Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Social Norms
I wish that was everyday life! Random people breaking out into songs together. Like how the tissue aunty goes "$1, $1, tissue $1" why can't someone answer in a singsong
"$1, $1, I'll give you $1"? Anyway, check out the reactions of the non participants in the video.
First of all, some background knowledge.
Improv Everywhere is a group of people who collaborate more people to do things out of the social norm in public. They do it for fun but I think it's so clever because it is a diverse form of communication It was created in August 2001 and they have been on 85 missions ever since. Check out the other missions on www.improveverywhere.com
Back to the video,
Food Court Musical was staged in a Los Angeles shopping mall. As seen, people were shocked, disturbed and amused. Let's say if it were to happen in Singapore.(there is in fact a group of people who do Improv Everywhere missions here) If the musical was staged near Laselle, passerbys would most probably sit and watch like it's normal. Or even town area like Orchard Road. Many art groups can be found performing along Orchard Road every once in a while hence passerbys would assume that it is just another one. If it were to happen at somewhere less artsy fartsy, maybe an office building near a CBD, the security guard would probably be involved. What i'm trying to say is,different parts of the world or even a country have different definitions and concepts of what is weird and what is normal. People find things that don't fit in their society's culture, weird.
What are your thoughts on social norms? Any interesting stories around the world?
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well one social norm which i am very passion about would be homosexuals, as i am on myself.
ReplyDeletethrough out time, it has slowly became a social norm for someone to be homosexual, however there are still many people out there that really disagree with it,
for example yesterday i was in the doctors holding my boyfriends hand and this man kept staring as us and basically giving us a dirty look.
why the hell do they do that? there is nothing wrong with the same sex liking or even loving each other
many people would argue that there religous idle would disgraa with homosexuals, but the thing is, why are there homosexuals surely whom ever so called created us wouldnt they surely made us without these feelings??
however i have found that many different places see homosexuals are different,
for example whilst in singapore i wore a top which says "i love boys" and i got many people looking at me, however the white (not being racsist) didnt seem to care that much.
also in the uk, i have been stared at and called names from different social norms, for example the "chav" population seemed to be more bothered about homosexuals, but "emos" are not so bothered!x
Haha if only life were a musical huh... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0MJkwoRqiw&feature=fvw heres an idea of what it would look like :P
ReplyDeletepeople loose imagination and creativity as they get older, because they have too many things to do, they are too busy with what they think life is now but they have completely forgotten that life is whatever they want it to be, be it a song and dance or living on an island. what is normal anyway? who was given the enormous task of defining what normal is? see kids would find this amusing and understand it staright away cos their idea of what is worng and what is right hasnt been shoved down. so they are more at ease with the world too, which is why people say children are magic. so i guess what im trying to say is people should keep their minds open. theres more things to discover that way too.
ReplyDeleteHaha! I've watched that video on YouTube before and I found it really amazing. I love all these events that they plan just to get crazy reactions from the crowd. I personally feel that it is like an experiment to see what reactions you can get from the crowd by doing something out of the ordinary.
ReplyDeleteAnd on the topic of social norms, I suppose, these are the 'norms' that have been passed down through the generations and that have evolved to what we know today. A question that I often think about, what if the so called norms are different? An example, what if it was being taught to us from young that eating bugs is healthy. We would grow up thinking that it is normal to eat bugs right?
In a sense, these social norms are the effects of the socialization process. Agree?
Ayumi's speaking...
ReplyDeleteAnother flash mob! However, it's brilliant!
It might be so disturbing for some people because it was too sudden, but for me it was a better way to send messages to public. Well, that sudden occasion will remain longer than we do it in "linear message", where we only sit down and listening..
Hope Singapore will have it more often, so WE CAN JOIN IT SOMEDAY??!
Social norms are in place for a reason: to govern society's behaviour and regulate peace and morality. However, some social norms are rather outdated in modern society, like how we are considered rather dull and rigid, unable to accept spontaneous behaviour. Such norms are going away slowly, with the rise of flash mobs in Singapore. The sheer magnitude of the recent one at Raffles City shows that Singaporeans are slowly lightening up.
ReplyDeletebut they were actually paid to do that.. defeats the purpose doesnt it. lol.
ReplyDeleteI love flash mobs but I personally think they're starting to lose their sparks and surge of creativity. Maybe someone should start a "flash sole" where only one person gathers the courage to sing out loud and dance alone. Now that'd be interesting.
ReplyDeleteHaha... not as funny as the chasers version... Its is ok doesnt crack me up that much..
ReplyDeleteHAHAHA omg i love random outbursts like these! americans are more open to things like these, its part of their culture so im not surprised at their reactions! but i think singapore might just have the same responses too - we should try it sometime!
ReplyDeletei wish this happens in Singapore.. i've seen most of their videos. to think of it i doesn't cause any harm but it gives a smile and brightens someones day. loves it.
ReplyDeletehey wanna do what they do??
lets plan!!!
hahah xoxoxox
haha whats with the first guy talking bout HOMOSEXUALITY. hahah OUT OF POINT!! LOL.. but i think dyna thank you for ur entry.
ReplyDeleteim not anti HOMO. i love them.. hahah
eh i want to join the random musical thing too.. hahaha
hey dyna lets be SPONTANEOUS AND DO IT!
WE NEED YOU, YOU and YOU!!!! hahaha
ya i dun get the 1st guy. lol. i presume its a guy cause he wrote boyfriend. lol. no offence but why u hold ur boyfriends hand in public HAHAH!! chill la.. dont so obvious. im gay too.
ReplyDeletehmm.. damn cool the musical thing! i once saw a marriage proposal at a disneyland on youtube. haha damn cool..
i think if you want to do in s'pore confirm kena caught. busker also now need license you know.. hahahaha
you dont bully the "$1" auntie can.. hah. eh this people no shame is it. lol. i feel that this musical thing is fun la but a bit nuisance ryte.. haha but well its fun to watch. THE POWER OF YOUTUBE! yeah!
ReplyDelete