This clip is from Oprah's season premiere this year. The entire crowd in Chicago danced in unison to the Black Eyed Peas performance. I chose this clip because I remember watching it shortly after it aired and have a very emotional response to it.
When I first viewed the clip, I had very little knowledge of what a "flash mob" was. I remember thinking it was strange that only one girl in the front row was dancing, and I mean all out dancing. But then others around her started to dance as well, and in unison! By the time the performance was over, I was moved almost to tears. Not because it was sad, but because there it was so powerful. There was a sense of belonging and unity within the crowd, and I wanted to be a part of it. The message I got was that this is something special, the show is special. How else do you get thousands of strangers to learn a choreographed dance?
While watching the clip again for this project I thought more closely about the Black Eyed Peas (BEP) part in the show. One thing that I realized right away is that the BEPs weren't on the show just to entertain the audience, or Oprah for that matter. They were selling a product, their music. They weren't just selling that particular song, but their album and concert tickets. I can imagine that there were people watching the show that felt compelled to find out when the BEPs would be coming to their city because of their emotional response to the performance. In addition to the BEPs selling themselves, they were also selling Oprah. There were times when they changed the lyrics to reflect being on Oprah and that it was her 24th season. Some people think that Oprah has always been cool, but it was clear that they were trying to draw a younger demographic of followers and if Oprah doesn't have the "cool" factor on her own, then certainly the BEPs would draw those watchers in.
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