![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Burning Man and Worldcon
Sep. 5th, 2023 07:18 pmOn Monday morning, the problems at Burning Man, with people essentially stuck inside the event, were the lead story on the 7 AM PT CBS radio World News Roundup. Trying to describe Burning Man, they showed that they didn't understand what the event was, as they called the people who were there "concert goers."
Thinking about that for a while, I decided that this fundamental misunderstanding of who the Burning Man participants are is rooted in the same misunderstanding that makes it difficult for those of us active with Worldcon to explain the event to reporters and the like. It seems to me that whoever decided that the people at Burning Man were "concert goers" could only conceive of vendor-customer relationships. A concert promoter organizes an entertainment event, and people purchase tickets as consumers of that entertainment. That's not what Burning Man is. Similarly, people brush aside how Worldcons sell "memberships," saying that it's the same thing as a ticket and calling a membership is just a way to avoid ticket taxes or something like that.
As I understand it, Burning Man doesn't want spectators. Everyone is expected to be a participant. Worldcon is the same way. I call it the "Fandom is a Pot-Luck Dinner" model. Everyone brings something to the dinner, although in both these cases you also need to put up some money to pay for the cost of the facility.
I've bought concert tickets and enjoyed the concerts. I've bought tickets to movies and plays and enjoyed them. But I get more enjoyment out of events where I participate in some way, like Worldcon. I reckon that this is a idea that CBS radio news (and frankly, most people) can't comprehend.
Thinking about that for a while, I decided that this fundamental misunderstanding of who the Burning Man participants are is rooted in the same misunderstanding that makes it difficult for those of us active with Worldcon to explain the event to reporters and the like. It seems to me that whoever decided that the people at Burning Man were "concert goers" could only conceive of vendor-customer relationships. A concert promoter organizes an entertainment event, and people purchase tickets as consumers of that entertainment. That's not what Burning Man is. Similarly, people brush aside how Worldcons sell "memberships," saying that it's the same thing as a ticket and calling a membership is just a way to avoid ticket taxes or something like that.
As I understand it, Burning Man doesn't want spectators. Everyone is expected to be a participant. Worldcon is the same way. I call it the "Fandom is a Pot-Luck Dinner" model. Everyone brings something to the dinner, although in both these cases you also need to put up some money to pay for the cost of the facility.
I've bought concert tickets and enjoyed the concerts. I've bought tickets to movies and plays and enjoyed them. But I get more enjoyment out of events where I participate in some way, like Worldcon. I reckon that this is a idea that CBS radio news (and frankly, most people) can't comprehend.
