At a vineyard in Sonoma, I got into a conversation
with the friendly hostess, who told me how Burning Man
was all commercial now. "Um, you mean since there is
no one selling/marketing anything there?" I asked. No,
she goes on to tell me that it is because people
create documentaries about it. Hmmm, a definition of
commercialism with which I am not familiar. Budweiser
and Coca cola cans are still not hosting it (nor
leaving thrie empties everywhere) And no one expects
anyone else to entertain them (No spectators! One of
several guidelines that govern our fair but temporary
city) Honestly, coffee, ice and water ARE sold and the
profits go to the schools and charities in Gerlach.
Gerlach is a small town, with a fairly small
financial base and very small school system.
Sebastian has come to the conclusion that, there
are several probable issues behind the commercialism
comment by former burners. It could be that Burning
Man is not free anymore; tickets start arround $165.00
in early Spring. Or it is a misdirected complaint.
Sebastian explains there are maybe two sets of former
burners. These former Burners want to be part of some
sort of elite, that doesn't believe Burning Man should
expand or include others-- a hip, secret society. Or
those others who believe it should transcend the
desert and the one week--and expand and change the
world. As a non -former Burner, who is OK with the
ticket price, and actually having port-a-johns and
medical evacuation services for those that need it.
I don't see why you could say that it is more
commercial. Yes, pictures of Burning man were in
National Geographic, and Wired and appear regularly in
the press. Hmmm, yes, it is the publicity that makes
it more commercial. There are two books about Burning
Man: one coffee-table version by Wired with mostly
sensationalistic, large-format, compositionally-weak
photographs of Burners in strange costumes, and the
book Drama in the Desert: sights and sounds of Burning
Man, which gives a more thorough and thoughtful
representation of the event and its culture. The
latter created and self-published by burners.
The pasts of burning man which pull me back every
year are the bits that I try to bring to my life
outside of Burning Man. I would like to see a world a
little more creative, a little more tolerant, a little
more committed to taking others as they come, and see
people a little more interested in giving others a
lift in spirits just for the sake of play, and see
people be responsible for their own health and safety,
and not so concerned with protecting people from
themselves physically or morally (judge not, lest you
be judged), and a bit more commitment to the
environment (leave no trace).
Now you know what category I fall into--the
category which has all of us poor, delusional souls,
being repressed by the current commercialism of the
event.
Ah, end of rant.
Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com
edit this blog...
trackback