CMU School of Drama


Friday, July 28, 2017

This Burning Man documentary traces its history from a bohemian gathering to a global movement

Boing Boing: This 20-minute documentary is definitely worth a watch. It follows Burning Man's fascinating history from its "humble countercultural roots on San Francisco’s Baker Beach" to "the world-famous desert convergence it is today." If you've ever been to the big event in the Black Rock Desert, I guarantee it'll give you a greater appreciation and understanding of it.

2 comments:

Sophie Nakai said...

Before watching this, I knew nothing about the origins of burning man. I think that it is super interesting how it all started and then evolved into what it is today. Ever since I learned about burning man, I have wanted to go, but never had the chance. Learning more about the festival and its origins makes me want to go more. It started out as such a small thing and has grown so much, and no one is completely sure what the man symbolizes. I think that all the organizations that have come out of burning man are amazing and that this did not start as something to give back to the community, but it has evolved into it. A lot of these festival type things are about making money, but burning man is also giving back, which makes me very happy. I really like that it is also about community and forming a community and being temporary citizens for the duration of the festival. But it's not just that, its about having burning man be a part of the human population driving positive change and artwork and I love that.

DJ Lesh said...

When I saw this documentary pop up, I was really interested in it, as I have always wanted to attend and be part of Burning Man, but I didn't know much about its history. Firstly, I didn't know that it actually started as a small gathering in California. It was interesting to hear the evolution of it, as it grew from a few people illegally burning a statue of a man on a beach to a huge festival in the middle of the dessert. I think the way they describe the festival is really the best way to do so, it is truly a city; a city thats gets setup and exists for only a short period of time every year. Not only do I want to attend, as it seems like a very different experience where you can meet a lot of new and different people, but I also want to eventually be a ranger for them. While the rangers don't have any hard jurisdiction, I really want to be able to help people in the desert. This ties into me wanting to get my CERT and EMT certification, while I don't want to do this type of stuff for a living, I want to be able to help people when there is an emergency.