Editing Flash mob (section)

{{Short description|Form of sudden public performance}}
{{About|the social activity}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
[[Image:Piazza Maggiore pillow fight 2008.jpg|thumb|A public [[pillow fight]] in [[Bologna, Italy]]]]

A '''flash mob''' (or '''flashmob''')<ref>{{Cite news | date = February 9, 2009 | publisher = [[CNN]] | title = Facebook flashmob shuts down station | url = http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/02/09/uk.station.flashmob/index.html}}</ref> is a group of people that assembles suddenly in a public place, performs for a brief time, then quickly disperses, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and/or artistic expression.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/uk/newsid_3876000/3876685.stm|title=Va-va-voom is in the dictionary |publisher=BBC|date=July 8, 2004|access-date=May 5, 2010}}</ref><ref name="COED">{{cite web|url=http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0972977#m_en_gb0972977|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510024647/http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0972977#m_en_gb0972977|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 10, 2011|title=definition of flash mob from Oxford English Dictionaries Online|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|date=July 8, 2004|access-date=May 9, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14509831|title=Mixed feelings over Philadelphia's flash-mob curfew|publisher=BBC|date=August 12, 2011}}</ref> Flash mobs may be organized via [[telecommunications]], [[social media]], or [[viral email]]s.<ref name="wallstreet">{{cite web|url=http://s.wsj.net/article/SB120814163599712081.html|title=Students Unleash A Pillow Fight On Manhattan|work=Wall Street Journal|last=Athavaley|first=Anjali|date=April 15, 2008|access-date=May 19, 2008|archive-date=January 11, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090111210331/http://s.wsj.net/article/SB120814163599712081.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="nationalpost">{{cite news|url=http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/theampersand/archive/2008/03/21/let-the-feathers-fly.aspx |last=Fitzgerald |first=Sean D. |title=International Pillow Fight Day: Let the feathers fly! |work=National Post |location=Canada |date=March 21, 2008 |access-date=May 19, 2008 }}{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="fibre" /><ref name="abc">{{cite news|url=http://www.abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=4758736&page=1|title=Time Freezes in Central London|work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]|date=April 30, 2008 |access-date=January 25, 2009}}</ref><ref name="cnn3">{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/internet/08/04/flash.mob/|title='Flash mob' craze spreads|author=Sandra Shmueli|publisher=CNN|date=August 8, 2003}}</ref>

The term, coined in 2003, is generally not applied to events and performances organized for the purposes of politics (such as protests), [[commercial advertisement]], [[publicity stunts]] that involve [[public relation]] firms, or paid professionals.<ref name="fibre" /><ref name="manifesto">{{cite web|url=http://aglomerarispontane.weblog.ro/2004-12-05/20168/Manifestul-Aglomerarilor-Spontane---A-Flashmob-Manifesto.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070209041136/http://aglomerarispontane.weblog.ro/2004-12-05/20168/Manifestul-Aglomerarilor-Spontane---A-Flashmob-Manifesto.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 9, 2007|title=Manifestul Aglomerarilor Spontane / A Flashmob Manifesto|date=December 5, 2004|access-date=December 27, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/911773--failed-choral-flash-mob-may-not-have-qualified-for-term|title=Failed choral 'flash mob' may not have qualified for term|work=Toronto Star|author= Ed Fletcher|date=December 23, 2010|access-date=December 30, 2010}}</ref> In these cases of a planned purpose for the social activity in question, the term [[smart mob]]s is often applied instead.

The term "[[flash rob]]" or "flash mob robberies", a reference to the way flash mobs assemble, has been used to describe a number of robberies and assaults perpetrated suddenly by groups of teenage youth.<ref name="FOXN1">{{cite news | url = https://www.foxnews.com/us/teenage-flash-mob-robberies-on-the-rise/ | title = Teenage Flash Mob Robberies on the Rise | author = Annie Vaughan | date = June 18, 2011 | publisher = [[Fox News]] | access-date = June 18, 2014 }}</ref><ref name="TIME3">{{cite magazine | url = https://newsfeed.time.com/2011/05/12/flash-mobs-turned-criminal-the-rise-of-flash-robberies/ | title = Flash Mobs Turned Criminal: The Rise of Flash Robberies | author = Erin Skarda | date = May 12, 2011 | magazine = [[Time (magazine)|Time]] | access-date = June 18, 2014}}</ref><ref name="WIRED1">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.wired.com/2011/11/flash-robs/ | title = 'Flash Robs': Trying to Stop a Meme Gone Wrong | author = Bill Wasik | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] | date = November 11, 2011 | access-date = June 19, 2014}}</ref> [[Bill Wasik]], originator of the first flash mobs, and a number of other commentators have questioned or objected to the usage of "flash mob" to describe criminal acts.<ref name="WIRED1" /><ref name="HUFFPO1">{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/08/illinois-rifle-associatio_n_872644.html | title='Flash Mob' Attacks Used By Gun Rights Advocates To Build Concealed Carry Support | work=[[The Huffington Post]] | date=August 8, 2011 | access-date=June 17, 2014}}</ref> Flash mobs have also been featured in some Hollywood movie series, such as ''[[Step Up (franchise)|Step Up]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title='Step Up Revolution' Director, Choreographers Talk Flash Mob Attraction and Former Martial Artist Ryan Guzman's Debut|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/step-up-revolution-kathryn-mccormick-ryan-guzman-355033|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=July 26, 2012|language=en|access-date=May 25, 2020}}</ref>