The (deliciously) shaky ground between conference and convention...
Whew. Long time no see. I have so much I'm dying to discuss...
-the "Twilight" kerfuffle: I finally caved and managed to claw my way through the first three books, and I think it might have been rougher than the time that mutant kid fought its way out of that Mary Sue's womb. *rimshot* Seriously, though, more thoughts once I actually read "Breaking Dawn" in the tentatively titled post, "Belle, Meet Bella: Or, Why Suzanne Can't Understand Why Fandom Won't Tolerate Mary Sues in Fanfic, But Will Build A Fandom Around Them" Does anyone on this flist actually *like* this series? Am I just romance lit. impaired? All snarkiness aside, I would like to understand the appeal.
-"Y: The Last Man," aka the comic that knocked me out on every level...viscerally, emotionally, academically. This hasn't happened to me in quite this way since I first read "Watchmen." I know I'm late to the party, but this deserves its own post, so in the meantime, some other bedside table reading: "Buffy season 8" (per usual),"Runaways" (late to that party too), "Locke and Key" (good stuff), "Gotham Central" (starting that one soon)...as always, recommendations always appreciated.
Okay, down to business. Terminus recap (or, really, muddled collection of impressions). This is the second Narrate event I've been heavily involved in (serving as Programming Chair for Phoenix Rising last year), and the 5th Harry Potter Symposium I've presented at and attended. These events have always been unique spaces where academics and fans converge (and aca-fans can disclose the latter half of their identity by presenting in a Slytherin uniform...yup, I have.)
This one was different.
I'm going to skip over the fannish elements of the weekend that I thoroughly enjoyed (Wrock Chicago, serving as Chancellor of Aeolian University, the Bon Voyage ball, Quidditch, etc.) because, as this is my aca-fan lj, I feel compelled to go a bit meta on the conference.
First, the demographic has shifted considerably, and there's no question this is directly connected to the growing popularity of Wizard Rock- this means young (despite the need for those under 18 to have a parent present, I have the sense that many a parent mysteriously apparated away after checking in), and more than a smattering of boys (prior conferences have been about 80-90% female). The interesting bit was that these were neither conference folk (or, at least, I rarely saw them at any of the academic programming) or convention folk (no cosplay, a disruption of the "safe" communal space of the con by a sense that certain fannish activities were being mocked for being "weird," etc.). I'm honestly not complaining, it just took me a bit by surprise, and seemed to be directly related to my second observation...
I have never been so aware of the Harry Potter fandom's star system until Terminus. The cult of celebrity surrounding wizard rock deserves further examination (that I started back at Phoenix Rising and will continue to discuss at SCMS this year *knock on wood*). I also had the pleasure of spending some time with both Melissa and Sue from The Leaky Cauldron, and saw the perpetual whirlwind that surrounds them. Don't get me wrong, they're both amazing women and exemplary members of the HP fan community, but at times their visibility made me wonder about the viability of a democratized/idealized "community" when factions are so clearly formed around certain people and modes of fan production. Of course, this is nothing new to fandom (there have always been "celebrities" within any given fandom, and they typically achieve that status through their contribution to the community, but it was strikingly visible nonetheless.
Perhaps both of these shifts are a product of a fandom aging, and the academics moving on to hipper pastures (see Skyler exception below) while the influx of new fans seek out the most visible members of the fandom and the most spectacular forms of fan production (specifically, those that traffic on social networking sites). I can say that for those of us who did seem to be there from the "old school" (there to wrock out and squee and connect with other fans, but also to present and attend presentations and engage in scholarly debate), and those who embraced the convention/conference space for the first time, it was a highly productive weekend. I was especially thankful to the wonderful attendees who woke up early to attend my paper "The Lockhart Paradox," which turned into a workshopping of the introduction of my dissertation. I also had a number of incredible conversations with my aca-fan bro Skyler Hijazi, whose paper on wank was completely inspiring and insightful. Plus, he donned robes with me all weekend, and his were bright purple with flowers, so he is the very definition of "good sport."
The spirited conversations with Skyler and others in the halls, and the suggestions and debate that followed my paper and my two panels completely reaffirmed how useful this space is for me as a scholar. I wish that more pop culture conferences would adopt this model, courting fans and scholars (or, as many of us have been kicking around, that a fan studies conference would adopt such a model, as it's beneficial for both groups). This is really collective intelligence at its best. If you're reading this and I met you at Terminus and/or I said I'd be in contact, I will be soon- the start of the semester this week has been keeping me busy.
As always, I'll follow the planning team for Narrate into the breach, and couldn't be more excited for them to be moving on to their next conference, Sirens. Hearing Tamora Pierce's amazing keynote really hit home, and the Narrate ladies are my heroines for their endless planning and patience.
-the "Twilight" kerfuffle: I finally caved and managed to claw my way through the first three books, and I think it might have been rougher than the time that mutant kid fought its way out of that Mary Sue's womb. *rimshot* Seriously, though, more thoughts once I actually read "Breaking Dawn" in the tentatively titled post, "Belle, Meet Bella: Or, Why Suzanne Can't Understand Why Fandom Won't Tolerate Mary Sues in Fanfic, But Will Build A Fandom Around Them" Does anyone on this flist actually *like* this series? Am I just romance lit. impaired? All snarkiness aside, I would like to understand the appeal.
-"Y: The Last Man," aka the comic that knocked me out on every level...viscerally, emotionally, academically. This hasn't happened to me in quite this way since I first read "Watchmen." I know I'm late to the party, but this deserves its own post, so in the meantime, some other bedside table reading: "Buffy season 8" (per usual),"Runaways" (late to that party too), "Locke and Key" (good stuff), "Gotham Central" (starting that one soon)...as always, recommendations always appreciated.
Okay, down to business. Terminus recap (or, really, muddled collection of impressions). This is the second Narrate event I've been heavily involved in (serving as Programming Chair for Phoenix Rising last year), and the 5th Harry Potter Symposium I've presented at and attended. These events have always been unique spaces where academics and fans converge (and aca-fans can disclose the latter half of their identity by presenting in a Slytherin uniform...yup, I have.)
This one was different.
I'm going to skip over the fannish elements of the weekend that I thoroughly enjoyed (Wrock Chicago, serving as Chancellor of Aeolian University, the Bon Voyage ball, Quidditch, etc.) because, as this is my aca-fan lj, I feel compelled to go a bit meta on the conference.
First, the demographic has shifted considerably, and there's no question this is directly connected to the growing popularity of Wizard Rock- this means young (despite the need for those under 18 to have a parent present, I have the sense that many a parent mysteriously apparated away after checking in), and more than a smattering of boys (prior conferences have been about 80-90% female). The interesting bit was that these were neither conference folk (or, at least, I rarely saw them at any of the academic programming) or convention folk (no cosplay, a disruption of the "safe" communal space of the con by a sense that certain fannish activities were being mocked for being "weird," etc.). I'm honestly not complaining, it just took me a bit by surprise, and seemed to be directly related to my second observation...
I have never been so aware of the Harry Potter fandom's star system until Terminus. The cult of celebrity surrounding wizard rock deserves further examination (that I started back at Phoenix Rising and will continue to discuss at SCMS this year *knock on wood*). I also had the pleasure of spending some time with both Melissa and Sue from The Leaky Cauldron, and saw the perpetual whirlwind that surrounds them. Don't get me wrong, they're both amazing women and exemplary members of the HP fan community, but at times their visibility made me wonder about the viability of a democratized/idealized "community" when factions are so clearly formed around certain people and modes of fan production. Of course, this is nothing new to fandom (there have always been "celebrities" within any given fandom, and they typically achieve that status through their contribution to the community, but it was strikingly visible nonetheless.
Perhaps both of these shifts are a product of a fandom aging, and the academics moving on to hipper pastures (see Skyler exception below) while the influx of new fans seek out the most visible members of the fandom and the most spectacular forms of fan production (specifically, those that traffic on social networking sites). I can say that for those of us who did seem to be there from the "old school" (there to wrock out and squee and connect with other fans, but also to present and attend presentations and engage in scholarly debate), and those who embraced the convention/conference space for the first time, it was a highly productive weekend. I was especially thankful to the wonderful attendees who woke up early to attend my paper "The Lockhart Paradox," which turned into a workshopping of the introduction of my dissertation. I also had a number of incredible conversations with my aca-fan bro Skyler Hijazi, whose paper on wank was completely inspiring and insightful. Plus, he donned robes with me all weekend, and his were bright purple with flowers, so he is the very definition of "good sport."
The spirited conversations with Skyler and others in the halls, and the suggestions and debate that followed my paper and my two panels completely reaffirmed how useful this space is for me as a scholar. I wish that more pop culture conferences would adopt this model, courting fans and scholars (or, as many of us have been kicking around, that a fan studies conference would adopt such a model, as it's beneficial for both groups). This is really collective intelligence at its best. If you're reading this and I met you at Terminus and/or I said I'd be in contact, I will be soon- the start of the semester this week has been keeping me busy.
As always, I'll follow the planning team for Narrate into the breach, and couldn't be more excited for them to be moving on to their next conference, Sirens. Hearing Tamora Pierce's amazing keynote really hit home, and the Narrate ladies are my heroines for their endless planning and patience.