At a standstill

#MannequinChallenge sweeps the nation

A screenshot of the Mannequin Challenge,  done by the Edward White High School students who were the  first ones to do it.

A screenshot of the Mannequin Challenge, done by the Edward White High School students who were the first ones to do it.

Imagine if the world froze and people were stuck in place, forced to not move, or even breathe, and just hold their pose. All the while someone glides through to capture the image of these goofy, even impossible-looking, statues.

And then “Black Beatles” by Rae Sremmurd pops on and they go nuts. #MannequinChallenge achieved.

The Mannequin Challenge typically looks just like that, and countless groups have tried it. Sometimes it seems random, but sometimes these poses tell a story.

It started on Oct. 26 in Jacksonville when students from Edward White High School uploaded a video to Twitter of their Mannequin Challenge. It’s not clear where the inspiration came from, but the challenge has since taken over social media.

Here Leadership students, cheerleaders and soccer players have all participated in the challenge. However, at break on Tuesday, Nov. 8, at the student body had the opportunity to gather at the amphitheater and dive into the challenge.

“Coming up with your pose was the best part because it allows you to show off your creativity and humor,” junior Sina Imani said.

Senior Tania Sims was inspired by other schools doing the challenge and wanted to organize doing it during break.

Some of the first students to do it were from Leadership, “we thought that doing it would be fun, and we love to have fun together in Leadership,” junior Nick Hurley said. “It’s what makes us work so well together during the year.”

Many have said that the hardest part was not laughing halfway through the challenge and that it was impossible to get it perfect on the first try.

Schools all over the county have participated in the challenge such as Oviedo, Lyman, and Sanford, during classes, or most commonly at a pep rally.

Not only has the challenge taken over in schools but all over the world. The Mannequin Challenge made its debut with the cast and crew of Dancing with the Stars, the New York Giants and at the Rae Sremmurd concert.

Even after the World Series, the Chicago Cubs did the challenge during their visit to the White House, featuring first lady Michelle Obama.

“It was a cultural movement that everyone had to be a part of,” Imani said. “It makes us feel connected all over the country as we all participated in the challenge.”

The Mannequin Challenge still continues to prosper on social media such as Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.

Other trends like “JuJu on that Beat”- a dance, and “Andy’s Coming”- a challenge based off of the toys in the Toy Story movies- have come and gone on social media too.

“The more people who take part in the challenge force you to think more creatively on the funniest pose to do,” Imani said.

 

The JV girls soccer team attempts the challenge during their team bonding.

The Varsity cheerleaders participate in the challenge before the football game against Timber Creek.

Leadership students take part in the challenge as part of  their “Fun Friday” activity.

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