Flashmob must be the ultimate zeitgeist of the late noughties. It is the ultimate smile-inducing show of optimism in a cynical word. The people who take part would terrorize terrorists with their unbridled playfulness.
Random pillow-fights, silent discos and posing as statues - a nod to the juvenile simplicity adulthood forces into the past.
Flashmobs are not just amusing to the participants, but also to passers-by. I recently walked past a man in the street who was howling out U2's 'With or Without You'. It was the most beautiful autumn day and in a moment which (very) vaguely resembled Sassoon's 'Everyone Sang', I felt uplifted.
In reality, the Bono-impersonator was probably drunk, high, deranged, or all three, but for a moment, there was song in the quiet, auburn world.
These spontaneous actions of playfulness are really a symptom of a world wherein sun must be made, rather than found. However, it is when people stop dancing, singing and hurling their bedding in public that we really should worry. Without sudden outpourings of silliness and joy, the darkness has won.
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