I seem to have stumbled into a big discussion about why science-fiction conventions are fading while comic book conventions are thriving. Here are just two messages that readers of this blog have sent me, starting with this from Ronn Roxburgh…
I went to my first SCFI convention this past summer. It was in my local city and the cast of Battlestar Galactica was going to be there so I had to go as I have been a fan since the original series. I can tell you that I felt very out of place there as I got the feeling most of the attendees followed the cast around from show to show to the point of being kinda creepy!
The cast smiled and pointed many of them out during the Q&A but it seemed somewhat forced like a hostage to their captor. I 100% agree with it being cliquish, and not being inviting to someone like myself. That will most likely be my first and last SIFI con. I will stick to the comic conventions where I don't get the cultish feelings I got at the SIFI con.
Interesting. And it ties in with some of what Bill Roper said in his long (but interesting) message…
I've been to a few comic book conventions, although not recently, and I have been running science fiction conventions since 1979. I've been working on Windycon, our large local SF convention, for 40 years. Eek!
You are absolutely correct about some of the SF conventions being distinctly cliquish and there are a lot of us who are trying to work on that problem. It's a difficult one. I have argued for years that fans who come to a general-interest SF con are all there for the particular thing that gives them joy and that they are worthy of respect. Keeping the factions in line who believe that, for instance, the written word is the only worthy thing can be a challenge.
Another part of the problem is that fandom became large enough that there was room to carve off conventions for specific interests: comics, movies, anime, cosplay, filk, furries. If those groups are getting more joy for their dollar by going to their specific interest gatherings, then getting them to attend a general-interest SF con where you are constantly having to push back against the cliquish folks is really hard. But we continue to work on the problem of being welcoming and attracting a younger crowd, because the sensible folk among us (I can say that because that's my position) recognize that is the path forward that doesn't lead to extinction.
There are people who would prefer extinction. They don't make things easier.
The whole thing was exacerbated by COVID. Not only did this knock the conventions out for at least a year, but they also resulted in greatly reduced attendance subsequently. Part of this is because the fandom at general-interest SF conventions skews old and is in the higher risk group when they contract COVID. Part of this is because of the continuing mask wars.
Most of the world has concluded that mask wearing is unnecessary, but if someone wants to wear a mask, well, knock yourself out and try to wear one that is effective. This is not true of SF fandom, which continues to fight a war over masking at conventions. I will have been to three conventions this year by the end of the upcoming weekend. One required masking, although the folks on the concom had concluded that the policy was useless. One did not seem to say anything about masking. The one this weekend "encourages" masking and says that there will be some events where masking is required.
My wife has a number of health problems that make it difficult to walk and make it a lot more exertion than she'd prefer. When she's trying to breathe through a mask, she has difficulty getting enough air to keep going. (Any form of exertion while breathing through a mask is difficult; I found this out while pitching batting practice for a girls' softball team. Yes, I was wearing a mask on the pitchers mound. Yes, this was a stupid rule and we eventually decided that I could just take off the mask while on the mound.) You can imagine how much she wants to be at a convention that requires masking.
There are a lot of people who think that masking is a bad idea. They are counter-balanced by the people who believe that we all need to mask because COVID (or the flu, or some other airborne disease) will kill or cripple us all if we don't maintain basic masking protocols for the rest of time. No matter what your convention decides to do about masking, there will be some percentage of the too-small number of people who came to your convention pre-COVID who will decide not to attend because of your policy. It's a problem.
Not that I'm an expert on the transmission of respiratory contaminations — I write silly stuff for a living — but I would think that any discussion of masking has to take into account the quality of the masks. Some are better than others. This one is the one my physician recommended to me and it's the one I've recommended here. (Another doctor I discussed this with said, "If you're selecting your mask with any consideration of how it looks on you, you're probably going to wind up with a pretty useless mask.")
For what it's worth, I've attended two WonderCons and four Comic-Cons since the peak of COVID. I always have one of those masks with me and I don it when I'm in the most crowded situations, meaning unmasked people close around me. I'm not sure it's the reason I've never had COVID but it might be. At all those cons, I encountered people who got it but not many.
I think it should always be your option and you shouldn't be pressured to ditch it or restricted because you opt to play it safer. I remember a news clip with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis literally yanking masks off others' faces and saying "You don't need that stupid thing" and I think that's one of the most assholish, oughta-be-a-crime things I've ever seen.
That said, it hadn't occurred to me that masks were a factor in convention attendance. I'm sure you're right and thanks for mentioning it. You too, Ronn.