(no subject)

[shadowkat]

liz_marcs links to a really wonderful essay by Wil Wheaton of Star Trek the Next Generation fame about fan conventions.


Here: http://suicidegirls.com/news/geek/22107/

I have to admit - I don't understand why people go to fan conventions. It sounds like pure hell to me. Crowds. Noise. Lectures. Long Lines. But, I don't understand going to regular conventions either. I avoid going like the plague - and I have an organization I joined a while back in which I probably should try and go to a few conventions with, because you know, NETWORKING! But, ack, convention. Would rather go to the dentist personally - for me the dentist isn't that bad, just basic cleaning no cavitis, but still.. Why pay money and vacation time to do something I hate? No thank you. But I know people who love the things, adore them. Boggles my mind. Just have to jot it down as one of those things I don't understand and leave it at that.

Comments

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

I also hate crowds and noise... but I do enjoy conventions (so long as I have a single room I can escape to when I'm tired and need to get away from the crowds and noise). What I love is:
1. meeting people I've liked online in RL (like talimama and biffsbabe
2. getting see favorite writers/actors speak: I can certainly understand people who don't really care about meeting actors & writers, but I do get a huge kick out of it, particularly when someone is a good speaker with something to say. It isn't as good as seeing an actor in a play, but it is a performance of a kind, and most of the writers I've seen really have interesting things to say.
3. participating in silliness like dressing up in costume

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I understand number 1 - although the Atpo board meetups made more sense to me - they'd go to Toronto or Lake Tahoe or NYC, visit, discuss the shows,
see the sights.

Two and Three? I don't understand. But that has a lot to do with the fact that I just don't enjoy doing those things. Dressing up in costume, I stopped liking a few years back. I loved it in the theater but never really outside of the theater. Never understood the people who did it for the Renaissance Fairs.(Not judging it, just don't understand the desire to do it.) And like I stated above, don't enjoy lectures or Q&A's. Don't mind reading them though or listening to them on television. I think the reason is the same one for live music - I can't hear it as well when it is live. The background noise interfers or I miss things the people say. While when I read a transcript or can listen on tv - I can flip back or hear it better.

It's hard to explain to people who love going to seminars and lectures and live concerts and love dressing up. They don't understand why some of us really don't enjoy it. It's like me and my brother - he hates plays or musicals but adores live concerts. I hate live concerts and adore plays and musicals.

I think Wil Wheaton does a good job of explaining why people love conventions.

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

oh yes I meant to thank you for bringing the link to Wil Wheaton's blog over here, I would never have read it on my own and I really did enjoy reading it a lot. I had seen him at Tom Lenk's one man show (I think that that was January 2005). Wil Wheaton attends a lot of stuff, as a fan (it was too bad he was shut out of the Futurama panel at Comic con, because I was inside the auditorium and there were plenty of empty seats, the organizers made a huge mistake for that and Joss' panel in keeping people out while there was still a lot of room inside).

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

There's a couple of guests or celebrity speakers at cons who get the fans, because they themselves used to do it and enjoyed it.

Nathan Fillion
James Marsters
Tom Lenk
and Wil Wheaton

are the ones that I know of. All also have another thing in common, they've had to really struggle for roles. It hasn't come as easy for them and some of the others - not that it is ever easy, more by degrees, like just about everything in life. But what I like about those four is they are fairly humble about it. They haven't gotten big-headed as far as I can tell. Particularly impressed with Fillion - who went back to attend the 10,000th episode airing celebration of One Life to Live - he even agreed to appear in two episodes, and it's not like he isn't busy. He's been added as a new regular to Desperate Housewives (TV Guide was the source).
It's that sort of attitude that is rare in this arena.

Wheaton is right - it's all fine and well for someone like me to joke about fan conventions, but not for someone like Patrick Stewart or William Shatner or Brent Spiner, those guys careers are paid for by their fans.
If it weren't for fans, actors wouldn't get the salaries they do. Anymore than baseball players would. It's a bit like biting the hand that feeds you.