jalopnik.com: It’s 11 a.m. deep in the Mojave Desert, the sun already laser-boring into everything it touches, and Bob is driving the stagecoach a hair too fast, speeding down Fury Road while tidily dispatching his not-first Bud Light of the morning. The whiskey still fixed to the stagecoach’s roof rattles as the scenery whips by: People draped in chains and spikes and gas masks and armor. Cars bristling with mounted machine guns and animal-skull hood ornaments.
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While I am not a personal fan of the particularly violent vision of post apocalyptic life and the corresponding entertainment at this festival, there is no doubt that Wasteland Weekend has created, showcased, and explored something truly incredible. The depths of human creativity and capability is always astounding when allowed to run free and run with passion. It’s one thing to make a car look post apocalyptic, which takes a skill for construction and an eye for composition, it’s another to make it entirely function from completely trashed and scrapped parts. Everyone needs a good creative outlet, and, despite the overall atmosphere of violence for survival (which may mostly stem from being an outsider), this is clearly an excellent one for those involved. The sense of community that comes from it, I believe is the same as any that forms what people driven by passion collectively work towards a goal. There’s strong community is theater simply starting for the passion we pour into our work and the bonds that sort of connection can form. It is perhaps stronger than the one we see in theatre due to the tribal nature of Wasteland.
The Wasteland Weekend event looks so creative! I love how it started as a small event and grew exponentially in just a few years. The concept of it reminds me a lot of Burning Man, but the focus it has on a Mad Max theme definitely makes it unique. People seem to get really into it, and the article even says that those who attend without a costume are shunned. The costumes look like punk expressions of whoever is wearing them, and I would imagine that the attendees have a lot of fun putting together their ensembles (they go full out!). The vehicles they build are so unique and elaborate as well. The article says a lot of them were built by a man named Spud, who apparently lives “off the grid” in the desert full time with his wife. That is serious dedication. I admire his drive to create individual work rather than replicas - the more creativity involved in what they’re doing, the better.
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