Total Jump — training people for a coordinated worldwide jump

Would a worldwide jump precipitate an earthquake or unite humanity across division?

This arcade style jumping game trains people for a coordinated worldwide jump where everyone jumps and lands at exactly the same time. The extreme difficulty of accomplishing a Total Jump combined with the ease and fun of training for it invites the audience to bridge the gap between a pluralistic world and the necessity for globally coordinated solutions to immense problems facing the human race.

Participants stand on floor mats with electronic sensors and prompted by a countdown attempt to jump and land on zero. When players successfully land in unison a photo of them midair appears on the screen. The game was inspired by various examples of social synchronization such as the Estonian singing revolution, Christoph Schlingensief’s anti-chancellor swim, and the swaying of the Millennium bridge in London. Would a Total Jump where everyone jumps up and lands at exactly the same time precipitate an earthquake or unite humanity and transcend our divisions?

The game features the original song Jump Up by Gold Bikini.

Read more about the project in this interview with Christina Freeman for the New Media Caucus.