What is the point of Playing Hard?
There were thousands of souls gathered at a DJ show last weekend at Brooklyn Navy Yard. What was everyone doing? What were you doing? The answer is diffuse, foggy. In first examination, we were not there to be there for each other. People thrusted forward through the tight crowd, making their way to the front of the stage. Maybe we were all there for the DJ… he appealed to us, we liked his work. People wanted to bathe in his presence. Maybe we all wanted to have a good time. After all, people were cheering, dancing, letting out. They were all expressing a feeling, but it was unclear what feeling was being expressed. What were we manifesting? It felt like a liberation, but a liberation from what?
The show was sold out, the warehouse was packed. People call the lifestyle "work hard, play hard". A concert of dilated pupils and constricted vessels. It was also a “tragedy of the commons” because there was no space to dance. No water fountains either, bottled water was up for sale. You can tell there's a selfish motive behind. The promoters don't care, from their perspective the event was mission accomplished.
The venue was impressive, any ancient person would think it’s a futuristic temple. You look up to the tall vaulted ceiling and try to breathe the moment in. As the lights shine down on masses of bodies twitching to electronic beats, you ask yourself, "Is this a triumph for society?". Dylan, next to you, replies "Whenever this man plays it’s a triumph for society", lights and lasers galore.
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