Shawyer dissertation May 2008 final version - The University of ...

Glasgow, Rome, Vienna, Berlin, Sydney, Sao Paulo and Bombay. By early Septemberthe concept of the flash mob had appeared in Garry Trudeau’s nationally syndicatedcomic strip Doonesbury, and the call for a flash mob in Doonesbury’s comic world hadcreated an actual flash mob in Seattle in support of Democratic Presidential candidateHoward Dean (Armstrong par. 6). Wasik’s social experiment had become a full-on urbanmovement in just a few short months, with thousands participating.As the frequency of flash mobs increased, and as they spread from New Yorkacross North America and to Europe and Asia, the media began to take notice. By the endof July, news of flash mobs appeared in major daily newspapers, with reports peaking inAugust. By mid-August the flash mob fad was being covered by mainstream outlets likeCNN (Cooper par. 1), and magazines such as People and Time (“Get” par. 1; Shinayersonpar. 1). In early September journalist John Karastamatis was trying to create a flashmob—and a story—at the Toronto Film Festival (Karastamatis T5). Yet the media wasconfused about flash mobs. The phenomenon had no obvious leader: while themysterious “Bill” had organized the first recorded flash mob that summer, he was not theonly flash mob organizer. Others quickly emerged. Flash mobs had no hierarchicalorganization typical of a planned movement. Were flash mobs political? They did notseem to have an ideology or argue for a political point of view. In fact, there seemed to beno context for flash mobs at all. Why were practical strangers meeting in public spaces toperform simple, often silly, actions?In search of an answer, and a way to understand the strange performance practice,the media turned to what they already knew: performance art, Happenings, and guerrilla213