Originally Authored at TheFederalist.com
In a moment that could have been pulled straight from a sitcom, an 83-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders stood before a crowd of young festival goers at Coachella last weekend. The aging senator in his traditional suit and tie was greeted by the screams of bedazzled and sweaty Gen Z fans at the California music festival. Hot off the trails of his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, he spoke to the crowd about the importance of justice. Before leaving the stage, he praised the young songwriter Clairo for her activism before introducing her.
The moment perfectly distilled the spirit of Coachella. What should be a simple, lighthearted celebration of music has devolved into a pandering photo-op for young people. Although the music is the main draw, attendees spend months planning their outfits, booking overpriced hotel rooms, and trying to get access to afterparties and exclusive events. The appreciation for live performance is now a thin glue holding the experience together as opposed to its focal point.
Since 1999, Coachella has maintained a status as one of the trendiest events, a Southern California staple whose prevalence has only grown. In the 2010s, as social media took over the hearts and minds of new generations, Coachella’s marketability skyrocketed. It was no longer the hip escapade for the nepotism babies of Beverly Hills; it took on a second life as a can’t-miss affair for anyone with an iPhone.
Influencers rapidly changed Coachella’s reputation. It lost its exclusivity as eager young folks travelled across the country to be in attendance, taking photos beside the iconic Ferris wheel and staying in affluent hotel rooms and Palm Springs Airbnbs. Social media also made clothing a centerpiece, with young girls expected to flaunt racy, suggestive outfits. Salaciousness became the standard, and the youth audience reveled in its prematurely adult style. The atmosphere surrounding Coachella became lewd, with sexual promiscuity not only encountered but consistently promoted.
Alongside obscenity, drug use became rampant. The hush-hush practice of smuggling in joints turned into the widespread use of psychedelics and stimulants. The nihilistic world views of those in attendance are so overwhelming that in order to legitimately detect any sort of emotion, they are compelled to fuel themselves with drugs that would make Hunter S. Thompson blush.
Nowadays, Coachella looks a lot more like a bacchanal than a concert. It is hedonistic and self-fulfilling. It is a rejection of morality and virtue in favor of short-lived, prideful fervor. Although it pretends to be a freeing escapade, allowing guests to have the opportunity of a lifetime, it is an unchecked divulgence into humanity’s basest desires. Its feigned appreciation for music and culture has been overrun with debauchery, and it’s all done for the sake of the camera.
This year, admission costs for the festival range from about $600 to $1300, not including airfare, hotels, or on-site food (Which costs about $100 per meal). Nearly 60 percent of attendees financed their tickets with a payment plan. At this price point, it is increasingly clear that Coachella is not about enjoying an artistic experience, but about purchasing a lifestyle. The spring event is a cultural touchstone, where the hottest celebrities are spotted sipping drinks and sharing laughs together. It is a wolf in sheep’s clothing, a playground for the elite. Across the nation, hundreds and thousands of people pay exorbitant amounts of money to feel as though they, too, are part of that exclusive class.
The dramatic excessiveness of Coachella only makes the appearance of Bernie Sanders all the more ironic. After bashing men like Donald Trump and Elon Musk for being rich, he has the audacity to stand before a different wealthy crowd and praise them for their justice. Trump and Musk have spent millions of their own money to serve the country and benefit the American public. The hordes at Coachella have blown their stacks on Swarovski-crystal swimsuits and magic mushrooms.
Yet, Sanders’ appearance is met with explosive exhilaration. Sanders affirmed the luxurious self-indulgence of the attendees. He encouraged them to fight for equity and open-mindedness, a request that requires no accountability. His speech was filled with buzzwords intended to subdue and fulfill the impulses of an aching crowd. He turned the blue-collar republicans who voted for conservative populism into the enemy, without realizing how they have built the country that the crowd now takes advantage of. It is a sneering, cynical attitude that shreds all sensibilities.
This satire could not be complete without one final act of oblivious ignorance. Coachella’s social media pages posted a photo of Sen. Sanders in front of a wall painted with the logo of the punk band, The Misfits. Smiling in the warm California sunshine, across the country from his constituents in Virginia, he is the epitome of a social climber. Had he been born in a later era, he might have become one of those equitable, fair-minded influencers he spent the evening praising. Just like Bernie Sanders and all the other social media stars, you, too, can become a liberal Misfit for a few thousand dollars.
Brooke Brandtjen is a writer and journalist from Wisconsin who focuses primarily on culture, politics, and religion. She is extremely passionate about the arts and history, and is honored to write for a variety of distinguished publications.