moment after we'd all frozen, and suddenly people who weren't involved started to realize that something was going on.  The usual bustle and noise of that part of the walk ebbed into an uneasy quiet, peppered with questions like 'What's this about?' 'Why they doing that?' and my personal favorite, 'Should we nick that fag he's rolling?'

Five minutes of stillness is nearly unbearable for an attention deficit kid like myself, and I did, I confess, have to move ever so slightly, as I'd frozen with one foot up at an odd angle.  Therefore, over the course of a minute or so, I gradually eased the offending foot down, feeling in equal measures shame and relief.  The kids next to me, wearing pirate hats, didn't particularly enjoy being frozen, and would ask every thirty seconds or so if their five minutes were up, and rather than everyone moving on abruptly, we all kind of gave up after someone started clapping. 

Overall, though, it was a great time.  Out of nowhere, Gentleman's Walk in front of the market took on a carnival-like atmosphere, and a bunch of people with little else in common all stopped in to stop and make a point (whatever that point may be) for just a short while.  While it may not change the earth, and maybe didn't even change the day, it created a different and unique moment, stamping the power of stillness and quiet on a usually crazy and busy area at one of the most hectic moments of the day.  And though I did, to my shame, have to wiggle a little in my stillness to survive, I left feeling uplifted, inspired, and amused.  I will most definitely be flashmobbing again.  Before that, though, I'm getting a new watch...