Stopped reading at `Systemic use of natural and alternative healing modalities could vastly reduce covid mortality`
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The Death of the Festival
11–20 of 81 posts
Re: The Death of the Festival
#12> As for Burning Man and the transformational music & art festivals, these have exercised some of the festival’s authentic function – until recently, when their exile to online platforms stripped them of any transcendental possibility. Much as the organizers are doing their best to keep the idea of the festival alive, online festivals risk becoming just another show for consumption. One clicks into them, sits back, and watches. In-person festivals are different. They start with a journey, then one must undergo an ordeal (waiting in line for hours). Finally you get to the entrance temple (the registration booth), where a small divination ritual (checking the list) is performed to determine your fitness to attend (by having made the appropriate sacrifice – a payment – beforehand). Thereupon, the priest or priestess in the booth confers upon the celebrant a special talisman to wear around the wrist at all times. After all this, the subconscious mind understands one has entered a separate realm, where indeed, to a degree at least, normal distinctions, relations, and rules do not apply. Online events of any kind rest safely in the home. Whatever the content, the body recognizes it as a show.
I don't buy it. Surely there are still burns and de-facto lawless (as long as safety of others is not violated, and by that I'm not talking about social distancing or masks) festivals happening worldwide still? It's just that most government/corporate-backed ordeals, and huge (1k+ participants) events are called off.
Here in JP (an otherwise famously very restrictive and normative society), meat-space outdoors raves/festivals and rainbow-like gatherings have been thriving during the pandemic, even moreso now during the summer, likely due to the nerfing of indoor club events.
May be the case for other scenes as well; this is just the one I'm personally familiar with presently.
From my limited perspective the festival scene is more active than ever: There are multiple 1-to-3-day raves/music festivals happening every week within 2h drive from where I'm at in the sleepy conforming boonies, states of emergency or not. There is certainly code, but I argue at least the events my friend groups have been frequenting are easily breaking social norms enough that they're still valid under their definition. They may be smaller, but they're more in numbers and frequency.
From what I hear, the fetish subscenes also alive, active, and well.
If it still happens here, I'd be surprised if it wasn't the case most everywhere. I suspect the author hasn't been seriously surveying their locale.
(I certainly don't go rave every week; I know people who do, though. I gave up trying to preach to people that they should act COVID-safer. Party people gonna party people)
Re: The Death of the Festival
#13Reads a lot like Jordan Peterson. Essays on psychological symbolism are hard to judge; I’ve read some Jung and Campbell but my comprehension still feels weak.
Re: The Death of the Festival
#14Stopped reading at `Systemic use of natural and alternative healing modalities could vastly reduce covid mortality`
Why? You might disagree but the article is interesting?
Can you also assert that there’s nothing “natural” you can do that would systematically help with COVID prevention? Quitting smoking, running, healthy inmune system with dieting and so on?
Re: The Death of the Festival
#15> We know the rules of society are arbitrary, set up so that the show can be played out to its conclusion. This seems wrong to me. Most society rules have a reason to exist. Maybe, in the past century a few of that rules have become obsolete. But humanity is excellent at creating rules that makes things good enough to keep going. There is nothing that makes a society change its rules like a change on the environment.…
> We know the rules of society are arbitrary
Author clearly has an underpowered pattern recognition module.
Re: The Death of the Festival
#16Stopped reading at `Systemic use of natural and alternative healing modalities could vastly reduce covid mortality`
Why? You might disagree but the article is interesting? Can you also assert that there’s nothing “natural” you can do that would systematically help with COVID prevention? Quitting smoking, running, healthy inmune system with dieting and so on?
That's not particularly alternative, it's interventions completely accepted by the medical system.
Re: The Death of the Festival
#17Stopped reading at `Systemic use of natural and alternative healing modalities could vastly reduce covid mortality`
Why? You might disagree but the article is interesting? Can you also assert that there’s nothing “natural” you can do that would systematically help with COVID prevention? Quitting smoking, running, healthy inmune system with dieting and so on?
Quitting smoking is not what natural means here. Natural & Alternative is a catch all term for holistic medicine.
Re: The Death of the Festival
#18Stopped reading at `Systemic use of natural and alternative healing modalities could vastly reduce covid mortality`
Why? You might disagree but the article is interesting? Can you also assert that there’s nothing “natural” you can do that would systematically help with COVID prevention? Quitting smoking, running, healthy inmune system with dieting and so on?
That's not what he means and you know it.
Re: The Death of the Festival
#19> As for Burning Man and the transformational music & art festivals, these have exercised some of the festival’s authentic function – until recently, when their exile to online platforms stripped them of any transcendental possibility. Much as the organizers are doing their best to keep the idea of the festival alive, online festivals risk becoming just another show for consumption. One clicks into them, sits back, a…
Ironically COVID might save festival culture from total megacorp commercialization for another generation while giving back outdoor rave their clandestine feel, While being comparably safe compared to indoor booze-fests.
Regarding online, the emerging 'just chatting' Twitch rave scene is something to behold in it's anarchism.
Re: The Death of the Festival
#20He's on to something. The prose drops little passages easy to criticize, but the overall essay has good reasoning. I strongly agree the events one attends creating an alternative reality are more therapeutic and necessary than many are willing to admit.
I also liked the idea that true festivals (and riots) can serve as a regular reminder what it means to not have order in the society. It's a big immersive "what if" show.