Burning Man: Has it Really Jumped the Shark?

You could ask 20 people what the Burning Man festival is about and you would get 20 different answers. Over 40,000 dot-com tycoons, unemployed artists, musicians, freaks, geeks, survivalists and mad scientists flock to the middle of an utterly desolate stretch of Nevada desert. Living in tents, RVs and hand-made shelters, they participate in the annual festival - A wild, week-long carnival filled with creativity, amazing art projects and good-natured sarcasm that culminates with the ceremonial torching of a 40 foot wooden figure of a man - as people dance, scream and cheer. It's an event as challenging to describe, as it can be to attend: Part neo-hippy art fest, part post-apocalyptic techno-geek camp out, part clothing-optional, alternative lifestyle bacchanalia, Burning Man is totally unlike any other event in existence, and that is exactly the way the organizers like it.

I have been reluctant to write an article about this because I have held onto the last thread of hope that the event I have known and loved for over 10 years would come to its senses and see the error of its ways. But sadly, it looks like just when the Burning Man organization (humorously known as "the borg") was scraping the bottom of the barrel for themes for its yearly bacchanal in the desert, someone figured out a way to scrape even lower.

The Burning Man festival has been a counter-cultural phenomenon since founder Larry Harvey and friends first torched a wooden figure of a man on a beach in San Francisco in the 80's. Every year it has evolved and grown, sometimes doubling in size from the previous year, into the gargantuan mainstream melee of scatterbrained philosophies, and stupefyingly hypocritical "themes" it is today.

For some reason that I am sure has been explained in one of Larry's long-winded diatribes to the press, in 1998, the decision was made to start having a generalized theme for each year's event. I had thought this past year's theme was by far the most ridiculous to date. This year the event took a decidedly "politically correct" stance and went with the theme of "Green Man." It was supposed to show how we can do things to change our world around us by employing ecologically conscious efforts or at least considering what our impact has on the environment and world around us.

But let's look at this rationally: Its a camping trip in the middle of the desert. People burn a ton of fossil fuel just to get out there, not to mention dropping hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on poorly-made crap they will give out as "gifts" as well as costumes, dust masks, food, ice chests and several other things that were probably purchased at a mega-billion-dollar corporation's system for getting rid of the small business owner.

Oh and let's not forget all that wood, propane, kerosene, lamp oil, and costumes made out of synthetic materials that are all derived from non-renewable resources and contaminate the environment.

And you can't have a burning man without fire, right? It takes a lot of pyrotechnics to produce an over-inflated spectacle such as this and I am pretty sure there aren't many environmentally friendly fireworks out there.

As I said, I had thought that the "Green" theme was one of the craziest ideas yet for this hard-to-describe week of fun. I say "Yet" because the theme for 2008 completely takes the cake. Here is the official description from the Burning Man main website:

This year's art theme is about patriotism -- not that kind which freights the nation state with the collective weight of ego, but a patriotism that is based upon a love of country and culture. Leave ideology at home; forget the blue states and the red; let parties, factions and the so-called issues that divide us fall away. Flag burning or flag worship play no part in this year's theme.

Ask yourself, instead, a more immediate question. What has America achieved that you admire or feel proud of? What has it done or failed to do that makes you feel dismayed? Put blame aside, in this election year, and dare to ask an even greater question: What can postmodern America, this stumbling, roused, half-conscious giant, yet give to the world?

A noble premise, perhaps, but in the wake of the politically correct theme from 07, it just seems like the founders are trying to put a very legitimate and law-abiding face to their previously anti-establishment-flavored little soir�e. The whole thing just smacks of kissing the government's ass and trying to be more mainstream - or at least attempting to look more mainstream to avoid the government stepping in and shutting the whole thing down.

But wait, it gets better:

"In 2008, the Burning Man will stand atop a high-rise tower. Instead of windows, this edifice will feature images of flags that represent the countries of the world. Ranging from Canada to Chad, from Brazil to Burundi, from Vatican City to the Republic of China, these 244 symbols will shine in the night, gleaming like cut gems upon the surface of a jewel box. The United States of America will be among them. Each country can be said to represent a dream no less radiant or precious than the rest. Each nation may be viewed as a container of identity; yet each one can be said to be a glimmering illusion, an arbitrary entity defined by boundaries on a map. All of us are immigrants to Black Rock City. What can we dream America to be?"

OK, so this year the man will sit on top of a high-rise tower. An iconic symbol of corporate mastery in the modern post-industrial world. Now branded with the burning man trademark. How lovely!

The theme for the annual event is usually ignored by the "veteran burners" (participants that have attended more than three burns), and most people tend do whatever they want when it comes to their art, their camps or their modes of transportation while at the event.

But just how far is the organization going to go to try to accommodate its governmental scrutiny?

Quotes, facts and figures listed come directly from official Burning Man literature at http://www.burningman.com/art_of_burningman/bm08_theme.html