Media Representations of Fandom: Comic Con IV: A Fan’s Hope

Last week, I began the deep dive into all things fan conventions.  I defined them and why people might choose to find one and attend.  This week, I’m taking a deeper look into Comic Con, one of the most famous, if not the most famous, of fan conventions.  For those of you not familiar, this fan convention takes place in July in San Diego.  It has been an annual event since 1970 with a focus on multiple fandom, including comic books, science fiction and more.  This event started out small with around 150 people to what it is now, one in which over one hundred thousand people attend.  It is common for it to sell out and has become a big deal for fans, celebrities and makers of comics, TV and movies alike as it is an avenue for fans and and others to meet their heroes. to see premieres or special screenings and to get a chance within the business.  This convention is so big that Hollywood pays attention to it.  It is so big that books and movies have featured it.  In fact, there has been a documentary made about it.  Today’s blog will be a review of this documentary, Comic Con IV, A Fan’s Hope.  What will it show about the convention?  What will it show about fans?  Will it be filled with the extremes of fandoms like we have seen with other documentaries dealing with fandom, including Something You Should Know (Duran Duran fan focused) or Trekkies (Star Trek fan focused)?  Will it focus on stereotypes or will it show the fandom in a realistic light?

As soon as the documentary gets started, I can tell that this documentary follows in a similar path as the ones I mentioned earlier.  It follows some specific fans and features some celebrities.  Part of me cringes at this.  Why showcase some fans over others?  How were they chosen?  Were they chosen because they represented the norm or because they didn’t?  Yet, even as I question this, I wonder how one would show a fan event like this without focusing on a select group of fans.  After all, you want the viewer to develop some feelings, some emotions with the subject and individuals could provide that.  I know that Rhonda and I tried very hard not to have our book be focused solely on our own experiences, even though, those are featured, but tried to keep it broad to all Duran fandom and even all fandom.  Nonetheless, having this focus on a select group of fans and a few celebrities isn’t necessarily bad, in my opinion, as long as they, generally, represent the entire.  One thing I did like is the overview, in the beginning of the documentary, of the history of the convention.  Pictures from the first few conventions were shown, which clearly documents how small it was.  I think it is important for students of any particular fandom to understand its history.  For example, one can’t talk about the Duran fandom by ignoring the 80s, can they?  This history also shows that a big part of this convention was the ability of fan to meet, to talk with, to get information from those in the business, either as the celebrities out in front or those behind the scenes.

As the documentary moves to modern times, we are shown, right away, one significant aspect of this fandom, which is the cosplay or dressing as a specific character in a movie, TV show, comic or video game.  In seeing that, I’m taken a back a bit since this is so far removed from my fandom.  Most Duranies don’t show up at Duran events dressed like the woman in Rio or the main nurse in Falling Down.  That said, as part of Durandemonium, people did dress somehow related to the lyrics/music of Duran for the banquet.  Similar, I suppose, but not the same.  Beyond the cosplay aspect, viewers can also tell just how massive this event is by seeing the convention floor and the number of attendees.  This, obviously, isn’t a common event, for sure.  Yet, before they dive into the main convention attendees, the documentarians work to describe the general characteristics of Comic Con attendees, including what they do in their spare time, their focus on collecting and more.  I like how they gave the general overview of the “fans” before they got specific.  Then, we begin to get to know the focus of the documentary, who includes people from different spots around the country and their different reasons to be there.  One guy is from Missouri who is looking to show his artwork there, but who is into comics and who has Trekkies as parents who met at a Star Trek convention.  He defines the convention as a job fair.  Another convention attendee is similar in that he is going to show his work, but is from North Dakota.  Already, the viewer can see that the attendees are from different parts of the country, races, family backgrounds and more.  Both of these guys are clearly fans but both have jobs, families and do not seem so extreme of some of the fans focused upon in the other fan documentaries.  Then, there is a woman from California who makes costumes for costume contests, cosplay, etc.  Her goal is to win the costume contest, or masquerade, but admits that she would like to be a costume designer for TV, movies, etc.  Like the gentlemen, she is working towards her career goals.  What all three of these fans show is how much time and dedication fans give towards something they love.  I get this.  I write a blog, wrote a book about fandom and planned a convention myself.  The next person introduced is a comic book dealer, a vendor, from Denver.  He goes to the convention to sell his comics and has for decades.  His experience shows how the convention has morphed or changed over the years from having more of a focus on comic books to less of a focus on them.  He also shows how much serious collecting can be, money wise.  The other side of that coin is the collector who attends the convention to buy collectables.  The last of these main attendees include a couple who started dating at Comic Con and who will get engaged there as well.  They, I believe, show how fandom can bring people together. Clearly, these individuals were chosen to represent the types of people who go.

Beyond those individuals, there are also brief interview clips with other fans, celebrities and those in the business.  The celebrities and other random fans work to explain the hows and the whys of the convention.  Sometimes, they explain conventions better than I ever could.  For example, Joss Whedon, known for things like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, said that it is the place that everyone is great for being so obsessed with something, no matter what it is.  To me, that is fandom—having a passion for something or someone.  The random fans filled in the gaps with why they come, what their focus is, etc.  They mentioned everything from seeing the artists, to meeting certain celebrities, to panels, to buying, and more.  Thus, while the main focus is that group of specific individuals, the documentary doesn’t rely on just them.  These random fans, like the specific ones, seem to have a bit of range but no one is too out there, too extreme.  They seem normal.  As these fans describe their experiences and reasons for being there, one can sense the love that they feel towards their fandom(s) and each other.  Then, it seems obvious why people would want to be at an event like this, to be surrounded by so many who feel the same amount of love of something must be awesome.  I can and did relate.  Likewise, I also related to the statements about how it was an escape from the real world.  To me, this is part of the reason I tour.  Also, I liked how the celebrities and those behind-the-scenes people told why they come.  For them, they have a chance to show their work, to interact with their fans all at the same time for just a few hours or a few days without too much hassle.  They get to sell their work, their products—tangible or not.  I also enjoyed the celebrities talking about how star struck they have been with other celebrities!

In seeing and hearing from all of the fans, celebrities and people in the industry, you get a real sense about how much there is at an event like this, what it is like and why go.  You get a complete picture of the event.  You don’t just see the stereotyped fans or the extreme fans.  Those fans are not hidden but they are put into perspective unlike other documentaries of a similar fashion.  All fans are shown and explained.  Fandom is shown and explained.  While I’m not a fan of comics and many other fandoms shown, I found myself able to relate and wanting to go to something like this.  I could feel the passion of the fans and the celebrities alike.

-A