Exploitation of Burning Man?

[Steel Kitty]

Using Burning Man in a video... watch! WTF? Ok, so, there's no "man" in the video, but those art semis and fire spewing cars look vaguely familiar.

Yeah, next year we'll have all the East/West rap crewe showing up in Semi's with gangsta guns and bling, sipping Crystal and driving tricked out Escalades with kustom rims.

What's next? Guns firing on the playa.. ugh. Bling? Rappers in hydraulic bounced art cars? I guess we are going mainstream after all....

Oh, and if you don' give me no respect, I'll put a cap in ya ass!

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2678446

[Eric]

Using Burning Man in a video... watch! WTF? Ok, so, there's no "man" in the video, but those art semis and fire spewing cars look vaguely familiar.

"Using Burning Man"???
Vaguely referencing maybe, but I wouldn't call it using. Some semi's decked out in neon (which I've never seen out there- none of them were altered enough to pass DMV inspection, IMHO) and one wimpy car spewing occasional flame does not Burning Man make. Besides, not a single person in the video was in fake fur. You know it's not Burning Man without gobs of fake fur.

I wouldn't worry about Esplanades on the Esplanade just yet. Once the Discovery Channel show comes out however.....
*sigh*

[Chai Guy]

Besides, Tupac and Dr. Dre were already there in 1996, check out this video they filmed at Thunderdome.




http://www.za7feen.org/songs/videos/tubac/California%20love-remix.rm

[Steel Kitty]

allllriiiigght. (sarcastic grin) so maybe I'm a little wrong.

I'm just saying that the title "We be burnin'", one art car with flames, and music thundering from semi's decked out in neon (ok, on the playa I've never seen semi's with neon) but you get the impression that's what burning man is about if you only spend one night or two on the playa. (ie. lots of neon, glowsticks, party art cars, dj's in semi's and so on.) That is what Friday night looked like, right?

Chai.. great video, BTW. I had forgotten about thunderdome. lol.

[jamie]

oooh I saw that video my first day back and it made me cringe. ick

it was an obvious rip off from the event, come on. I cant believe anyones second guessing that one. give me a break.

was sad sad and I hope it goes away likity split. didnt even have anything worth a damn in the lyric department, big surprise.

[theCryptofishist]

Okay, I've never seen the video and am not likely too.

However, if I may be stupid for a bit, we have missed the annual "is bm racist" discussion (yeah!) which never seems to go anywhere. I think that some "outreach" to black communities and other communities of color would be good for the event--bring in more of a mix. To be sure, the hiphop community is one that I am not comfortable with, but that doesn't mean we should bar them from knowledge of the event.

So, I'm going to go sit on the trash fence...

[jamie]

I dont think I read anything in this thread that is in the least bit racist. its more about someone spring boarding off of b man to promote themselves as a rapper. mtv and burning man are pretty much at opposite ends of the spectrum in my opinion.

little quick to play the racist card arent we?

[HughMungus]

[HughMungus]

Okay, I've never seen the video and am not likely too.

However, if I may be stupid for a bit, we have missed the annual "is bm racist" discussion (yeah!) which never seems to go anywhere.

I think the discussion is more, "Is Burning Man ethnically varied enough." There was a piece about this in the SF Chron I think. The real question is not about race but about class and culture. Is Burning Man diverse enough on a class (income) scale? Yes. Definitely. Is it culturally diverse enough? WHO CARES? I personally don't want a bunch of bikers rolling in from Sturgis or some shit.

I lived this question last year (2004). I brought a Hispanic friend of mine and after she hid out in the RV for a day or so I said, "Why don't you go out and look around and meet some people" to which she replied, "It's just a bunch of spoiled white kids" to which I said, "HOW THE FUCK WOULD YOU KNOW UNTIL YOU GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE RV?"

Worst. Burning Man. Ever. I made-up for it this year with the best burning man, ever. Thanks again everybody!

[ZaphodBurner]

This year, on Friday, a Burner took my picture and came up on the StarCastle to shake my hand and talk for awhile. He seemed very depressed and not wanting to let go of something.

He had just spent a year and a half in San Francisco, and his work visa had expired, and on that very day, in only a couple of hours or less, he was leaving Black Rock City for Reno where he would catch a plane and return to Israel.

Israel. From Burning Man to Israel.

"It's just a bunch of spoiled white kids"...damn. I'm 36, and one of the best gifts I received this year was from some Egyptians who were much older than me.

If your hispanic friend participated, than it wasn't just a bunch of spoiled white kids. If she didn't it's nobody's fault but hers.

-c



-c

[Dork]

Israel. From Burning Man to Israel.

I met 12 people from Israel this year. 12!! Not a group of 12, but two individuals and 5 groups of 2. Either there were a lot of them there this year or they're oddly attracted to red art cars.

the hiphop community is one that I am not comfortable with

I personally don't want a bunch of bikers rolling in from Sturgis or some shit

I'm sure both of those groups feel the same way about us hippies and ravers.

Some music video production person used some vaguely burner-inspired props in a video. Until they start going on TRL live and saying how all the stars are going to Burning Man, it won't affect anything. Even if it does, it won't be the real gangsters that come, it will be the spoiled white kids pretending to be gangsters.

[Ugly Dougly]

What's next? Guns firing on the playa.. ugh.

You have probably forgotten about the Drive-By Shooting Range that we all enjoyed back in 95-96. That was cool, until all the Barney dolls got eviscerated. Dead toys are no fun.