Unpopular fandom opinion alert...

[denorios]

So convention photo-shoots, okay? I seem them all the time all over LJ and Tumblr, because, you know, people meet their heroes and their idols and heartthrobs and they're thrilled. And I totally get that, no arguments from me. Who wouldn't want a photograph to commemorate a really important moment in their life

Comments

[elsaf]

I remember James Marsters (Spike on Buffy) saying once that sometimes he feels like everybody in the world is walking around with a little piece of paper in their pocket that says "I get a piece of James Marsters." Of course, he was talking about meeting fans on the street and in restaurants, not convention appearances. He also said that the thing about actors is we get to stare at them. He said usually, we know it's rude to just stare at a person in public. But when an actor is on stage, everybody has the license to stare as much as they want and it's OK.

I think he was trying to draw the line between appearances and real life. I think that at a convention, actors understand that they're being paid to put on a show for the fans. That show includes a certain level of personal interaction. The best actor convention guests have perfected a technique for those photo shoots (which are really just a paid opportunity for the fan to stand next to his or her idol for a minute) for focusing on the fan so that each person in the line gets to feel like they actually know the actor and are friends for just a moment. It's not really in whether they let you touch them or put a flower hat on their head. It's a moment of focus where the fan actually feels like the actor sees and understands them. Not every convention guest has mastered the technique, so the comfort level of the guest is certainly variable.

I think that for most of them, they're completely OK with it. They're just working -- plying the trade that has brought them success. Part of being an actor is being able to turn off personal embarrassment. They do things on stage and in films that would make any of us die from embarrassment. For them, it's just the job.

I have seen things at conventions that made me feel uncomfortable. It generally comes from that small percentage of fandom that doesn't have sufficient filters in place on their behavior. There are a few fans who mistake that moment of personal focus in the photo shoot for a real connection and then think they have some real claim on the actor.

But for the most part, I think convention guests just take the photo shoot for one more way to earn a living.