CMU School of Drama


Monday, September 19, 2016

This T-Rex Battle Royale Makes Me Wish I'd Gone To Burning Man (Almost)

sploid.gizmodo.com:If you’re secretly harboring a Mad Max fetish, there’s yet another reason to spend a few days in the middle of the desert at Burning Man. Usually it’s hard for most of us to see the appeal of the festival, until you realize it includes the opportunity to watch a pair of T-rex battle inside a replica of Mad Max’s Thunderdome.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

There has been a lot of talk going around the past few months about the change in tone of burning man in recent years, with many sites claiming the festival has transformed from a haven at which people can just exist to a cultural wasteland populated by the rich and famous. This T-Rex battle clearly puts Burning Man safely in the former. There isn't any desert where you can just don a T-Rex outfit and do battle in a geodesic dome against other T-rex humans. Special props also go to the two people officiating the fight, who look straight out of a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Burning Man is something that has always seemed like an awesome thing to participate in, if only due to the immense displays of creativity and ingenuity that goes into creating and destroying a city all in a week, with the only evidence being the photos and videos that emerge in the weeks following. That being said, the whole not bathing thing is still a tricky prospect, and I think there is a fine line between the fest being open to anyone who wants to participate and people who have money cannibalizing the culture just for the sake of seeming cool. This article helps to destroy some of my cynicism, because, again, T-Rexs.

Michelle Li said...

Why would you want to live in a world where this DOESN'T happen?!?! I think that this is awesome, for more reasons than one. Okay, outside of the fact that there are T-rex's dueling each other while being suspended from mid air, it's a really beautiful experience knowing that there is a place out there, like Burning Man, where you are allowed to get excited about stupid/awesome/nerdy things like this and not feel ridiculed! Like Jacob said and like I've said many times before, I would love to go to Burning Man even for the sheer amount of boundless creativity that exists there. In a desert, the concept of spatial limits disappear. You no longer have to worry about if an installation of yours will fit in a room. The sky is literally the limit. However, I think that some people that attend Burning Man may go for the wrong reason (for the instagrams), and that brings a whole 'nother crowd that really can change the atmosphere of something like this-- where humans can just be humans. Bathing (or not so much) in their filth for 10 days. I don't know how I'd feel about not showing for almost 2 weeks, but I'd do it if it was for this!

Alexa James-Cardenas (ajamesca@andrew.cmu.edu) said...

Okay, call me crazy, but THAT WAS AWESOME! (And I think the comments above would support me). At first I was a little worried, because an arena that size, with music that much rock (I would have listened to it, I currently do), I thought maybe it would be like to guys fighting to the death. BOY was I wrong! But honestly, even if it is really short, the video does show one thing, you don’t need to do something extremely dangerous or vicious to have fun or be considered cool. I’m sure there is some kind of alcohol in the crowd there, and a child wouldn’t be exactly allowed in (I think that would be too overwhelming), but overall it’s looks fun and funny, and something really enjoyable for any person. There is definitely a large amount of ridiculousness at play here, but that only adds to it. I would even argue that the emotion you feel when watching this video could be the same as the passion when you’re enjoying whatever work you are doing or hanging out with your friends who care a lot enough about you that you can be that ridiculousness. Being weird, excited, and even a little nerdy is felt accepted in that kind of environment. Once you have two T-Rex’s fighting each other with bats in a Mad Max Arena, anything is game.

Alexa James-Cardenas (ajamesca@andrew.cmu.edu) said...

Okay, call me crazy, but THAT WAS AWESOME! (And I think the comments above would support me). At first I was a little worried, because an arena that size, with music that much rock (I would have listened to it, I currently do), and it being freaking Burning Man, I thought maybe it would be like to guys fighting to the death (style). BOY was I wrong! But honestly, even if it is really short, the video does show one thing, you don’t need to do something extremely dangerous or vicious to have fun or be considered cool. Overall it’s looks fun and funny, and something really enjoyable for any person. There is definitely a large amount of ridiculousness at play here, but that only adds to it. I would even argue that the emotion you feel when watching this video could be the same as the passion when you’re enjoying whatever work you are doing or hanging out with your friends who care a lot enough about you that you can be that ridiculousness. Being weird, excited, and even a little nerdy is felt accepted in that kind of environment. Once you have two T-Rex’s fighting each other with bats in a Mad Max Arena, anything is game.

Claire Krueger said...

I've said it in at least three other comments but I'm going to say it again, I want to go to Burning Man so bad. The sarcasm in this article was great, perfect for fighting T-rexs. Despite the lack of words it still gets it's point across. It's another great example of why Burning Man is amazing, it brings out the child in everyone. Not to mention the time, money and commitment it would take to produce this, or the experience of being a part of this. In the background there are people climbing on the dome structure, Imagine watching T-rexs dual it out from a birds point of view, legendary.