Where The Geeks Are

In my last post, I made the case that a science fiction convention isn’t really all that different from any other gathering involving people in a close-knit hobby or shared interest. Now I will cover some things that are fairly unique to the sf convention community.

Costuming

This is the stuff that makes the evening news and newspaper articles. In actuality, probably less than 10% of the attendees ever wear a costume. The real uniform is a tee shirt with a clever geeky inside joke on it. My favorite was “Han Shot First” in a Star Wars-ish font. Costuming, or cosplay, is much more prevalent at j-pop conventions like Otakon, which I got dragged to by my son back in September. The costumes at Balticon were usually very good and, for females at least, tending towards things with wings. I did not get a picture, but one guy had a dead-on Jack Sparrow outfit.

Star Trek is unfairly associated with science fiction in the general public’s mind. William Shatner’s great Saturday Night Live skit pretty much sums up the general perception of pimply virgins dressed in Vulcan drag. However, Star Trek as a cultural force is on the wane. A poster for a more media-related convention, Shore Leave 28, features mostly actors from the Stargate franchise. The whole time I was at Balticon, I only saw one Starfleet uniform, although Klingons were out in force.

I will go out on a limb and say that Firefly/Serenity is the current milieu of choice for costumers. Something about a sharp dressed Browncoat reeks of cool, at least by science fiction convention standards. The local fanclub chapter had a booth and there was both a stage play and a radio drama centered around the Firefly universe.

Masquerade

The pinnacle of the costuming track is the Masquerade, which is a standing room only event where costumers are judged fashion-show style. The judging is divided into experience classes and is a whole geek sub-culture all of its own. This year’s Balticon had a much stronger Masquerade than I expected. The showstopper was the seven foot tall Minotaur.

I was lucky enough to upgrade to an aisle seat for shooting pictures, but even with a zoom lens, the judges’ heads and the fast pace of some of the skits played havoc with my autofocus. I’ve put the less fuzzy pictures on my Flickr site if you want to see more.

Gaming

Card and board gaming is a big feature at science fiction conventions. Some of the games have only a passing connection to science fiction. Popular ones include Settlers of Cataan, Munchkin, and anything that can be described as “Risk, but way more realistic.”

The gaming room also tends to be the most fragrant room at the convention. Some of the players get so involved in their games, they tend to neglect basic hygiene. Some cons post the 6-2-1 rule, which loosely paraphrased says:

• Get six hours of sleep a night. Most events don’t start until 10 am, so that’s plenty of shuteye even if you party or game most of the night.
• Eat at least two meals a day. The snacks in the con suite don’t count. It has to be something that you have to sit down for.
• Take at least one shower a day. That’s per DAY, not Convention. If you wear a costume, even more often is better.

Unfortunately the shower rule is often more honored in the breach.

Parties

We didn’t have a room and just daytripped in, but after-hours is when the real socializing begins. Room parties are very common and a great way to relax and cadge free snacks. I think they are technically supposed to be dry, but a lot of hosts have a bottle or two of Romulan Ale tucked away if you ask. I feel sorry for any innocent bystanders staying at the hotel, but I’m sure the staff tries to book the larger groups together.

Groups vying for a Worldcon bid will throw parties to drum up support. A lot of parties have a theme around a show or book. These parties, as lame as they sound, are where the real interaction takes place and you can meet very interesting people. At one con, I found myself talking to a teenager with bright blue hair about the meth problem in rural Maryland.

There are a lot of other things that I haven’t talked about such as filking and LARPing that are too dorky for me to even describe adequately. Not that I should judge. Afterall, I’m on the same side of the zoo fence as they are.

In summary, science fiction conventions are not for everyone. I have been to five, which gives me a laminated lifetime membership in the Geek Club to the rest of the world, but in the SF con world, I barely qualify as a dilettante. A lot of things about convention attendees skew the standard deviation curve the same direction. SF fans do tend to me smarter and more engaged than the general public, but there are plenty of things to roll your eyes at as well. If you get a chance, give one a try. It at least gives something to talk about for years to come.

Blatant Comment Whoring™: What's the dorkiest event or activity you have been involved with and would you do it again?