Dragon*Con and a reality check

Posted 9/09/2009 by coelder in Labels: , , ,

After a watching a few robot battles, attending a talk on facial molding in horror films, failing at defining flinking, and attending the results of a quirky film festival, I realized I hadn’t learned nearly as much about the Dragon*Con culture as I had hoped. I did however come to the conclusion that there was no way I could.

I was an outsider with no way to feel the electricity. The convention was not a place for outsiders to come in and become, for a weekend, “one of the guys.” If you did not have a specific interest, knowledge, and passion for one of the 30 subject matters at Dragon*Con, it was much more difficult to buy into the culture and excitement. After going to many art festivals, concerts, and music gatherings on the whim of “why not go?” I thought it would be simple to flow into the energy. I could not have been more wrong.

Going into Dragon*Con, I thought it would be entirely about the people watching, the fantastic art, and the energy surrounding new releases. Those were important, but more so were the relationships between strangers who have such devoted passion for their specific interests. May it be for Joss Whedon and his “Whedonverse” or the plethora of skeptics, the world inside Dragon*Con nurtures those who nurture and care for it. I, along with my day tripping companion, could not offer anything to stimulate the discussion, add to the jokes, or commiserate with the growth of a culture.

However, this is ok.

If you desire to be a part of the community and contribute it takes effort. Effort, just like taking the time to read music blogs to find new tunes, memorizing NFL depth charts for fantasy league success, and watching crappy reality TV to hold a conversation with your teenage cousin. Time and energy bring you into a community.

As we stepped back into the car to head home, we looked at each other and we both knew what we were about to ask, “Would we do this again?”

Absolutely.

But we knew we needed to read about flinking, participate in LARPs, watch Buffy, and plan out which events were a priority. Until then, we should not expect the return of energy and joy that the Dragon*Con folk have come to expect.

0 comment(s) to... “Dragon*Con and a reality check”

0 comments:


Free Blog Counter