The performance and reception of flash mobs: authenticity, YouTube, and the fantastic

Gailey, Benjamin Joseph

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/88276 Copy

Description

Title

The performance and reception of flash mobs: authenticity, YouTube, and the fantastic

Author(s)

Gailey, Benjamin Joseph

Issue Date

2015-07-17

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Davis, Peter

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Davis, Peter A.

Committee Member(s)

• Robinson, Valleri
• Mitchell, Tom
• Bishop, Mardia

Department of Study

Theatre

Discipline

Theatre

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

• Flash mobs
• YouTube
• Fantastic
• Authenticity
• Theatre
• Performance Studies

Abstract

This dissertation analyzes the performance methodology and reception of various flash mobs performed from 2003 to 2015. This twelve year history is separated into three periods. The first period consists of Bill Wasik’s initial flash mob performances, a series of eight events known as the Mob Project. These performances establish the three commonalities I use to define and identify flash mob performance- the anonymity between performer and spectator, the overloading of space, and the performance of incongruous action. The second period begins with the popularity of the T-Mobile flash mob commercial “Dance,” which introduced the use of a Protagonist and the “performer/spectator.” The third period is characterized by the use of flash mobs as advertisements by sponsoring organizations in order to achieve authentic alignment between themselves and their audience. All three periods are unified by a common potential reception on the part of the spectator- a reception that corresponds to Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of the Fantastic.

Graduation Semester

2015-8

Type of Resource

text

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/88276

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2015 Benjamin Gailey

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