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SF/media ones, to be specific. I just want to get something off my chest because all my friends are fully aware of my feelings toward conventions, and so I want to just vent.
I've been going to conventions since 1971, when I was 15. My very first convention was WorldCon in Boston. It felt wonderful to be around people like myself--those interested in science fiction and fantasy, and the great authors who wrote the books I was reading, like Isaac Asimov, Larry Niven, and others like them.
Most people, when they think of conventions, think of business related ones, where there is a boring lecturer and everyone is ready to fall asleep, and "dealers' rooms" are business showcases. Not so in the world of science fiction.
At SF conventions, the main goal is entertainment. Dealers' rooms have a lot of items such as books, fantasy items--pretty much any collectable that fans would want to have and willing to buy. At big conventions, there are art shows, where fantasy and SF artists show off some of their gorgeous artwork, authors or other guests discussing everything from writing SF and fantasy to building logical worlds which possibly could exist, based on the scientific evidence.
As I said, my first convention was in 1971, and the first author I ever met was Clifford Simak who wrote the SF classic, "City." I was thrilled beyond measure when I got to see the presentation of the Hugo Awards--the specific awards program for science fiction and fantasy writing associated with WorldCon. (There is another major award called the Nebula, but that isn't from the World Science Fiction Convention) Meeting people who had similar interests was wonderful--at school, I only had a couple of friends who were into science fiction, so it was satisfying to know I was "not alone" in my passions.
At that first WorldCon, I picked up some flyers for what would be the very first Star Trek Convention. It was going to be held in New York City less than a year away. (WorldCon traditionally is held over Labor Day, and the first ST cons in NYC were in February) I wanted so much to go, but it was not possible in the end. I kept track, though, and in 1973, during the Junior Class Trip, I got to go and meet the stars of Star Trek.
I attended every other one after that. These were put together by a science fiction group who participated in WorldCon and other, local SF conventions. They quit after 5 conventions, though, and that fueled my interest to stay as involved in science fiction circles as I could. I was spoiled--SF conventions were run by professions--those people who had been involved in fandom for a long time, and who could effortlessly (to me) put together a very fine assembly of authors, artists, media entertainers and more.
But there was a lot more. There were other kinds of SF conventions--or at least that's what they advertised. Except that these weren't real SF conventions, but comic book shows. Comic book shows were mainly filled (obviously) with comic book fans, whose interest in real SF and fantasy was peripheral at best. There were a lot of people who enjoyed both interest groups, though, and a duo of comic book fans began to have monthly comic book shows and start inviting media guests to attract more people.
These "conventions" never featured the rich details of a REAL convention. There was no loving design for convention name badges, there was never a showcase of SF artists in an art room, there were sporadic (at best) film/TV rooms to see films and TV episodes, there were hardly ever discussions or panels to go to, and most of all, there was little to no programming at all. You paid your money, they stamped your hand, and welcome to the "convention."
Unfortunately, these latter type groups began to proliferate. Real SF conventions were still held at their traditional time and place, and I attended as many as I could along the Atlantic Seaboard. But the comic book shows were still growing, and often had guests that were too expensive for the regular fan run conventions. In fact, Boskone, the main SF convention in Boston, began to grow and expand with many media fans, with a convention attendance of one Boskone in the early 1980s of 8000 fans.
Boskone began to split into two groups--those who were SF fans, and another group of people mostly interested in media SF.
For some reason, media SF fans were more hyper than regular SF fans. During that one convention with 8000 fans, I guess there was some damage done to the hotel, and Boskone was held responsible.
But as a result of that, media SF comic book conventions began to thrive. It wasn't the same principle as a regular convention--these "shows" were mostly taken in in a day only, with little to no people staying overnight. There was little beyond a humongous dealers' room and one main programming track, and no there was no real gathering of fans like at a traditional convention.
The one group that came to Boston was the idea of two people, Gary Berman and Adam Malin. They called their group, Creation. The club I was involved with at the time had their own convention, too, though it was more of a party weekend than a regular convention, and as a group we started to attend these Creation cons. The problem was, however, that Creation was hostile to other conventions, and didn't allow anyone to advertise their own conventions at the Creation shows. And with little to no other tracks, our group created its own entertainment, but we felt somewhat repressed as well, considering how much money we all paid for the convention. We also felt cheated because of the lack of other options at the "convention" that we were at. In essence, it was mainly a comic book convention, with some media guest stars to attract SF fans.
Well, over twenty years later, the divide still exists, except Creation has won. WorldCon is still held, and has upwards of 10,000 fans gathering for it. Local conventions are still held, like Boskone and its media cousin, Arisia. Other conventions of a literary nature are still held, but they are far and few between. The only very large media conventions (other than Creation) are Shore Leave, DragonCon, San Diego ComicCon (which is less an actual comic book convention than a regular media convention) and LosFas in L.A.
But Creation indeed flourished, and continued to cheat SF fans over the period of their continued existence. Nowadays, they are able to throw these "spectacular" conventions with several different "A" list of guests for which media fans will pay beau-coup bucks to see.
Essentially, Creation made it so that smaller conventions could not afford to hire big name guests because they became overpriced, and the Creation cons were slick "gate shows" with little to offer but costing a small fortune.
And so, the majority of small, intimate media conventions began to suffer badly, and the guest lists were soon depleted of guests that would attract fans. The small conventions were soon in the throes of bankruptcy or non-existence.
And now, in the present, Creation conventions dominate the landscape. They charge upwards of $500 at some of their conventions, and they now have "tiered" pricing--the more media guests you want to see will cost you that much more. Big, impersonal and slick attitudes are their traditional motif, and if you don't like it, fuck you.
It makes someone like myself totally bummed out, seeing the real, fan run convention dwindle and die because of a group of assholes who corrupted SF convention fandom.
I think for me, that I'm now a dinosaur. Once upon a time, a long time ago, I protested the Creation cons on a board and I got someone who pretty much said she went to Creation cons because they had the guests that other conventions didn't, and she had no interest in anything else. Perhaps it was just me, but that seemed like a hollow and shallow comment, and I never brought up the subject again.
Now, too, the regular SF conventions have felt the media fever generated by these big "SF Creation cons" and have raised their prices as well. It's now not so easy to afford conventions at all, and going to one is sporadic at best.
I hate the Creation cons. They have spoiled what was a pleasurable source of entertainment, and brought an end to a sanctuary for those of us who were often alone in the world because of our "differences." Many people nowadays will never be able to make it to a regular convention and enjoy the feeling of being part of something larger, something that covered the entire globe, and made them feel less lonely.
I guess it's time for me to come into the present and dwell on reality of now. SF fans are going to find themselves with fewer places to gather, and if they have an interest in media SF, they better prepare themselves for the reality of a convention where crowd control and lack of breathing room are now the norm.
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