–or is it? Maybe it’s just my imagination, but does the fandom seem as though it’s passing through something of a lull recently? Does it seem strangely calm out there to anyone else all of a sudden?
This weekend I attended Necronomicon, Tampa FL’s annual SF/fantasy/horror convention. There was plenty going on, as always; panels and movies and gaming and costume contests, and everybody seemed to be having a good time, myself included.
And yet… something seemed different this time around, but I couldn’t quite figure out what it was until the Masquerade. As in previous years, there was a remarkably varied spectrum of talent on display; many costumes were entirely original creations, while others depicted various characters from books, films, video games and such. Generally speaking, the popularity of a current book, film or TV series is roughly reflected by the number of costumes paying homage to it. At least that’s how it’s always seemed to work in the past.
This year, though, out of 40 or so contestants, no work of science fiction or fantasy, past or present, was depicted by more than one contestant-- with two exceptions that I can recall: the anime series Hellsing inspired two Alucards, and the children’s costume category featured two Hermiones and one Harry Potter. (Note to Harry: someday you’ll understand why your attempt to mime riding a broomstick inspired so much laughter from the audience.) Of course, all three kids were introduced with the exact same music, that annoying whirly twinkly passage that begins all the movie trailers. I suppose it’s intended to suggest wonder and magicalness, but to me it sounds more like the cue for a flashback sequence on General Hospital. Not John Williams’ finest work, in my opinion… but I digress. Anyhoo…
The new **Battlestar Galactica ** had one entry. Joss Whedon’s entire career was represented by one green-faced demon in a zoot suit-- who, I must say, did a dynamite job of lip-synching “Mack the Knife.” Lord of the Rings? Nothing. The Babylon 5 franchise? Nothing.
And the titans are finally dead. After decades of overshadowing the competition by sheer numbers, the dueling colossi have both suddenly gone whimpering into an embarrassed oblivion. There was not a single **Star Trek ** character in the masquerade, and the single representative of the **Star Wars ** franchise was a 9-year old kid wearing a nylon cloak over his street clothes while halfheartedly waving a telescoping plastic light sword.
I should add that this absence extended even to the convention panels and the hall costumes, although it didn’t really register until after the masquerade made it apparent. There were no wandering Starfleet officers; there were no stormtroopers. I spent the better part of a weekend at a science fiction convention, and I did not see a single Klingon.
For whatever reason, there seemed to be a relative absence of obsessive devotion to any one franchise this year. Honestly, I can’t say that I missed it much. It was interesting to attend panels on creative writing that didn’t eventually turn into passionately partisan debates on the literary merits of J.K. Rowling, or horror panels which didn’t automatically assume **The X-Files ** as a starting point.
Am I wrong about this, or has anyone else noticed a weird lack of monomania in the air lately? Is it because the Serenity movie is finally out in theaters, or because the Alien finally fought Predator, or what? And how long can we expect it to last?
