Individuality and collectivism

I was trying to hunt for something on Youtube tonight when I came across the following video. It's a collection of clips from the North Korean "Arirang" mass games. Watch it -- or at least part of it. The display of mass collectivism is absolutely stunning, especially the giant human-powered video wall. Apparently, schoolchildren rehearse this every day, until everything becomes perfect.



I can't decide how I feel about it. On one hand, I am the sort of person who prefers choral and orchestral music to solos. I love the harmony that is created when individuals put aside their own glory to create something more beautiful together (and yes, that's what I think heaven will be like). One of the things that I bemoan is that these performances are growing more and more scarce, as a rising standard of life seems to put more and more emphasis on individuality. Certainly, no democratic country could pull off the same display. And this is visually stunning -- no argument about that!

On the other hand, watching this sent shivers up my spine -- and not good shivers at that. It freaked me out. It was like watching an ant hill, or The Return of the Clones (or whatever that Star Wars movie is called). There was something almost unnatural about it.

How does it make you feel?

(The video below is another excerpt from the same performance, except that this one is the children's section. Look at how young this children are. Then think about how superbly disciplined they must be.)