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While the rituals, performances, and regulated principles associated with the event have proved fruitful in regards to perpetuating a mentality open to alternative living, they present as mere guidelines for the mass of creative opportunities allotted to participants (Austin and Fitzgerald 2018; Sims and Stephens 2011). Unlike the goals of public folklore that can work to re-define contemporary narratives for the accuracy of the impacted community or for the preservation of culture, “Burning Man” demands constant evolution and interactive creativity to introduce new yearly variation (Austin and Fitzgerald 2018; Kozinets 2002; Kodish 2013). As a result, participation is mandatory but maintaining one’s persona within the festival afterward is not, and allows many to return to corporate employment or interaction with consumerism despite such a radical event (Kozinets 2002; Austin and Fitzgerald 2018). Instead, the festival becomes a facilitator for conversation where one’s position in society is re-evaluated and the consequences of abandoning social expectations or responsibilities pertaining to a domineering institution can be lived out for the benefit of the member (Austin and Fitzgerald 2018; Toomistu and Heikkilä 2020). Respectively, this may constitute (Kozinets 2002; Austin and Fitzgerald 2018; Toomistu and Heikkilä 2020; Deutsch 2019; St. John 2017):
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Communal areas for sexual exploration
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Art installations like “story sharing cubes” (which largely constitute personal reflections about one’s identity or experience)
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Engaging in drugs to enhance one’s experience
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Assisting those utilizing drugs as a form of generosity against the status quo
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Openly communicating to, addressing, or hugging strangers in a friendly manner that would be deemed unusual outside of the event (although consent is mandatory)
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Willingness of participants to give selflessly to others or let go of material items
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Employment of music and lights to facilitate a “closeness” between attendees
Navigating Identity
Consumptive Transformations
To conclude, “Burning Man” participants do not necessarily “escape the market” (Kozinets 2002, 36) as described by author Kozinets (2002) nor is that the primary intention for the festival which is known to be temporary and a reflexive exercise (Sims and Stephens 2011). Instead, the realizations of attendees can propose a spectrum of individual alterations regarding how one chooses to interact with the market after the event and how this specifically manifests depending on their experience (Kozinets 2002; Austin and Fitzgerald 2018). In this way, the act of true artistic creation is observed as complete when one is made separate from these structures and able to join the function of community conversation, but asks little from participants except for them to unequivocally be themselves in new, unexpected ways (St. John 2017; Kozinets 2002; Austin and Fitzgerald 2018).
Hence, commitment is only required for the allotted nine days a year but the identity transformations according to authors Austin and Fitzgerald (2018) can transcend to daily attempts at altering their political influence or simply retaining the mindset of awareness concerning the pressures of hegemony. Ultimately, the nature of this folk-group and the event itself which requires forms of consumption (or high expenses to attend) is to perform a space without so participants can decide what they would like to invite back in (Kozinets 2002; Austin and Fitzgerald 2018). “Burning Man” confronts the facets of one’s personality that have been molded for consumer complacency and that which has been harmed as a result of its seemingly omnipresent status, providing an exit on the last day where the re-evaluation continues (and for “Burners” becomes a permanent reality) (Helm et al. 2015; Gilbert 2008; Kozinets 2002; Austin and Fitzgerald 2018).
