Free Parties- A cultural, sociological, ideological, political and historical study
By freepartypeople
A seminar I did as part of the cultural studies component of my Media Production course in 1997. No points for spotting the deliberate mistakes and pretentious language
“Then we were in the field where the sound system had set up, in a perfect bowl of land like an amphi-theatre, bounded by trees, and with fires and lights twinkling all around. Ten minutes later I’d swallowed an E. Half an hour later I was dancing amid the shimmering lights and cascading sounds while little winds bustled about my body, sending ripples of pleasure up and down my spine. There were a couple of hundred people dancing beside me: travellers with dreadlocks and nose-rings, fashionable clubbers with stack-heeled shoes; a Rastafarian who’d shaved part of his head and looked like a shaman from some ancient tribe; young girls with slinky skirts and sunglasses; black people, white people, Asian people; and at least one middle-aged ex-hippie still yearning for the revolution.”
The middle-aged ex-hippie is C.J.Stone, author of the book ‘Fierce Dancing’. He is describing his first Free Party, a DiY event in 1991.
Free Parties- A cultural, sociological, ideological, political and historical study
