by Emma Cromidas
The latest craze that has taken Twitter and Facebook by storm is the Mannequin Challenge. As the name suggests, the challenge entails a group of people standing still (like mannequins) in a particular position while a video is taken. These people are supposed to represent mannequins because they remain frozen as a camera films and music plays in the background.
Although there is not an official song that accompanies this challenge, in the original Mannequin Challenge video on Twitter, performed by students at Edward H. White High School in Jacksonville, FL, the song “Black Beatles” by hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd played in the background. Though the song was released on September 22nd, it has only recently become popular because of this challenge.
Since the students from Edward H. White High School posted their video on October 26th, many others have taken to Twitter and Instagram to share their videos. The most successful videos are those where many people tell a story by depicting a scene with their body positions.
Senior Julia Noreck spoke about her experience trying out the Mannequin Challenge. Noreck admitted that it was “tough to keep still and not laugh.”
“We tried the Mannequin Challenge at our soccer team sleepover last weekend. We tried to portray a person throughout different stages of life. I think it worked out pretty well,” Noreck explained.
Celebrities, NFL football teams, college sports teams, and many other groups are participating in this trend. According to ABCNews.com, Hillary Clinton posted a Mannequin Challenge video on her campaign plane to Twitter on Election Day. The caption on the video was “Don’t stand still. Vote today,” and she was recorded with former President Bill Clinton, Bon Jovi, and one of her top aides, Huma Abedin.
When asked about Clinton’s video, Meredith Cromidas, a follower of election coverage and the Mannequin Challenge, commented, “I think the video was an attempt to be trendy and connect to young voters just before they headed to the polls. I don’t necessarily know if she gained any more votes than she would’ve, but it’s good to see that she is just like a regular person.”
Also, according to TMZ.com, players on the Pittsburgh Steelers, including Antonio Brown and James Harrison, participated in the Mannequin Challenge and posed in the locker room. The scene portrayed by the human mannequins represented Antonio Brown being swamped by reporters while other players were getting dressed in the locker room. Various other NFL teams have attempted the Mannequin Challenge, including the Dallas Cowboys, the Buffalo Bills, and the New York Giants.
Similar to the planking challenge in 2011 or the Harlem Shake challenge in 2012, the Mannequin Challenge has overwhelmed the internet over the last week and it is sure to grow increasingly popular in the weeks to come.
The First Launch 