World Fantasy Con, Day 3
Saturday, 29 Oct 2011
The morning started with a great breakfast meeting. (Yes, there are great breakfast meetings, even for me.) About 25-30 members of the online writing group Codex members assembled at the Trellises restaurant for a low-key and laid-back breakfast.
Later, I went to a panel moderated by Guy Gavriel Kay, called If wishes were horses: Faustian bargains, Genies, and Monkey Paws, a discussion about warning stories for people who make wishes and modern retellings of these. The basic theme of such stories is "Careful what you wish for, for you may get it." Liz Gorinsky said you didn't see these kinds of stories that much because modern stories tend to be more oriented to a hero who does things, rather than cautionary tales. Kay suggested a parallel with the author's journey: First you wish to finish a book, then when you do that, you hope to get an agent (and that's another struggle); then you wish that a publisher buys the book; then you wish that it succeeds... the moving goalpost is an example of the frustration that accompanies succeeding at that first wish. Other ideas discussed:
Later on, I went to The Lands of Islam panel, a discussion of the Middle East in fiction. Na'amen Tilamun talked about "othering" - exoticization and demonization -- these locales and people are often used as a strange place with stereotypical traits. Disney's Alladdin came up, with a discussion of how it's established certain tropes. Someone also mentioned a much earlier film, Kismet. Deborah talked Muslim tolerance: Moorish Iberia from the 8th to 12th centuries was a place where Jews were respected as People of the Book; though they paid extra taxes, they lived otherwise peaceful lives. But in 1492, Christian Spain expelled their Jewish populations; in 1497, Portugal did the same. Back then, Christians were the barbarians. Na'amen talked of queer poetry from the same era, where the "white gazelle" was code for a gay lover. Some suggested readings: A Mosque among the Stars; Muslims in My Monitor (in fact, anything by Saladin Ahmed).
Some time during the day, I encountered Don Clary of the balloon sculptures. He said a ConCom member had asked him not to wear his balloon crowns at the Con because it's not a costume type of Con, more business-like. But he did have the sculpture he'd made, something that looked like a series of buckyballs and willingly posed in the courtyard.
I attended two more panels, back to back. Out of the Broom Closet: Integrating Magicians and Fantastic Creatures into society (at 8 p.m.) followed by The Not-so-Fair Folk at 9 p.m. (As I write this, I realize I seem to have a strong fairy tale bias!)
Then I went off to the parties - there were three happening simultaneously, and the corridor was like one long party where you could duck in and out of various party rooms. I chatted with a lot of people, and then lucked into a long, very interesting conversation with Eileen Gunn, who of course I've heard of but hadn't met before. Kater joined us after a while, and I don't quite know where the time went. It was past 2 a.m. when I got back to my room.
The morning started with a great breakfast meeting. (Yes, there are great breakfast meetings, even for me.) About 25-30 members of the online writing group Codex members assembled at the Trellises restaurant for a low-key and laid-back breakfast.
Later, I went to a panel moderated by Guy Gavriel Kay, called If wishes were horses: Faustian bargains, Genies, and Monkey Paws, a discussion about warning stories for people who make wishes and modern retellings of these. The basic theme of such stories is "Careful what you wish for, for you may get it." Liz Gorinsky said you didn't see these kinds of stories that much because modern stories tend to be more oriented to a hero who does things, rather than cautionary tales. Kay suggested a parallel with the author's journey: First you wish to finish a book, then when you do that, you hope to get an agent (and that's another struggle); then you wish that a publisher buys the book; then you wish that it succeeds... the moving goalpost is an example of the frustration that accompanies succeeding at that first wish. Other ideas discussed:
- "Wish" stories are about getting something for nothing.
- "Wish" stories were from an era in which socio-economic strata were more rigid, and "wishes" might represent the only hope of breaking out. So were such stories cautionary tales to support the status quo?
- Some stories reward those who don't actually seek fortune. So is the difference that the protag in the story actually makes a wish?
- Hollywood's "dream merchant" machine actually promotes the opposite story -- someone who just lucks into a good life.
- Is character a success factor in "wish" stories? (The humble kind character wins, the proud and nasty one loses.)
Later on, I went to The Lands of Islam panel, a discussion of the Middle East in fiction. Na'amen Tilamun talked about "othering" - exoticization and demonization -- these locales and people are often used as a strange place with stereotypical traits. Disney's Alladdin came up, with a discussion of how it's established certain tropes. Someone also mentioned a much earlier film, Kismet. Deborah talked Muslim tolerance: Moorish Iberia from the 8th to 12th centuries was a place where Jews were respected as People of the Book; though they paid extra taxes, they lived otherwise peaceful lives. But in 1492, Christian Spain expelled their Jewish populations; in 1497, Portugal did the same. Back then, Christians were the barbarians. Na'amen talked of queer poetry from the same era, where the "white gazelle" was code for a gay lover. Some suggested readings: A Mosque among the Stars; Muslims in My Monitor (in fact, anything by Saladin Ahmed).
Some time during the day, I encountered Don Clary of the balloon sculptures. He said a ConCom member had asked him not to wear his balloon crowns at the Con because it's not a costume type of Con, more business-like. But he did have the sculpture he'd made, something that looked like a series of buckyballs and willingly posed in the courtyard.
I attended two more panels, back to back. Out of the Broom Closet: Integrating Magicians and Fantastic Creatures into society (at 8 p.m.) followed by The Not-so-Fair Folk at 9 p.m. (As I write this, I realize I seem to have a strong fairy tale bias!)
Then I went off to the parties - there were three happening simultaneously, and the corridor was like one long party where you could duck in and out of various party rooms. I chatted with a lot of people, and then lucked into a long, very interesting conversation with Eileen Gunn, who of course I've heard of but hadn't met before. Kater joined us after a while, and I don't quite know where the time went. It was past 2 a.m. when I got back to my room.