What ever happened to having fun? Several people I have spoken to recently have expressed this concern in the geek world. Right now, as geekiness is the "in" thing, it seems more and more the rest of the world wants a piece of the action, and for those who just want to have fun and enjoy being the fans that we are, sometimes we run into things that dishearten us. One gal over at the Fans For Christ FB page expressed her sorrow that the media made out Comikazi this past weekend to have been a roaring success, when in fact she did not deem it to be so, as the crowds were smaller than in previous years, and the attendees were not the crowd of avid fans one would expect at a comic book convention. Matt Holden today even expressed on his FB page how people are forgetting how to have fun with cosplay, and and "the more involved with it I get, the more I feel cosplay is [losing] the plot... It doesn't seem enough to be a cosplayer anymore..." Even I myself was sad when, after spending so much time and energy into my Clara cosplay, next to no one knew that I was supposed to be her at NCComicon which I attended this weekend.
It took my husband and friends to remind me that attending the con is about having fun, not matter what. That's what it is all about, the experience and having fun. So why is it that people seem to have forgotten what cosplay and attending cons is all about?
Really when you look at the big picture, the reason why stares back at you with it's ugly face, and the sad part is that all of us have fed this monster in some why shape or form. The monster of marketing has finally got a hold firmly of the whole of the geek community, and over the years, we have gladly let it do so, not even seeing what evil plans it had in store for us. Society says being a geek is cool? Then the monster says let's give society geeky shirts, and bags, and pins, and mugs, and and....the list goes on and on. And we let it get this way because they are also selling it to us, which in many ways is not the real problem. When I was a kid, I had to find a specialty store that sold the geeky items that I was looking for. Now, I can walk into any Hot Topic or FYE and buy anything I'm looking for. And it's wonderful, really it is, but after a while, I think we have let it control us, because society then tells us why we are now acceptable or how we can make it more acceptable You see now shows like "Heroes of Cosplay" come out and tell geeks that we have to be competitive in order to be cool as a geek. "You want to be well known, right? Everyone wants to be recognized for what they do, you deserve it. Then fight to stay on top."
Then cons are created for the sake of jumping into this market, made to market for marketing sake. But now, hearing about Comikazi, I see that this will not be successful. Looking at the two cons I went to this year created by fans for fans that have only just started in the past five years or so, are the ones thriving and growing.
So I take a note from my experience this past weekend. Sure have fun and compete in cosplay competitions, but do it for fun. Sure go to cons, buy tee shirts and figurines, but do it because you enjoy it, not because it's part of a trend. But remember everything in moderation. Have fun with being a geek, but don't let others tell you that you have to "be somebody" to be cool in the geek world. You are wonderful just the way God made you to be. Enjoy being a geek, and remember to just have fun again!
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