While you are sitting on the train waiting for your stop, you suddenly see people behaving strangely. They are not wearing pants. You think it’s a hallucination and that you should rest your eyes, however, it seems that you are not the only one looking surprised. Thus, you focus more on the scene before you and begin to understand what you are seeing. There are actually pantless people around you. You have two possible reactions: the first is speechlessness, and the second, of course, is laughter.
Actually, these would be the typical reactions if it were the first time we were seeing this. But this phenomenon is no longer a surprise. The event has become so popular through the years that only tourists really don’t know about it.
Let me go back to the beginning, so you will understand. Once upon a time, a young man named Charlie Todd decided to create a community defending the power of pranks, and Improv Everywhere was born. The organization has organized hundreds of unusual scenes in public since 2001. One of them is the now-famous “No Pants Subway Ride”. It started in 2002 with seven guys who took off their pants in the subway for fun. At that time, it was a private joke, the kind of experience you can enjoy with your friends. However, Charlie decided to transform the small event to a bigger one. In 2005, he counted on word of mouth to gather a troop to bring No Pants Subway to the masses.
It began with seven participants in 2002, and the number of participants jumped to five thousand last year. The weather didn’t stop the motivation of the participants; some of them are even regulars now. The phenomenon took to another dimension, and even the media started talking about it. Charlie became a real star, and was invited to many shows like ABC’s Nightline NBC’s Today. Everybody became aware about who he is and the purpose of his organization. It helped him to spread his concept all over America through National channels, and even abroad.
This is how the ride also got organized in fifty-nine cities in twenty-nine countries. Charlie called this event a “celebration of silliness,” and that is a correct characterization. As a foreigner, I tried to understand the reason why people are attracted to this event. What are their motivations? Unfortunately, none of the participants could answer these questions. They just laughed, and the most talkative of them simply added “It’s funny!”.
My response? “Is it really funny?” Since humor is dependent on each person I decided to go among the participants last Sunday, waiting for the public reaction. I didn’t hear laughter. People were mostly confused, trying to understand the situation. I don’t think increasing the number of participants, but rather increasing the amount of laughter was Charlie’s aim, but this was not the case. The presence of the media didn’t help to keep the event spontaneous or childish. It simply gave the event the fake appearance of bad comedy. They tried to make us laugh, but in vain.
The only people who really enjoyed the ride were the participants, and it resembled a garish carnival made by and for them. Despite the instructions of simplicity, people came with costumes and accessories. In some cases, they came with a bunch of friends to enjoy the ride together. So, maybe that’s where the fun really is hanging out with some friends and sharing good moments! At least it’s something.
By Kenza Yahrfouri
