My old friend The Harvster (now exiled to Australia for stealing a loaf of bread), nominates this golden oldie as his abiding favourite of the year - and something he tells me he has shared with many friends and work colleagues. Strictly speaking, this did not fall within the last calendar year; but it's close enough, since I first posted it on New Year's Eve a year ago.
As a bonus, I add the follow-up post from a week later in which I list other songs we'd like to see the dancing Filipino prisoners perform to.
1,000 Convicts
first posted on 31st December, 2006
...... pretending to be zombies........
Incredible, but true.
My thanks to Leah for alerting me to this oddball delight - although it seems we both come somewhat late to the party. Apparently, this video of Filipino prisoners performing Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' dance routine has been quite the sensation of YouTube since it was first posted 5 months ago, and has recently been featured on a number of American TV shows. Time Magazine, I learn, has just rated it No. 5 in its list of the year's 'Top 10 Most Popular Viral Videos' (Damn, what are the others?? Got to go check out that list!). On YouTube, it has already drawn more than twice as many hits as Michael's original video of the song!
We have one Byron F. Garcia to thank for this. He works with the Philippines government as an adviser on prison security, and a year or so ago he had the idea of developing a new exercise regime for inmates, based on dancing to pop hits. The scheme - implemented at the Cebu Provincial Detention & Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) - was an immediate success, and quickly became famous throughout the country (they've even had the surviving housemates from the Philippines 'Big Brother' show bussed in [blindfolded] to perform a dance routine with the prisoners as their 'challenge' for the day - worth checking out because the girls are very cute).
Now, my first thought when I saw this was that it must be a spoof, a fake. But no, it appears to be genuine. Then I had qualms about the power-dynamics of it - are these prisoners being forced to take part against their will? (I very much doubt if such a programme could succeed in my native England, a nation of notoriously reluctant dancers.) The hours of practice required must get pretty gruelling; and it would be a hugely embarrassing activity for anyone as self-conscious as I am. I have qualms too about the economics of it - the prison is now earning money by allowing tour groups in to view these mass-choreographed performances.
On the other hand, I suppose it's a lot less exploitative and demeaning than sending these guys out to work on road gangs. And they do seem to be having a whale of a time doing these dance numbers. Perhaps Byron really has come up with an idea of genius here, an exercise programme that is fun, and that gives the prisoners a sense of pride and achievement - something that could be truly rehabilitative. How long before we see this kind of thing in prison exercise yards all over the world??
Byron's posted over 20 videos of his prisoners doing their thing now: 'Radio GaGa' is pretty good, too, but 'Thriller' is the classic. My New Year gift to my loyal readers. [I've posted a video for you to enjoy over on the Barstool today as well - go check it out.]
Incredible, but true.
My thanks to Leah for alerting me to this oddball delight - although it seems we both come somewhat late to the party. Apparently, this video of Filipino prisoners performing Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' dance routine has been quite the sensation of YouTube since it was first posted 5 months ago, and has recently been featured on a number of American TV shows. Time Magazine, I learn, has just rated it No. 5 in its list of the year's 'Top 10 Most Popular Viral Videos' (Damn, what are the others?? Got to go check out that list!). On YouTube, it has already drawn more than twice as many hits as Michael's original video of the song!
We have one Byron F. Garcia to thank for this. He works with the Philippines government as an adviser on prison security, and a year or so ago he had the idea of developing a new exercise regime for inmates, based on dancing to pop hits. The scheme - implemented at the Cebu Provincial Detention & Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) - was an immediate success, and quickly became famous throughout the country (they've even had the surviving housemates from the Philippines 'Big Brother' show bussed in [blindfolded] to perform a dance routine with the prisoners as their 'challenge' for the day - worth checking out because the girls are very cute).
Now, my first thought when I saw this was that it must be a spoof, a fake. But no, it appears to be genuine. Then I had qualms about the power-dynamics of it - are these prisoners being forced to take part against their will? (I very much doubt if such a programme could succeed in my native England, a nation of notoriously reluctant dancers.) The hours of practice required must get pretty gruelling; and it would be a hugely embarrassing activity for anyone as self-conscious as I am. I have qualms too about the economics of it - the prison is now earning money by allowing tour groups in to view these mass-choreographed performances.
On the other hand, I suppose it's a lot less exploitative and demeaning than sending these guys out to work on road gangs. And they do seem to be having a whale of a time doing these dance numbers. Perhaps Byron really has come up with an idea of genius here, an exercise programme that is fun, and that gives the prisoners a sense of pride and achievement - something that could be truly rehabilitative. How long before we see this kind of thing in prison exercise yards all over the world??
Byron's posted over 20 videos of his prisoners doing their thing now: 'Radio GaGa' is pretty good, too, but 'Thriller' is the classic. My New Year gift to my loyal readers. [I've posted a video for you to enjoy over on the Barstool today as well - go check it out.]
List of the Month: Top 10 Dances You'd Like To See The Cebu Prison Inmates Perform
In case this reference somehow passes you by, take at look at this post of mine from a week or so ago about the strikingly innovative 'rehabilitation through dance' programme they've been developing at the Cebu Provincial Detention & Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines.
Counting down in reverse order on this one.....
10) I Want To Break Free
(I'm not sure that there is an established dance routine that goes with this, but what the hey - I'm sure Byron Garcia, the svengali behind the dancing prisoners phenomenon, could come up with something appropriate. And I'm sure a lot of these guys would love to replicate the transvestism of the original Queen video. The song would surely strike a chord with them as well.....)
9) The Monkees Theme
(OK, not much of a dance, but this has been a favourite of mine from earliest childhood. To have 1,000 or more prisoners advancing slowly across the exercise yard doing the 'Monkees walk' - that stiff-legged swagger, legs akimbo, one leg overlapping that of the person to your left or right at each step - would be awesome.)
8) Agadoo
(Yes, an appallingly irritating novelty song and a really pointless dance - but somehow kind of compelling nonetheless. And scarcely more irritating and pointless than 'The Algorithm March', one of the Cebu prisoners' first-ever routines.)
7) Bad
(Since the prisoners have obviously already established an affinity with Michael Jackson [Thriller is their biggest 'hit' on YouTube], this would seem to be a natural next step for them. Well, either this or Smooth Criminal, of course!)
6) Walk Like An Egyptian
(Perhaps the boys could pick up a few moves from this 'classic' - incomprehensibly popular! - British vaudeville act of the '20s and '30s....)
5) Tiger Feet
(Again, not much of a dance - but what there is, is great.)
4) Macarena
(Do dance crazes get any cheesier than this? But these boys love cheese!)
3) Haka
(It would be pretty fucking scary to have that many people doing the traditional Maori war chant made famous by the All Blacks rugby team. I wonder what the world record is currently for the largest simultaneous performance? Another shot at the Guinness Book of Records for our boys, methinks.)
2) The Time Warp
(Perhaps Byron himself could preside over this one as 'The Criminologist'....)
And the winner is........ of course, what else?....... WHY haven't they done this one yet???
1) YMCA
Keep checking YouTube for the latest releases. I'm sure some of these will be appearing over the next year or so. [Update: Yes, in fact it seems that YMCA and the Macarena have now been done. We should lobby for some of these others.]
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