Mannequin Challenge Freezes The Internet

Remember the Ice Bucket Challenge? Or the Harlem Shake? Planking? Lip Dubs? Another video meme has emerged to distract the internet. If you haven’t seen the Mannequin Challenge in your social media feeds, you probably will soon. In this latest viral video genre, groups of people are gathering and freezing themselves in place, often in elaborate poses and scenarios, as one camera-toting person walks through the scene to zoom in on the details. As is often the case, teenagers are leading the way. Many of the video are set to the song “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd, making it the unofficial anthem of the meme. The videos began to appear late last month online and by last weekend everyone from high school cheerleaders to the members of the erstwhile band Destiny’s Child had taken part. Beyonce Knowles’s video with former band mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams features  Beyonce in the act of catching a ball from Michelle, while the ‘Dilemma’ singer brandishes a long blue balloon as a baseball bat as the trio stands in what appears to be Kelly’s son’s playroom.