the safety dance

November 4, 2018 10:31 PM

EVA Air introduced a new safety video earlier this year. EVA describes the video as "a work of art that’s as captivating as it is informative." Choreographed by Bulareyaung Pagarlava, a member of Taiwan's indigenous Paiwan community, it's really like no other airplane safety video I'd ever seen before.

I don't think I learned anything about how to spend my time aboard an aircraft more safely, but my kids and I were utterly transfixed for the full five and a half minutes it took to watch this video, which was a first.

Previously, on other "viral" airline safety videos.

posted by potrzebie (12 comments total)

This is neat! My favorite part is the syncronized life-vesting and what my brain calls The Jellyfish Tango in the dark at the end. Does not even seem like 5 and a half minutes!
posted by rhizome at 11:00 PM on November 4, 2018 [1 favorite]

I was expecting more Morris dancers or pogoing.
posted by ericales at 11:31 PM on November 4, 2018

Taiwan is one of the most art-obsessed and aesthetically-aware places I've ever had the pleasure to visit, and is really an underrated gem. If you get the chance to spend even a few days there, do it.
posted by mdonley at 1:17 AM on November 5, 2018 [4 favorites]

Love the video, but I gotta wonder if the added movement better helps to retain the knowledge for attracting attention, or obscures it for focus on the wrong things. Concern about aesthetics is great, experiment by all means, but I'm not sure safety videos are the best place for that.
posted by gusottertrout at 2:38 AM on November 5, 2018

It's wonderful!
posted by Ice Cream Socialist at 2:44 AM on November 5, 2018

Nearby(ish) Hainan has their own airline, part of the rapidly expanding and wildly overleveraged HNA group. Still, the airline is the most bearable of the mainland Chinese carriers and well worth taking if you’re flying domestically in China. And they’ve recently started to add some useful international routes. Oh, and they have a frankly bizarre cabin safety video. It’s sponsored by a property developer, and alongside a gratuitous number of young women in bikinis, it features an asthmatic golden retriever, some mischievous monkeys, and an intimidating goose.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 3:10 AM on November 5, 2018 [5 favorites]

Love the no smoking solo is within swirling particles, choreographers know what's going down.
posted by sammyo at 7:51 AM on November 5, 2018 [2 favorites]

Ooh! I saw this in situ a few weeks ago on my first trip to Asia, and was so stoked. Now I can send it to all my frens. Excellent post thank you!
posted by wemayfreeze at 7:57 AM on November 5, 2018

Author of the 'previously' post here. Great update!

I started getting sucked into the rabbit hole of airline videos again and had to stop, maybe we'll have to assemble another FPP sometime soon...

(And, to my disappointment, Lufthansa is still doing creepy CGI videos)
posted by JoeZydeco at 8:11 AM on November 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

I flew Eva this year, and i too watched & loved every moment of the video! But mostly bc I already knew what the content was. I just wanted to see how they interpreted each topic.
Attn Americans: visit Taiwan instead of China. There's no onerous visa requirements, and the electric outlets are the SAME ( neither of the previous statements are true wrt China).
posted by honey badger at 12:13 PM on November 5, 2018 [1 favorite]

Since we are on the topic of airlines and Taiwan: China has recently succeeded in pressuring American Airlines, Delta, and United to to remove references to Taiwan as a separate country.

So, I guess if you do book a flight to Taiwan, please loudly declare you are going to the country or nation-state of Taiwan at every opportunity.
posted by FJT at 12:51 PM on November 5, 2018 [2 favorites]

Shout out to air canada!
- multinational
- gay couple
- people acting like they’ve never seen an airplane before
- beaver and ice skate in overhead compartment
- weird weird English pronounciation... like ASMR levels of soothing
posted by St. Peepsburg at 4:27 PM on November 5, 2018 [1 favorite]