Question on Cons, and CFP: Film (HP & LOTR)

[slashpine]

Questions for my Flist:

1. These HP cons -- Terminus, Portus, Phoenix Rising, etc. Do I want to go to one or more of them?
Be aware that I am nearly as dweeby as I write. That is, not a teenager and fairly academic by nature. Ugh, I sound like schoolmarm!Hermione. Actually, I have many friends under 20 (and over 50) and am considered by all and

Comments

[slashpine]

Ooh, thanks!

I'm getting flooded right now from PCA, ACA, NCA -- glurk, everything with "communication" or "culture" in their name!

Which seems rather appropriate, actually :-)

What about LOTR - haven't you done a lot at aca. conferences with that? (Text more than film, I assume.) Do you know of any significant drawbacks to presenting on pop culture or media culture at a not-exclusively-academic conference?

[featherofeeling]

Where did you see Phoenix Rising described as in Chicago this summer? Terminus is, and it's hosted by the people who did Phoenix Rising last summer (Narrate Conferences), but I'm fairly certain that nobody would do a repeat of it. That said, you should go to Terminus! I know of more people who are going to be there, and Narrate Conferences did an amazing, really together job last summer--I've heard this from fans who have been to many cons before, too. I found the blend of academic and fan-fun to be perfect, with lots of room to do what you want and a happy mingling of the academic and fannish.

Also, I did Nia once and loved it--your idea sounds amazing! :D

[slashpine]

Someone sent me something... *looks, can't find* - is that wrong? It was pretty partial.

So you're saying, what *was* PR this year will be (more or less?) Terminus in Chicago? That would be cool.

Doh, I'm so confused. I'm used to science-type academic conferences that never even *have* names, let alone change them: Like SSSA or SAA or SSSS, which is enough to get anyone confused...

Thanks totally for the rec on Terminus! I have a month to think up an interesting paper proposal...

Ah - the NIA! Tell me, would you do HP NIA? Would you go to it at a conference?

[featherofeeling]

Oops, meant to use this icon.

So you're saying, what *was* PR this year will be (more or less?) Terminus in Chicago? That would be cool.
Exactly! It seems to have the exact same website layout and general programming format, with a different name. (That way, fans can post about the cons afterward and find out who others are by asking who went to Lumos or The Witching Hour or Prophecy and be able to tell them apart more easily, I'm thinking.)

I agree with pir8fancier below about there being too many tracks at PR, but it did mean that the conference easily accomodated many corners of fandom. I waited to board my flight home with two other attendees. We'd all gone to a lot of programming and loved it, but when we started talking, it came out that I hadn't been to a single session that they'd been to, and they hadn't really noticed the presence of slash at the con! We came for very different things and all left happy, which attests to the organizing, in my opinion

[featherofeeling]

Ack! Sorry for the multiple comments!

[pir8fancier]

Did attend PR in New Orleans. Am thinking of attending Terminus in Chicago. I did not attend Prophecy (the people who run Portus). At the last minute I requested to teach a workshop on writing at PR but was turned down in a very polite and wonderful way because the programming was being sent to the printers. On the whole, I found PR pretty well run. Lots and lots of academic-themed presentations, I think you'd fit right in. the quibbles I had? Believe it or not, TOO many tracks. It tended to splinter the audience. You had presentations in ballrooms that could have held 200 people and 40 people showed up. This was not a reflection on what was being presented, but just the wealth of tracks (I think there were 8). I would limited it to 6 and have better attendence. There is nothing more demoralizing than have a dynamite presentation and have it heard by only 30% of the available audience. Vendor room at PR wasn't great. Books by a keynote speaker were NOT available for sale. Neither were books by other authors who were presenters. Sloppy

[slashpine]

Ooh, thanks for the info!

Terminus is sounding good. I had better start thinking which scribble meta I'd like to work up to submit

[pir8fancier]

Read treewishes response below. There is a DEFINITE schizophrenic quality to these cons. At PR, you had Henry Jenkins talking about convergence culture and then in the halls people talking about boy butt sex. At LUMOS there were a lot of kids, and for some reason Ginny Weasley lovers took over and there were far too many presentations on Ginny Weasley for my taste. And the one panel I was really interested in, on Sirius Black, was cancelled. The larger the kid contingent (and I think this was a factor at LUMOS because of the stellar pool situation in Las Vegas and New Orleans is not a place that I would first think to take my kids) the more vanilla the presentations seem to be. The slashers tend to stay underground. Unlike Escapade from what I've heard. I'm seriously thinking of going to that. Slash is tolerated (and PR had at least three slash panels), but it's certainly NOT mainstream. And Emma Grant was booed at Prophecy when she mentioned slash

[slashpine]

At PR, you had Henry Jenkins talking about convergence culture and then in the halls people talking about boy butt sex.

Wait, isn't boy butt sex a result of convergence? ;-)

Ginny lovers: Hah! OMG what if I go to Terminus and its all about the happily-ever-after how big were their families? o_O I can't believe booing Emma Grant! I'd be booing back! (And after teaching college for 5 years, I have a very quelling glare.)

Well... >sigh< As I said up-thread, I would actually welcome one (and probably only one) con that's mobbed by classic teen fans. Just to take all that in!

Hey ho, we'll see. I'm glad I posted the question 'cos you all have given me much more to think about! I feel like I can actually tell them apart a bit better now, and also understand some of the specific pro's and con's to consider. Time to prepare and especially, money and time to travel, will be the ultimate deciding factors. But OMG if I know I could meet some of my flist and favorite writers and artists? wheeee!

[treewishes]

Phoenix Rising was so last year... ;) The only two large-ish cons coming up are Terminum and Portus. I can't go to Terminus and after butting my head against the HPEF wall at Lumos and Prophecy, I doubt I'll go to Portus.

There are academic-style papers at both, and there is an opportunity to get into some sort of proceedings, but (in my opinion ONLY), the academic stuff is window dressing on top of a fan con. If you want to present a real paper and have academic discussion, I think there are much better venues elsewhere. That's not to say I haven't seen some excellent presentations at TWH, Lumos, and yes, even Portus, but that's a small side focus of the event and if I were an academic, I'd go to a conference where the academic part was the focus.

Now, if you want to go to the thinking fan's slash con, I can highly recommend Escapade. Amazing levels of discussion across a variety of topics. No publication opportunities, but the free flow of ideas is wonderful. (Whereas I can get much better HP discussion on line rather than

[slashpine]

Oh, Escapade! I've seen people mention that - pretty happily, as I recall. Thanks for the link!

*pouts* can't make that date. But the next one, then!

Your thoughts on PR etc sound very astute. Academic on top of a fan con: yeah, that's what it looks like. Hmm. Must consider that.

OTOH, the whole fan frenzy experience would be incredible. I've never seen an HP hive, live! I'm in the middle of nowhere (really; that's the name on the map. It's a stone's throw past Idaho and a fur piece from anywhere.

I think I'm going to the Popular Culture/ American Culture meetings next spring. I imagine there will be some fandom scholarship there, maybe even HP. It seems to be cropping up in all kinds of fields. Fandom FTW.

[mary_j_59]

well, if you go to Terminus, you will be able to meet my sister and me, since we're performing on August 6 as the gringotts grrls. Yes, we have a wizard rock band! But, needless to say, our music isn't rock. Not really. It's celtic folk, if it's anything.

My sister is trying to persuade me to present a paper or else one of my stories there, too - she suggested this last one I wrote, and it is a tempting idea. I have never been to one of these things before, and am a little apprehensive -

[slashpine]

Your music sounds wonderful! I love celtic.

Your essay would be compelling. I've never been to anything like this either -- science fiction cons years ago with my brother, and for some years now, I've gone to academic conferences. But those are two totally different kinds of things. And an HP or fanficcer's con would be even more different again. But I'm thinking about it!