TV show at BM

[gatt]

The cactus and the grass kinda torqued me, but there could have been multiple writers. Obviously, somebody had not only done their research at (not just about) Burning Man--the StarWheel replica, the sage Harvey-looking guy--they understood it.

I expected much less. I wished they hadn't have said "Burning Man" so much. It almost seemed like an advertisement.

[bradtem]

And as the organizer of camp save-the-man, you can understand why I liked a number of parts of it. Clearly the writers had been to burning man and had understood it, and while they changed stuff and hollywoodized some of it (at the same time using some real art and art cars it seemed) it all came off pretty well, and in most cases you could understand why they had changed it.

I now wish they had actually come to the event to film it. Perhaps they will come back next year.

(Except, as you say, for the problem that this level of publicity puts growth pressure on the city.)

[geekster]

If they came to the event, there would be no end to the bellyaching about it. It is bad enough now with Discovery Times. Kinda get tired of hearing about all the bitching. Burning Man is going to chage, has changed, is changing. It will never be what it used to be or what it is now for long and nobody knows what it will be tomorrow or next year. "Save" burning man is an interesting concept. "Save" it from what? Keep it like it is? Keep it like it was? Sounds like my grandparents bitching about the "good old days" and complaining about everything new.

While petitions and shit are kinda cool, I have a problem with them. They are basically a demand or expression of an opinion designed to get someone else to do something for you. I can't figure out why people can't let it be what it is and exercise their control over things they have control over. Don't want someone filming you? Don't let them. Don't like that thing the org has built over there? Don't go over there. The event is really a bunch of little events. We control our camps and to some extent our experiances within the camps. If the environment of the place becomes something you don't like, don't go. You can choose to try to make others conform to your vision or you can choose practice your vision and not worry about the others.

If you don't like people filming there, find them and tell them to their face that you don't like them filming there. Tell them why, ask questions, get answers, interact. Why get the org to do your dirty work for you?

What I am most interested in, though, is why people are so opposed to it. It reeks of some kind of fear of something to me. I really don't think it is about "commercial" anything. Many of the artists at Burning Man also sell their art for money. People still have to eat and have a home and if a person wants to devote all their time to their art, they need a way to live. Should the art of professional artists also be banned? Should it be an amateur artist only event?

I am either just not getting something or what I am getting seems so inconsequential to me that I don't understand what all the fuss is about. So Discovery Times, a channel that is partially owned by the Discovery Channel and partially owned by the New York Times that produces documentaries wants to do a documentary about Burning Man. They do documentaries ... that is pretty much all they do. Burning Man is a part of American culture. A small part, but a very interesting part. Why shouldn't it be documented? Yes, the outlet that it is shown on is a commercial entity. Big deal. It is my opinion that having such a documentary produced stands to further the goals of the event more than the fact that it is a commercial entity producing it stands to negate those goals.

Tempest in a teapot. Just something else to bellyache about. Just another avenue to try to control other people's experiance or push one's own definition of the event over on to other people. Probably just performance art in this case. I hope so.

[bradtem]

It is a complex situation. Most of the reaction came from one or two small groups filming women at Burning Man and re-selling them as "girls gone wild" style videos. (noit GGW itself, but similar.) Nobody was happy about that, and there were lawsuits, and there was also a bit of over-reaction, in terms of the restrictions that now get demanded of press and in theory, even people with a digital camera that can shoot video -- and I suspect the majority of people on the playa have those these days.

These restrictions do not sit comfortably around an event that's about free expression. It says, "because we're afraid of the sexual exploitation that happened, we love free expression in our city but fear its consequences out in the real world." Even understanding the reason for it, I've never felt good about it, and I suspect the BMorg people who enforce the rules feel similar unease.

It's not just the exploitation videos. Burning Man is a pretty unusual business, in that it's trying to avoid publicity and avoid explosive growth. That's part of why the event is deliberately in a distant and harsh place, why ticket sales stop on Thursday after zooming up in price.

Now the BMOrg has actively cooperated with people like film-makers doing films and selling them to the community, and has the list of burning man friendly businesses on the web. They allow me to sell my special photos (they buy them themselves) in association with donations to the BRAF to support burning man art out in the real world. But they also stop other people.

I like the managed growth myself, though some might disagree. But the answers are hard to find.

[geekster]

Oh, I don't mind managed growth. And I think any responsible documetary would have the caveat somewhere along the lines of "existing for the week in this harsh environment certainly isn't for everyone" and other ways of getting across that it isn't exactly a theme park.

Maybe I should make my own documentary. It would look like everyone gets around in golf carts and has airconditioned RVs.

Really, I have no problem with a fair portrayal of the event that possibly tells the history of it, etc. That's why I wouldn't be willing to simply reject Discovery Times out of hand. I would give them a chance to produce something and then review it before approving it for broadcast just as the org is doing. Who knows, it might be great. If it's crap, you put the kabosh on it and it never sees the light of day.

I just can't get behind the idea of not letting someone do it just because it is a cable TV channel doing it.

[Dr. Pyro]

I agree! It reminds me of early Christians burning people at the stake for heresy simply because their vision of the world and the creator differed somehow from that of the clergy. Had it not been for some form of publicity, none of us likely would have ever learned of Burning Man and had the chance to experience it. I only wish more could be done to get the message out.

...oh oh, hay you, get away from me with those matches and pitchforks!!!

[can't sit still]

I read the petition. I read the quotes and interviews with Larry Harvey.
He has some brilliant observations. Burning Man is a result of his observations and ingenuity. Obviously many other people were and are involved. I have to generalize for the sake of brevity.

Maybe I'm too naive to understand what's going on. This was my first burn.
If Larry's [et al] observations were the genesis of Burning Man,,,,why not ask Larry to publicly state his motivations for the involvement of Discovery Channel.
Ask Larry to state his fears and hopes for BM. Maybe He's trying to dodge a financial or political bullet. Maybe he's burned out or disillusioned.

BM is about freedom of expression. BUT just as the BM Rangers offer a little guidance to those who wander too far astray, Larry could offer his vision as a focal point or enlightenment.
I may be way off base. Larry may have done too many bad shrooms. My naivette may be laughable. Just the same, I like Burning Man. I'd like to see it thrive. A mission statement would bring things more into focus.
The BM homepage goes into detail about everything except inspiration.


If the BRC pop. was about the same as last year and 50% this year were virgins,,,,,that means that 50% of last years attendees were no show this year. Maybe he views BM as being too successful?
I live in a log house that I built with my own two hands. I follow NO drummer. Life is a journey. I look for enlightenment and inspiration at every step. It makes the journey more interesting. I'm not looking for someone to tell me how to think, but I'm always interested in hearing words of wisdom.
If someone could drag Larry to the podium[The Homepage] maybe he could offer a little vision or focus. This might help to perpetuate the event that we all love.
Dan

[iLikeWeen]

Is there anywhere to download this on the internet? Any Torrents? Thanks!~~

[geekster]

As far as I know it hasn't been finished yet. People aren't complaining about anything that has actually been produced yet, it seems to be the *idea* of it's production itself that is the problem.