dance dance revolution

This post is less gender-based (though we can of course draw some connections/conclusions), more comment on the global. I ran across an interesting article in the NYTimes this morning: "A Private Dance? Four Million Web Fans Say No", by Charles McGrath. This chronicles the popularity of a video simply called "Dancing," created by Matt Harding. Harding traveled the world doing an odd little dance, videoing his performance (solo and with others -- including a beach full of crabs) and publishing it for, well, the world to see. Read the article for more details on Harding and this creation.

I'm not usually swayed by such things, but decided to take a look. I concur with McGrath's summary of the piece: "it’s short, pleasingly weird and so minimal in its content that it’s open to a multitude of interpretations." And this, finally, is what I'm most interested in.

How do we interpret this? Is it a pleasing example of globalization? An apolitical "We are the World" for the 21st century? Is there something inherently problematic in an American traveling the world (with the help of Stride gum), capturing different cultures on camera in this way? Does the fact that this American is a white male make any difference (or, if this were a Native American woman, how might our interpretation change? would it?)? Are there issues of consent -- do the bushmen of New Guinea know in what they are participating? Does that matter? How does the technology, the new media, contribute to the equation? This has over four million views on youtube alone -- what does this tell us?

Clearly the questions can continue -- so let's discuss. But first, take a look:

**Just to complicate this a touch more, I found myself smiling throughout the video -- I do like dancing -- though I was also, at times, quite bothered.