I dressed up as a Shadowhunter from the Mortal Instruments series, and the highlight of my day was when a young girl hurled herself into my arms and yelled, "SHADOWHUNTER! Can I please take a picture? Can I?" She was near tears in her excitement. I was thrown off guard a little bit, and then I was flattered. And then I began to think about how this fan culture has emerged from our digital culture. I think that a big reason for these followings is that people can stay at home watching and/or reading their favorite science fiction or fantasy series, and then they can engage in a discussion about it without even leaving their homes. They can join a whole network of people who do the same thing. These conventions allow them to express their dedication to a series in a setting where these networks cross paths and interact. It seems to not matter as much where your loyalties lie and what series you choose to follow, but instead the fact that you have loyalties, that you participate in the digital culture this way and take part and contribute to virtual fandom.
Below are some pictures from Comic Con.
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The William Shatner Panel
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Some of the most elaborate costumes I saw
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Comic Con: the convention floor. Vendors from every series imaginable.
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Series that we represented in our group alone: The Mortal Instruments, Harry Potter, Star Wars, Batman, and Naruto
How did the types of connection that you felt differ between fellow fans online and those you encountered at the in-person conference?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I heard from all my friends who went, Comic con was pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteI am not personally engaged too much in the online presence, but I have observed connections between fans. It seems that online, there is a lot more room and opportunity to comment and discuss. We get things like fanfiction, where fans are writing and reading fiction about fiction, but it works because it is all about characters that they have come to love. At Comic Con, there were more barriers because there were social and societal constraints. Some people took pictures with me, but that was the extent of the encounter. The picture taking reminded me of our online personas: if they could post a picture with a shadowhunter, then it would add to their online identity. Aside from that, my interactions were more often than not subtle acknowledgments. I'd pass by people and get a nod or a thumbs up, and I knew that they were part of my circle. Had I talked to more people, I think I would have discovered that the culture was similar to the online culture because they want to discuss issues and characters from the series. But I also think that digital culture has become our primary source of interaction when it comes to fantasy and science fiction because of the ability to gives fans to engage with the author and each other to expand the worlds found in the series. I found that people are generally more open online than in person.
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