Cultural Phenomenon: Fan Conventions

I figured that since I just attended one and I will be going to two others, I figured now would be a great time to discuss the cultural phenomenon that is convention-going/conventions in general. They are basically a gathering (usually at a hotel or convention center) of people that contain panels, booths and other kind of events related to that topic. Topics can range from broad like modern-day Comic-con (covering books, movies, TV and of course comic books) or can just cover a specific genre or specific media (Walker-Stalker Con, CapClave, etc).

Conventions have become super popular as they bring a huge nostalgia/community factor. They are a great way to see people like voice actors from your favorite childhood character or television star. They become three-day hubs that encompass everything involving popular culture and they are great ways to meet new people and experience new things. With the increasing popularity of shows and movies like Game of Thrones and everything Marvel, I feel like this community will grow even larger and over-the-top than it already is. My dream is to go to San Diego Comic-Con, but it involves so much planning and luck (in getting a ticket and hotels) that it's nearly impossible unless you're a celebrity or press.

Personally I think conventions are a great way to put yourself around people with similar interests that you're not normally around. It's kind of this big community where everyone was made fun of for being nerdy and those people can all come together and feel comfortable. For specific cons, it's nice to not have to worry about spoilers. For example, at work I have to stay mum about anything that doesn't touch on the current episode (or past ones) so it will be nice to go to Ice & Fire Con (all about Game of Thrones/ASOIAF) and be able to talk about all of the spoilers and theories. I recently embraced being a nerd so it's nice to meet other people and not have to worry about if they think I'm weird for fangirling out after meeting GRRM or something.

Another thing that has greater driven convention popularity is the advent of cosplay (costume-play: where people dress up as their favorite characters). People really go above and beyond with their creativity with cosplay and it's really cool to see it in person.This past weekend, I saw a girl in a Candy Crush costume (alliteration win!) which was really creative and fun. The show Heroes of Cosplay on Syfy (ugh I miss the old spelling Sci-Fi) shows the enormity of the culture. I going to start dressing up and I even have some ideas for wishlist cosplay which include a Weeping Angel (from Doctor Who) and Princess Jasmine (of course, haha). All of these are reasons why cons are such a great and unique experience to go though.