BY LORI CULWELL
You guys, I finally got around to watching the "Harlem Shake" video and a bunch of the spinoffs, and I have to tell you exactly what I think is so amazing about this phenomenon.
Here is the original. It is funny, just in a "freaky people acting freaky" kind of way, I think you'll agree.
It's totally funny, but I'm pretty sure no one (at least no one I know) has guys in unitards or guys in masks or power rangers in their house, so there is an element of "ok, that's freaky, but that has nothing to do with me." So, this original starts out absurd and then just gets moreso over the course of the song.
This phenomenon gets really awesome (for me, at least) when you get into the spinoffs. What I think is so amazing is that you start watching these,and there's just one freaky guy dancing, and then the beautiful moment comes when you know the crowd is about to start doing the Harlem Shake, and in an instant, everyone turns from being normal to being the super-freakiest version of themselves. Here's an example:
This whole series goes in the Funny Strange Hall of Fame, because to be honest with you, alot of times, I feel like that freaky little guy, dancing by myself, and I hope that the absurdities of life will reveal themselves and that people will start to dance along with me. This is what I think life is actually like, underneath the normalcy, and it's just such an amazing moment when someone turns from a normal guy into a guy doing the worm in a sleeping bag, because aren't we all just freaks inside?
That is to say, I actually think that when people are in an office alongside you, they actually are freaks underneath, like the guy punching a giraffe in the face, or the guy doing the worm in the sleeping bag, or the very best version of themselves.
I want to believe that everybody in these videos thought of their "Harlem Shake" personas themselves and they weren't coached. There are so many great examples in here of people just doing the absolute freakiest thing they could think of, and I love it. This is exactly why I like to point out funny signs and funny food, because I see that undercurrent of absurdity in everyday life, and I love watching it come out all at once here.
I guess what I'm saying is, if you're working in an office and you're feeling bored, just look around and imagine what everyone would turn into if you did the Harlem Shake, because it really is about letting out your inner freak. Would you be the guy punching the blown-up giraffe in the face? Who are you in the Harlem Shake rainbow?
