Tatooine

Chris made a great analogy one of the first nights we were walking around. “Black Rock City is like a scene out of Star Wars,” he said (officially episode IV but really the classic first). Specifically, Tatooine, where Obi Wan and Luke meet and hire Han Solo and Chewie for the first time.

Per Wikipedia, yes, Wikipedia again: “Tatooine has a seemingly endless desert environment cooked by the intense energy of twin yellow suns. Rocky mesas, canyons and arroyos break up the monotony of kilometers of shifting dunes. The days are hot and the nights are frigid. The air is dry and the soil is parched. Yet life persists on Tatooine, in varied, hardy forms. Indigenous sentient life includes the scavenging Jawas and the fearsome Tusken Raiders. Creatures found roaming the desert include banthas, rontos, dewbacks, scurriers, womp rats, krayt dragons and eopies.

That’s exactly what Black Rock City was like.

The large domed tents covered with camouflaged net things looked like the house Luke lived in with his aunt and uncle. The different camps with their music blaring could each have had their own little jazzy, upbeat alien bands. Granted, the bands in BRC would be less jazzy and uptempo and be more droning with techno beats. And the people…the people were all dressed up…like each one of us was from a different planet and now co-mingling. I didn’t meet any jawas or krayt dragons but the life forms…interesting and varied, they were. From body tassels to sequined dresses to feathered head dresses. And the women were dressed pretty great too. Did I mention the boys in sarongs? There were so many things I saw that would never break my stride at the mall but here made me stop and think, “S/he’s rockin’ that. I so want one of those.” The fur leg-warmers, I’ve actually wanted for my regular wardrobe for a while now and I did get to make a proto-type which I sported and loved. Then there were the multi-colored, yarn and ribbon hair extensions that would look gauche on Raggedy Ann but looked fabulous against the taupe, flat and textureless background. They were colorful and fun and free-spirited. The whole game is “look at me!” I actually felt more uncomfortable the days I was dressed “normal.” However, no, I did not go naked. But I did think it was growth when I didn’t feel naseous in my bikini top. Baby steps.

 

I found all of the pictures in this entry from Flickr. If you hover over each image, you will find the names of the talented photographer who captured it and be able to link to his Burning Man 2007 photo collection.