I have Netflix streaming movies and I came upon this title recently. I started out knowing nothing of the "Burning Man" phenomenon, however I heard on the news last week (the 2014 edition just finished) that one person died after being run over by a vehicle. When you see the film you realize how easy that is.
What is "Burning Man"? Well it started in 1986 with 20 people on Baker Beach in San Francisco. They burned a wooden man. By 1991 there was 250 and they had moved to Black Rock, public desert land in Nevada. By 1997 there were 10,000, by 2000 there were 25,000, and now they are up to near 70,000. At the end, at night is always a burning of a wooden man, in recent years with pyrotechnics too.
But what is "Burning Man" all about? Their website says things like "You belong here and you participate. You're there to breathe art. Imagine the man, greeting you, neon and benevolence, watching over the community. You're here to build a community that needs you and relies on you. You're here to survive. You're here to create. Since nobody at Burning Man is a spectator, you're here to build your own new world. You're here to experience. You're here to celebrate. On Saturday night, we'll burn the Man. As the procession starts, the circle forms, and the man ignites, you experience something personal, something new to yourself, something you've never felt before. It's an epiphany, it's primal, it's newborn. And it's completely individual."
When you watch the film you see a strange assortment of people in a strange range of clothing. Or costumes. Or nothing on at all. It seems that nothing is off limits as long as it isn't clearly illegal or an affront to another person. It is in the desert, it is hot, dry, and dusty. But everyone there seems to be having a good time. With little sleep.
But all this happens only through a very high level of organization and planning. Tickets to the event, for those who can get them, were $380 in 2013, plus $40 for a vehicle permit. If you assume 58,000 pay, at an average of $400 each, that brings in a bit over $23 Million. That is a big, expensive event.
But if you also look at expenses, for 2013 it totaled about $27 Million. Just the cost of the Black Rock permit is $4.5 Million. The cost of the week is about $11 Million.
And, yearly about $7 Million is allocated to "payroll".
But what exactly is "Burning Man"? I'm not really sure, and I don't intend to try to experience it. This film does a pretty good job of showing some of its history, many of the people involved in making it happen, and footage from the 2012 event. Worth a viewing for anyone who is curious about "Burning Man."
What is "Burning Man"? Well it started in 1986 with 20 people on Baker Beach in San Francisco. They burned a wooden man. By 1991 there was 250 and they had moved to Black Rock, public desert land in Nevada. By 1997 there were 10,000, by 2000 there were 25,000, and now they are up to near 70,000. At the end, at night is always a burning of a wooden man, in recent years with pyrotechnics too.
But what is "Burning Man" all about? Their website says things like "You belong here and you participate. You're there to breathe art. Imagine the man, greeting you, neon and benevolence, watching over the community. You're here to build a community that needs you and relies on you. You're here to survive. You're here to create. Since nobody at Burning Man is a spectator, you're here to build your own new world. You're here to experience. You're here to celebrate. On Saturday night, we'll burn the Man. As the procession starts, the circle forms, and the man ignites, you experience something personal, something new to yourself, something you've never felt before. It's an epiphany, it's primal, it's newborn. And it's completely individual."
When you watch the film you see a strange assortment of people in a strange range of clothing. Or costumes. Or nothing on at all. It seems that nothing is off limits as long as it isn't clearly illegal or an affront to another person. It is in the desert, it is hot, dry, and dusty. But everyone there seems to be having a good time. With little sleep.
But all this happens only through a very high level of organization and planning. Tickets to the event, for those who can get them, were $380 in 2013, plus $40 for a vehicle permit. If you assume 58,000 pay, at an average of $400 each, that brings in a bit over $23 Million. That is a big, expensive event.
But if you also look at expenses, for 2013 it totaled about $27 Million. Just the cost of the Black Rock permit is $4.5 Million. The cost of the week is about $11 Million.
And, yearly about $7 Million is allocated to "payroll".
But what exactly is "Burning Man"? I'm not really sure, and I don't intend to try to experience it. This film does a pretty good job of showing some of its history, many of the people involved in making it happen, and footage from the 2012 event. Worth a viewing for anyone who is curious about "Burning Man."