Woman Filmed Herself Dancing As Myanmar Coup Unfolded In The Background

VonKoutli/Twitter

February 4, 2021, 6:40 am*

A viral video that happened to capture the early moments of the military coup that took place in Myanmar earlier this week shows just how surreal such an event can be in the age of social media.

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The video shows a woman recording herself doing aerobics, presumably as part of a class, in the Royal Lotus Roundabout not far from Parliament. The streets are mostly empty — until military vehicles start rolling in behind her.

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The woman, who BuzzFeed identified as physical education teacher Khing Hnin Wai, appears to have no idea what’s happening and simply keeps doing her exercises as the military makes its way beyond the barrier and takes over the government.

Una mujer hizo su clase de aerobic sin darse cuenta de que estaban dando el golpe de Estado en Myanmar. Y pues puede verse como el convoy de militares llega al parlamento. pic.twitter.com/fmFUzhawRe

— Àngel Marrades (@VonKoutli) February 1, 2021

There was some discussion online as to whether or not the video was green screen, but most people ended up believing it to be real. 

“Shadows match in all respects,” wrote one Twitter user. “The cars have the same direction as the poles and the girl. It seems that the shadow is cut because there are steps.”

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There was also some speculation as to whether the woman was more aware of what was going on behind her than it seemed. Specifically, some wondered if this was her way of getting a video of the event out there without the video getting flagged for being related to the coup.

Raymax_10/Twitter

And no matter the specifics, the video itself is bizarre to watch.

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Welcome to the 2020s, where a military coup against a leader who oversaw that same military in carrying out a genocide is caught in the background of what is essentially a long TikTok.

During a pandemic.

What a time to be alive. https://t.co/AfRlbQpoJs

— Ethereal Bisexual Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (@IBJIYONGI) February 2, 2021

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised. (But will be available on TikTok)

— Gary Fox (@mrgaryfox) February 2, 2021

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This woman gave her live aerobics class in Myanmar without knowing about the coup happening directly behind her as military seized control of the parliament building.

Surreal… https://t.co/EbBvzDxSW9

— Rex Chapman (@RexChapman) February 2, 2021

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*First Published: February 4, 2021, 6:39 am