Decommodification principle erosion & Rolling Stone magazine

[proud2beAplaya]

Bewildered as to how this isn't an afront to the Decommodification principle of Burning Man? Why would a well known camp like Robot Heart not be ambassador of the values we've worked so hard to create? We can't control what the press does with Burning Man, but we can certainly give a better representation when asked. It's very sad to see it slipping away. Wording like "rave, can't-stop-won't-stop-party, pyschadelci heights, epic party on the moon" and nothing about the actual principles of burning man - the art, community, radical self expression, gifting etc. attracts the wrong audience. Was this PR approved within the confines of the Burning Man photos/videos privacy agreements?

[Eric]

Moving this to Politics & Philosophy, since that's a better fit for this type of question.

[CornMan]

"There are as many ways to do Burning Man - which lands an a huge, inhospitable zone of Nevada desert each summer - as there are participants. But for the can't-stop-won't-stop party people - Blah, blah, blah." The paragraph indirectly alludes that the rave festie element is but a part of Burning Man - perhaps the element of the festival that is the top reason why the majority of people now go to Burning Man. There seems to be an awful lot of people here who are happy that Burning Man is still something more than just another mainstream rave festie, but the attitude seems to be that in no way should anybody try to do anything to prevent it from becoming just another rave party other than say that it's the little nooks and crannies that makes it great - a message ignored by the multitudes who make a beeline past the camps on their way to the main attractions.

[bluesbob]

We have principles?

[trilobyte]

It's interesting that you think it's in the form of a PR piece, when it appears to me to be an article in a magazine. Burning Man can (and does) work with journalists and people within the media to help them understand the event, but ultimately it's those authors (and not Burning Man) that tells their stories.

It's just another article about the event that doesn't quite get it, or at least chooses to talk up the wrong stuff. It's not the first. Hell, it's not even the first this year. If you've got actual questions for the media team, you're welcome to reach out to them directly at [email protected].

[theCryptofishist]

We have principles?

[BBadger]

I think "rave, can't-stop-won't-stop-party, psychedelic heights, epic party on the moon" is actually a pretty accurate description of the experience for some people. There are other accurate, group-specific descriptions as well: "dirty hippies mooching food from camps, and hogging benches in center camp during the night", "a giant bar-hopping city", "a giant temporary art festival for art lovers", "a pagan-esque ritual burning by heathen pinkos", "a tit-watching festival for perverts", "one big fucking desert camp-out" -- or all of the above.

Quite frankly, if people aren't leaving a mess and causing problems they can do whatever the fuck they want. That includes interpreting the burn the way they want to.

Anyway, it's silly to believe that you can't even talk about Burning Man without it becoming commodification.

[tatonka]

We have principles?

[goushanyue]

It's silly to believe that you can't even talk about Burning Man without it becoming commodification.

[BurnerBunny]

on my first burn I danced at some of the big sound camps for a few hours, but the vast majority of my time was spent exploring such a huge and amazing new world of art filled with people who were not acting like the typical assholes you see at a big music festival. This was 2007 iirc, green man, and I'll never forget those two twisted semi's that I was able to climb into. I met some amazing people, saw so many amazing pieces of art, and also got to bartend at my camp.

I hope too many people don't read this article and think bm is a music festival with a bit of art tacked on. Whenever I'm asked about it I focus on the really cool stuff I saw and experienced first hand, and maybe I'll mention dancing to music if they ask about it.

[DrewDubious]

YEAH FUCK DEM RAVERS!

[Simon of the Playa]

STFU.


that is all.