Mannequin Challenge
The Mannequin Challenge
is when a group of people take part in a video, but appear to be motionless or
frozen, like mannequins. The ultimate goal is for every person in the video to
remain COMPLETELY motionless (like, not even blink) as the camera pans through
the scene. This sounds a little weird if you have never actually taken part in
or viewed a mannequin challenge, but it has actually been a really unique and
popular way to bring attention to things, raise awareness for issues, and even
express political messages. Sometimes the videos are just for fun, and
sometimes they represent very serious matters. These videos are mostly to the
song “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd (but some of them use other songs instead),
and I’m going to show and discuss a few of them.
The first video that I want to show is relatively
local to my area. It was posted by the Grant County Sheriff’s Department in
Kentucky, and shows the scene of a heroin overdose. Knowing about and being
affected by the heroin epidemic in this region (many of my family members are
addicted to heroin), this video truly brought tears to my eyes. No matter what
your stance on addiction (while addiction IS a disease, a lot of people cannot
seem to agree whether it should be classified as the addict’s fault or not),
this mannequin challenge really tugs at your heart strings, and allows a
platform for discussion. Children and young adults who see this video may be
saved from potential addiction is the future by knowing what a heroin overdose
actually looks like, and it allows them to have that dialogue with their
parents or guardians, or friends or whoever it is that has their best interest
at heart. It allows shows people that maybe feel like society should not care
about addicts (for whatever reason they may feel that way), that it is not JUST
the addict involved. Often times there are so many people around the addict
that are affected by the addiction. Whether it’s parents, siblings, children,
or friends, this video opens your eyes and SHOWS you that, even if you do not
care about the heroin addict, someone else does and that someone needs the
addict to recover, too.
Another Mannequin Challenge
that I want to show you is a Mannequin Challenge from the Black Lives Matter
community which flashes through a few different instances of police brutality.
What REALLY made this Mannequin Challenge strong is the use of sound/sound
effects. You can hear the dialogue between civilian and police officer, and it
is not just made up dialogue, it is actual dialogue that was caught on footage
of real events involving police officers and civilians. It pans through the
instances of Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Alton Sterling, and Trayvon
Martin. It also shows Professional football player Colin Kaepernick kneeling on
the side of the road (Kaepernick is known for kneeling during the national
anthem of NFL games to protest inequality) while a Malcom X speech is playing.
You can see protesters standing in a group as the scene comes to an end with
the sound of a hospital monitor flatlining. In my opinion, this Mannequin
Challenge speaks volumes.
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