After this week’s class discussion of
Conjuctures and Constellations, I found Slack and Wises’, “Articulation and
Assemblage” of interest. This reading is applicable when thinking of materiality
and infrastructure in everyday situations. For example, the case of a flash
mob. Participants in a flash mob practice beforehand and strategically plan out
both where and when people will converge and participate, or watch their ‘spontaneous’
performance. Further, bystanders follow the impulse to record the flash mob and
transmit it to a place where others can access this live footage. Spectators
immediately feel the need to transmit this information and send to a technological
space.
Here is a
video clip to show how social organization forms and actors take on their roles.
Ex: spectators taking out their phones to send this live footage elsewhere:
For a
deeper insight, I found this paper that elaborates on how flash mobs have
become a normalized networked of social relations in public spaces. I found
this paper useful when making the connection between the course material and
this example: http://topia.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/topia/article/viewFile/37212/33794
I found this post super interesting! I like how bystanders were connected to the flash mob from being able to record what they see and then share it through social media platforms to their followers.
ReplyDeleteTying this into lecture, we use mobilities in our everyday lives in order to stay connected and feel at home when we aren’t physically there. These types of mediated mobilities, like our smartphones, allow us to stay connected to a different world than what we are already a part of. When we are observing a flash mob and we have the ability to record and share, we are creating an atmosphere for those who were not there. We can then use our reactions and emotions that we felt towards the flash mob to influence other people’s opinions and their perspective.
I really like the idea of flash mobs as an assemblage!
ReplyDeleteI find it interesting that the time and place of something that we usually associate with spontaneity is so important to the message that we as spectators get out of it. For example, I saw a flash mob that took place in an unemployment office in Madrid where they were singing The Beatles's "Here Comes the Sun". After some research, I found that Spain was in economic crisis and many people had lost their jobs. The decision to sing a song of hope in an unemployment office was very strategic, which contributed to a larger conversation about Spain's society in relation to their economy and the image they would have of unemployed people.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoBMJAEOvPA
Very interesting take on the concept of the assemblage. In relating back to our lecture for that particular week, we can also take what was discussed regarding the Tokyo scramble crossing and apply it to your example. Specifically, we can examine all the technological elements that converge making the flash mob a 'territory’. In this case, the technological elements of the flash mob could potentially also include the choice of songs being played, each individual joining the routine, the modes of media communication including the choice to perform their routine in a mall with various advertisements surrounding the performers such as the Citibank poster.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was reading this post and connecting back to our reading of Slack and Wise's chapter, a question was raised - Since assemblages are not static and are constantly transforming in what the authors call 'deterritorialization' and 'reterritorialization', do you think this can be applied to a flash mob? I personally think these processes can be argued to be present in a flash mob as the control and order is taken away (deterritorialization) from the usually controlled space of a mall as large dancing crowds and music create a chaotic territory. Likewise, as in the previous student’s example, the flash mob’s ability to hold a greater meaning surrounding an economic crisis could be seen as a moment where new articulations create a new assemblage (reterritorialization). In this case, the individuals who organize and participate in the flash mob can replace traditions with their own beliefs to get a message across to a large amount of people. Many flash mobs actually carry a deeper meaning than what they appear which explains why many go viral on social media platforms due to their strong influence.
Here is a clip of a flash mob that projects a message about protecting the environment which demonstrates the ideas that have previously been discussed.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDo6UjBroXk
I really liked the example of an assemblage, that's something I did not think about!
ReplyDeleteIn lecture Dr. Herman defined an assemblage as "technologies that converge together to make a place. In that place they have power relations of time and space." The idea of a flashmob as an assemblage relates to this concept. Great point about how people converge together to create and have power over a space and time.
An example I could think of is Times Square in New York. This is because the convergence of technology and people create an assemblage within time and space. There has also been flash mobs in Times Square which interconnects your example with mine.
Here is a short video I found of a flash mob in Times Square: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zzbXvZ5KqU
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ReplyDeleteI like how you included the idea of the flashmob in regards to underlining points of "media form and technology create a place of habitation where mobility and placement work together and how different spectators take on their roles, what was once a ‘spontaneous’ social movement, turns to a construction of social beings". Really fascinating how you used a rather common example that we see all over the world wide web and perhaps around our daily environments such as flash mobs that are done on university campuses, etc. to infiltrate the idea of aspects of assemblage as of technological aspects that come together to display an overall convergence or digital or social medium. This idea can work on many overarching aspects beyond technology as well, for instance the assemblage of a government for instance. Overall, great post
ReplyDeleteI found your post interesting. Before reading this, I’ve never thought of a flash mob as an example of an assemblage. It was also interesting how you tied in the surroundings of the flash mob such as the spectators recording what is going on. Often, we do not think about how much we use technology daily. As you mentioned, it is almost impulse to pull out a phone or camera to record what is happening. If this happened 20 years ago, the circulation of telling others about this experience would be very different. This allows for those experiencing the flashmob to share their experience with those who are not within the same place. Though the flashmob may be grabbing attention of those in the area, it does have a deeper meaning/message in which technology allows for the circulation. We have technology at our advantage so it is interesting to see how daily we use it and for what purpose as well.
ReplyDeleteYou picked such a good example to explain this concept! As we discussed in class, it is interesting to talk about how one particular space (like the cross walk in Japan and this flash mob site) can hold such meanings of habitation such as mobility, placement and movement.
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