Burning Man 1997 :: An ABC Nightline Investigation

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  • Опубликовано: 20 июл 2015
  • In 1997ABC Nightlight came out to report on Burning Man during a year that was a turning point for the event and the Burning Man organization.
    For a deeper look at the history of Burning Man check out the Burning Man Timeline: burningman.org/timeline
    Check out our full video archive: / burningman
    Visit the Burning Man website: burningman.org
    Read the Voice of Burning Man blog: burningman.org/voices
    Burning Man on Twitter: / burningman
    LIKE Burning Man on Facebook: burningman
    Follow us on Instagram: / burningman
    Subscribe to the Jackrabbit Speaks newsletter: burningman.org/jrs

Комментарии • 154

  • @mattcwatkins
    @mattcwatkins 9 месяцев назад +6

    Those were different times! '97 was first of two years I went...when generators were more scarce and glow sticks were coin of the realm. While I only went two years, they were glorious and life-changing. And since 2005 I've been back to the Black Rock playa almost every single year and think it is magical.

  • @JS-oi5jt
    @JS-oi5jt 10 месяцев назад +5

    and now it's plagued with the vanity of social media

    • @mattcwatkins
      @mattcwatkins 9 месяцев назад

      Only if YOU allow it. There are many tens of thousands that go that don't experience that and stick to the core 10 principles.

  • @esquirejauchem7532
    @esquirejauchem7532 2 года назад +7

    I was there shooting a series of documentaries. Watching this is a great memory.

    • @sextoyjenn
      @sextoyjenn 7 месяцев назад +1

      Would love to see them! (And you, miss you tons!)

  • @Sammydx1
    @Sammydx1 2 года назад +12

    1998. My first Burning Man.
    I just graduated high school. Left with a girlfriend and her friends with 250 bucks in my pocket. We stayed in a moving van. I bought an army surplus sleeping bag. No idea what to expect.
    It was my welcome into manhood and adulthood.

    • @mummyjohn
      @mummyjohn 2 года назад +1

      that's fantastic dude, love it

  • @noeliacitialin
    @noeliacitialin Год назад +6

    1998 was my first year, and it’s still my favorite place on earth. Great to see it evolve.

  • @StephenColes
    @StephenColes 7 лет назад +41

    Q. “What kinda stuff have you been seeing out here?”
    Paramedic: “… A lot of sun burns, a lot of burns in general. People picking up burning things…”

  • @Rustscape
    @Rustscape 8 лет назад +14

    1997 was year I was able to go. I remember this segment airing and thinking it couldn't capture the feeling. Tonight, it triggered those feelings.

    • @happyjohn1656
      @happyjohn1656 5 лет назад +2

      I could only imagine... did you go ever since? 😀
      6:58 PM
      6/21/2019

  • @TwanTwanster
    @TwanTwanster 8 лет назад +31

    My first, phenomenal year! Looking at this video makes it seem so long ago. But it's not really.... what is amazing is how far we've come. Truly mind blowing. I hope it goes forever!

    • @tophatpigeon2491
      @tophatpigeon2491 2 года назад +1

      As this comment is 6 years old, I am very curious on if you have been to burning man since posting this and how many times? How was it?

    • @Pax.YouTube
      @Pax.YouTube Год назад

      @@tophatpigeon2491 have you been to burning man atleast once, Tophat?

    • @tophatpigeon2491
      @tophatpigeon2491 Год назад +2

      @@Pax.RUclips nope, I live in Europe so it's very far for me

    • @CantTellYou
      @CantTellYou Год назад

      @@Pax.RUclips I haven’t either but I’m always curious if people who attended during the “golden years” still go, just based on the amount of disparaging comments I see that read like “it’s changed for worse”

    • @Pax.YouTube
      @Pax.YouTube Год назад

      @@CantTellYou if that's the case, then too bad. I really want to experience what I've seen in the vids

  • @chicagostyleasshole
    @chicagostyleasshole 10 месяцев назад +2

    i was there in 97 with cataclysmic megashear ranch as a ranchhand. we arrived about three weeks before the event started. one of the greatest experiences i ever had. it was so cool and weird.

  • @ForeignLifestylestory
    @ForeignLifestylestory 11 месяцев назад +2

    a lot has changed since we all went.. it wasn't about money.. we traded.. now its making some one very rich.. sad to see it come to this..

  • @Batz5150
    @Batz5150 5 лет назад +14

    My senior high school English teacher went this year and told me all about it. I followed shortly after.....for 14 years.

  • @maspring415
    @maspring415 9 лет назад +16

    Amazing.
    Still going 20 years after this broadcast. 8,000 to 15,000 people in 1997. 80,000 people in 2015.
    Hope it keeps going for another 20 years.

    • @milk2percent416
      @milk2percent416 6 лет назад +2

      hope it keeps going until the end of this universe

    • @tophatpigeon2491
      @tophatpigeon2491 2 года назад

      Even 2 years of corona virus hasn't stopped burning man (or should I say renegade man for now) so I doubt anything will

  • @riparianstudios
    @riparianstudios 5 лет назад +6

    9:32 Did we just overhear Danger Ranger on comms circa 1997?

    • @freakybeats89
      @freakybeats89 5 лет назад

      good catch! finally got to meet him in person this year, and he put me on his mailing list - real, physical mail! envelopes stuffed to the gills with BM ephemera from years past.

    • @riparianstudios
      @riparianstudios 4 года назад +1

      @@freakybeats89 Haha amazing! He's the real deal. I'm so happy he's still participating. You gonna make it out to the dust this year?

    • @freakybeats89
      @freakybeats89 4 года назад

      @@riparianstudios 2 weeks with DPW yessir! Yourself?

    • @riparianstudios
      @riparianstudios 4 года назад +1

      @@freakybeats89 I'll be out there for Early Man this year as a Gayte Mentor Lead training the n00bs. :)

  • @TinaMerrieNewman
    @TinaMerrieNewman 7 лет назад +19

    OMG. $75 entrance fee?!

    • @Dailen
      @Dailen 7 лет назад +8

      Yeah tickets sure were cheap back then! $400 now, close to $500 if you bring a vehicle.

    • @TaniaSeabock
      @TaniaSeabock 7 лет назад +7

      It was $35 before this.
      So interesting how far it's gone. I had no idea. No one knew.
      Really cool!

    • @thebrideoffrankenstein2415
      @thebrideoffrankenstein2415 6 лет назад +3

      2017 prices 🤤

    • @deathlarsen7502
      @deathlarsen7502 5 лет назад +1

      Now $1200

    • @ricksflicks-
      @ricksflicks- 5 лет назад +1

      Right?! 75 bucks...lol....

  • @tammybunting4034
    @tammybunting4034 5 лет назад +4

    ahhhhhh when buring man was good my family an friends went 2001 2002 back then it was only 35.000 thousand. . what an amazing extravaganza my son an his girl friend just couldn't believe their eyes were gulping in . best time of our lives . oh yeah ticket's were 165.each if you got them early .in late January.

  • @chriscorsello
    @chriscorsello 2 года назад +7

    My first year was 1998. After a long hiatus, due to work schedule demands, now I never miss it. (Except 2020 obviously) When I returned to Black Rock City, almost 10 years ago, people were then talking about how it wasn't the same and how it wasn't as good. Here's the thing, with a long break, I was not the frog in the boiling water. I saw one thing then the other. Did it change? Absolutely. Was it worse? No. Somethings were better then, and somethings are better now. For example, long running camps just keep adding and improving features to their camp setup. Now you see the culmination of decades of planning and preparation. Technology has allowed things to happen that simply were not possible back then. Most importantly, something I always tell people who have not been to Burning Man, listen to what individuals who have been tell you about the event. Then realize it tells you more about that person than it does the event. It is a city that rises out of the desert... truly a city. You will find what you are looking for out of it. If someone tells you it is all about sex and drugs, that is what they were looking to find. Some will tell you it is about running the ultra marathon that happens every year. If you just want it to be a bonfire party, do that! (The "Man" is only one of many burns during the week!) Whatever you want it to be, just participate! f you can't find it, make it what you want it to be! Personally, I enjoy the large scale art on the open playa, especially the pieces that encourage climbing! I also do the bike obstacle course, the roller disco, the skatepark every year. I've even been on a zip line and a ferris wheel out there.I also enjoy seeing my friends that come from all over to be together. Though it may not be cheap to get a ticket, I certainly enjoy putting my wallet and bank card away for a week+ after arriving and the only things most people ask for from you is directions or a hug. (and they do ask first, you can say no.) If you want the smaller and more simple community feel of yesteryear, go to a regional, they very much feel like the days of old at Black Rock City. (Except the technology aspect) Burning Man is a wonderful and amazing experience. If someone tells you it used to be great but sucks now... they are probably talking abut themselves.

    • @KaliAndy2
      @KaliAndy2 Год назад

      You are certainly right burning man is what you want it to be. Its kind of like a party with thousands different parties happening at once with all sorts of stuff going on. If you are not happy just walk, bike or ride an art car over to next place until you find something that fits you. Having gone for 20+ years biggest difference I see is in earlier days it felt like way more people were involved in creating, building their camps, helping neighbors, etc. You could ride down the street and almost every camp would have something going on and were inviting those passing by. These days it seems most come in RVs, pay camp fees and stuff like camp chill areas, shade, showers are build for them. Pay the kitchen to make meals for them etc. Feels like due to this way more areas are now just dead zones with nothing happening. Those people aren't really creating much or having to figure out how to build and survive in an extreme environment. They are just spectators going with max luxuries that can be afforded to them. Guess also in old days felt like everyone was much more individualistic. People wore whatever they wanted and would create most random clothing. Virtually everyone was different. Its funny these days there is a thing called "burning man fashion". So many people wearing same type of leather stuff, furry leggings, fedora hats with feathers etc. Simply buying same clothes to copy someone does not make one a burner. What makes Burning Man unique is its almost entirely build by people who come, many from different walks of life. Unlike other festivals where promoters build everything and people just come to party. With a much bigger proportion of spectators than participants burning man definitely has lost some of its old charm. But that said there is still nothing else like it out there and its an amazing experience.

    • @chriscorsello
      @chriscorsello Год назад

      ​@@KaliAndy2 Very astute observations. I would have to agree, especially with your comment that there are more "dead zones" than there used to be... at least they usually tuck a lot of "plug and play camps" into a far corner. See you in the dust if you are going this year. They placed our camp way out this year because we are doing a "burner express bus stop." Camp GYST- we'll be at 9:30 stretching from I to J. We have a banana party on Thursday from around 6 to 9... no bananas, just a banana celebration. Hard to explain stop by if strikes your curiosity... or any time for a draft beer or hard cider! Tell 'em Swaggy sent you.

    • @mikemcdermott1392
      @mikemcdermott1392 10 месяцев назад +2

      That's really reassuring. I keep hearing from folks (mostly jaded, dated burners) that it's either dead, jumped the shark, or in decline, but I hear from more people that it's just as vibrant and communal as ever. I look forward to going one day. Until then, regionals are where it's at.

  • @pseudonamed
    @pseudonamed 7 лет назад +19

    not a sparklepony to be seen.. you have to go to the right regionals to experience something similar now

    • @happyjohn1656
      @happyjohn1656 5 лет назад +1

      @Milk2Percent Correct!
      6:55 PM
      6/21/2019

  • @brodyarmbar
    @brodyarmbar 4 года назад +5

    Miss these days. I took so much acid I turned gay on my Burning Man trip in '98. Still gay and would never change.

  • @rossturcotte419
    @rossturcotte419 2 года назад

    needs to be an 8 hour long mini series

  • @philipb2134
    @philipb2134 Год назад +2

    BM95 was the first time I made it out. At the gate, we were given a heading ad a distance to camp. There were no streets and barely any infrastructure. It had become so much bigger and more organized in just 2 years.
    I posted a few videos of earlier days : a dozen years old at my BM channel on YT:, "elquemando". They are raw - and non-monetized, of course, although I'm told YT attached ads anyway. Bummer.

  • @charlesagnew3801
    @charlesagnew3801 3 года назад +4

    bruh...'97 was the year to hit burning man. 21st century burn has lost its way I believe. It's transitioned into a lobbying platform for tech elites to do business but wasn't the idea of Burning Man to celebrate anti-capitalism and exchange ideas without any monetary system???

  • @shiftpod136
    @shiftpod136 7 лет назад +5

    Wow. Sounds like fun! We might have to go check this out!

    • @randall777
      @randall777 5 лет назад

      LOL yeah you should check out The Burning Man Festival, bring a cool tent.

  • @jamthedidgeridoo3660
    @jamthedidgeridoo3660 2 года назад +3

    12:46
    Honestly, you can replace "TV" with "Internet" in what he said and it's still true.

  • @cuba1234100
    @cuba1234100 Год назад

    great video

  • @Inertia888
    @Inertia888 5 лет назад +2

    Are they using the same/similar recording equipment as the Time Woodstock doc? The video and audio sound familiar to me.

    • @mattcwatkins
      @mattcwatkins 9 месяцев назад +1

      Typical home VHS tape recording....probably 240p. Yes, TV was low resolution until "hidef" was introduced in 1998 and more shows were filmed in 720p by 2005 or so.

  • @rememberember
    @rememberember 9 лет назад +12

    Wow, it's so ... empty and small!

  • @EricWhite1990
    @EricWhite1990 7 лет назад +2

    epic look back

  • @davewilson4714
    @davewilson4714 7 лет назад +5

    Now it's like 5% artists, 20% tourists, and everyone else is there for the party.

  • @SwedishBabes420
    @SwedishBabes420 4 года назад +2

    What a fantastic f*cking timepiece right here. Loved watching.

  • @ricksflicks-
    @ricksflicks- 5 лет назад +1

    Really Interesting and great seeing the early days. 2018 was my first year. It's obviously different now but still totally amazing in it's own way. Thanks for posting.

    • @BobbyxZx
      @BobbyxZx 3 года назад +2

      you actually missed burning man then, it's been coachella since 2012

    • @CantTellYou
      @CantTellYou Год назад

      @@BobbyxZx makes sense.. everybody wants to be Coachella now, making $20,000 per minute or some ungodly amount (probably more?)

  • @SuccessCoach1000
    @SuccessCoach1000 4 года назад

    Oh...the good ole days!

  • @twitchdotcomz31
    @twitchdotcomz31 5 лет назад +2

    Yo bruh you didn't cover your face with sunblock.

  • @Tipi_Dan
    @Tipi_Dan 19 дней назад

    What a long strange trip it's been.

  • @renragged
    @renragged 8 лет назад +3

    It was already way too big in 1997. Oh well, nothing great can last forever...

  • @JANXDPDX
    @JANXDPDX 8 лет назад +8

    "a lion is ready to POUNCE!"

  • @egoequus6263
    @egoequus6263 7 лет назад +8

    Wait, is that a guy on fire at 13:00? Old school BM is insane.

    • @shred1
      @shred1 6 лет назад +3

      Thats how the man was lit one year.

    • @steveboverie9432
      @steveboverie9432 3 года назад +6

      The did that in 97 and 98. It was a guy in a flame proof suit and covered with combustable fuel (you see this movies all the time). The man is set on fire and runs up the steps and ignites the Man. In 97 the set the man on fire before he went under the Man, in 98 the man was not set on fire until he was under the man. When his safety suit was set on fire the flames went high enough to set the Man on fire before they were ready, the fireworks started shooting off and everyone ran from the statue of the Man to safety. The person in the burning suit had to chase his helpers to get them to put his flames out. In previous years the Man was ignited by a fire performer who breathed Dragon's Breath by spitting alcohol at a burning torch. 97 was my first year, I volunteered every year to make sure the event would happen.

    • @tophatpigeon2491
      @tophatpigeon2491 2 года назад

      @@steveboverie9432 How has the event progressed through the years? What has the increase in size done? What would be the upsides or downsides now vs back in the day?

    • @steveboverie9432
      @steveboverie9432 2 года назад +2

      @@tophatpigeon2491 Depends when you stopped going. 80K people mostly camping in RVs was the majority in 2019. I liked the event before it became so famous, when tickets were available until August, when the traffic was not so much that it takes 3 hours to get to Reno and seeing all the trash on the sides of the road that too many did not lash down well enough. I still like the feel of being at the mercy of the elements, the heat and dust as well as chill nights. The downsides are the too many people, the traffic that stirs up so much dust and the heavy handedness of the law enforcement. The upsides, you can be who you want to be, do things you didn't think you could and still have fun being yourself.

    • @tophatpigeon2491
      @tophatpigeon2491 2 года назад

      @@steveboverie9432 Thanks for the reply, I guess with such a number of people all that trash is just inevitable :/

  • @rocdocs
    @rocdocs 2 года назад +1

    "... with no thought of what tomorrow will bring..." uh not really true, is it?

  • @plantbasedburner7472
    @plantbasedburner7472 8 лет назад +10

    Thanks to all those freaks we can still go )'(ome each year, the finest city on earth, with the most amazing citizens in the universe. WE ARE BURNERS)'(WE ROCK!

    • @BobbyxZx
      @BobbyxZx 3 года назад

      there's that self important spirit y'all burners are known for...

  • @rossturcotte419
    @rossturcotte419 3 года назад

    🙏✨

  • @juglarlocogmail
    @juglarlocogmail 7 лет назад

    looks really underground.

  • @wildadventures4173
    @wildadventures4173 10 месяцев назад

    To cover costs, just charge $20.00 per vehicle (not person) (anyone can come up with $20) at entrance to festival 🎉 .

    • @mattcwatkins
      @mattcwatkins 9 месяцев назад +1

      Costs are far in excess of that and current car passes are already $150 plus ticket for a person that's about $500.

  • @3rdandlong
    @3rdandlong Год назад

    Never have been there. Would like to just for once.

  • @alwinvanderlinde5913
    @alwinvanderlinde5913 2 года назад +1

    An amazing amount of negative comments here. I guess they all prefer the “ normal” society.

  • @riparianstudios
    @riparianstudios 5 лет назад +3

    There are a bunch of shots here with people walking and setting up tents in GRASS. Did people used to camp out by Frog Pond or what?

    • @heckmoss2971
      @heckmoss2971 3 года назад +2

      That was my first year, it was held in the Missouri Flats, closer to Gerlach

    • @domitype
      @domitype 2 года назад +2

      BLM and the county wouldn't give permission to go out on the large playa, so everything was squished into a smaller one on the other side of the highway.

    • @mattcwatkins
      @mattcwatkins 9 месяцев назад +1

      '97 the BLM wouldn't issue a permit. It was held on the Hualapai Flats on private land near Fly Geyser. And it returned to the traditional playa in '98 and been there since.

  • @DrTune
    @DrTune 7 лет назад +18

    To the usual vast list of negative commentators on this and other vids who've never actually been: it's still amazing, you literally have no idea what you're hatin' about..

    • @milk2percent416
      @milk2percent416 6 лет назад +2

      they are hating on love

    • @deathlarsen7502
      @deathlarsen7502 5 лет назад +1

      Take some more meth krak head

    • @deathlarsen7502
      @deathlarsen7502 5 лет назад +1

      @@milk2percent416 nah just hating on losers like you

    • @happyjohn1656
      @happyjohn1656 5 лет назад +1

      @@rayjr62 I assume you've never been then?
      7:00:00 PM
      6/21/2019

  • @User-ge7ni
    @User-ge7ni 7 лет назад +3

    We do this in the uk

  • @skylightrecords8547
    @skylightrecords8547 7 лет назад +2

    Druid Pagan Ceremony. The Christians claimed the Irish Pagans were making sacrifices with these things, not sure of whether this was true. It follows the anything goes mentality it seems. Not for me, but I hope they have fun.

  • @blossom1643
    @blossom1643 10 месяцев назад +1

    Ok. No rules. Do what you want act anyway you want ?? Sounds like small child thinking to me

  • @happyjohn1656
    @happyjohn1656 5 лет назад +2

    13:00 wtf?
    6:54 PM
    6/21/2019

    • @reeceschrock396
      @reeceschrock396 3 года назад +1

      I know! Crazy right?
      12:23 PM
      10/28/2020

  • @adelaidemarie
    @adelaidemarie 5 лет назад

    Nothing for sale exit tickets to enter

  • @TheBigChill1
    @TheBigChill1 2 года назад +2

    From the times when BM wasn't a cosplay vanity fair...

  • @JohnSmith-eo5sp
    @JohnSmith-eo5sp 5 лет назад

    Talk about an ass kissing investigation!
    5:00 Cheap Analog video tape recordings and it looks it
    8:00 This is how civilization evolves

  • @borosaccoceri4546
    @borosaccoceri4546 3 года назад

    burning man première et récupération par des multinationale

  • @veganath
    @veganath 7 лет назад +5

    art without utility is a waste of resources ... precious resources

    • @prinzchen17
      @prinzchen17 7 лет назад

      you are talking rather about design than art?

    • @veganath
      @veganath 7 лет назад

      prinzchen17 both design and art

    • @LeighChristie
      @LeighChristie 7 лет назад

      can you give an example of a work of art that has no utility?

    • @veganath
      @veganath 7 лет назад

      Leigh Christie just look at Victorian era architecture as an example

  • @happyjohn1656
    @happyjohn1656 5 лет назад +1

    4:27 I'm blue daba dee daba die
    Gree*? ;) 😉
    6:44 PM
    6/21/2019

  • @lawrencekanserski5119
    @lawrencekanserski5119 6 лет назад +7

    ha, skinheads eating lizards. that's Wasteland now. I almost made it out in '97. now...too many "pretty" people. I like the pagan-ness of this olde school fest.

    • @happyjohn1656
      @happyjohn1656 5 лет назад +1

      14:40 for those confused ;S ;D 😉 ;)
      6:57 PM
      6/21/2019

    • @mattcwatkins
      @mattcwatkins 9 месяцев назад

      I did go in '97 and my life is much richer for it. Too bad you didn't.

  • @franciscoduarte1925
    @franciscoduarte1925 2 года назад

    I ❤️ )"(

  • @JAXXNCREATED
    @JAXXNCREATED 5 лет назад +2

    only if it was 75 dollars today hahaha

  • @DarkHeartedMusician
    @DarkHeartedMusician 7 лет назад +10

    "Burning Man I thought was going to be a bunch of skinheads in the desert eating lizards and turning over cars, ya know?"
    LOLZ!!!

  • @rimetime6423
    @rimetime6423 5 лет назад +1

    i Guess that was the time to really go and have an awesome experience , before so many posers followed in

  • @kdgfg
    @kdgfg 7 лет назад

    bones help your teeth grow

  • @CP-nl2zb
    @CP-nl2zb 9 месяцев назад

    It was all down hill aftet 1995

  • @Gonzalo_Sala
    @Gonzalo_Sala 7 лет назад +7

    So Pagan! :)

  • @ronniecardy
    @ronniecardy 5 лет назад +1

    Just a bunch of jealous people

  • @digitalmorgan
    @digitalmorgan 5 лет назад +1

    "15.000 people" lol..how cute!

  • @thebrideoffrankenstein2415
    @thebrideoffrankenstein2415 6 лет назад +4

    Looks cooler the older burning man....now just a money racket

  • @BobbyxZx
    @BobbyxZx 3 года назад

    this is what you post when you're enthralled with your own self importance... nice one marian

  • @ToConnect2000s
    @ToConnect2000s 2 года назад

    It was better in 1996

    • @mattcwatkins
      @mattcwatkins 9 месяцев назад

      I first attended in '97 having read and heard about it from Wired. The last year of guns and ammo camp....I'm sure it was more crunchy and intimate in '96. I heard that was kind of the last year you could see it all in the time you were there.

  • @doctajonz2828
    @doctajonz2828 Год назад

    Born in San Francisco…makes sense now. Nothing more than a hippie commune in the desert. 😂

  • @randallsmith5631
    @randallsmith5631 6 лет назад

    I'm a 4 time burner. I know what I'm talking about.

    • @mattcwatkins
      @mattcwatkins 9 месяцев назад

      I'm a 2 time burner. Do only know what I'm talking about 50%?

  • @EQOAnostalgia
    @EQOAnostalgia 4 года назад +1

    Gross

  • @nicolebaaclo6174
    @nicolebaaclo6174 2 года назад +1

    Satanic ritual.. lost people