Convention Reactions – CONvergence 2018

Another year, another CONvergence in the bag. Once again I thought I’d share some of my thoughts about and reactions to this year’s event.

I didn’t take many photos myself, but Citypages has a decent gallery.

Panels we Hosted

First of all, below are links to my panel materials from the panels I helped run this year (please contact me about any broken links or other download issues):

Anime for Kids – Outline
Anime for Kids – Handout
Year in Anime – Handout

J.C. and I participated in a total of four panels this year, two of which he and I had primary responsibility for. I feel like this is probably the right amount for us in terms of having something to do at a convention – it gives us something to work on and a way to interact with people (let’s face it, I’m shy and probably wouldn’t be doing much talking otherwise), but it leaves us the majority of time to take in the rest of the con as attendees. Let’s face it: after staffing Anime Detour earlier in the year and running way too many panels there, it’s nice to have a break!

“Anime for Kids” was our first panel on Friday morning, and I thought it went surprisingly well considering the time of day (9:30am on a day where people are still arriving at the convention in many cases). We’d signed up for the panel because we like to make sure that there’s some nominal amount of anime-related programming to begin with (the convention is more of a general “media convention” featuring all sorts of things, of which anime is a tiny part), but I was hoping that some actual people with children would sign up as well so that we could get some confirmation on our choices. Obviously that didn’t happen and it was just us, but it was a fun thought exercise to approach the topic from the standpoint of prospective future parents hoping to incorporate some anime into our children’s life. Having watched most/all of the selections myself, I can at least say that they’re enjoyable whether or not you have kids with whom to watch them. My only disappointment with the panel was actually more on the scheduling side; we found out once we picked up our registration materials on Wednesday that “Anime for Kids” was left out of the printed schedule (it was listed on the online schedule which is what I assume most people use anyway). I was momentarily hurt, but being a member of programming staff at another convention I know how hairy things can get close to the print deadline and all the schedule shuffling that happens when people cancel and such, so I got over it pretty quickly. I also compensated by doing a lot of last-minute social media advertising and even putting up some posters around the convention space which ended up being pretty fun for us.

That evening we participated in “Anime 101” which was moderated by Michael Grimm, a member of the “Anime on the Rocks” podcast (the link goes to the podcast on Soundcloud but it’s obtainable many places where podcasts are available). Besides the two of us, the other panelists were Chrysoula Tzavelas, author, anime fan (check out her anime recs on her site “Anime I Recommend“) and CONvergence invited participant, as well as friend and fellow reviewer/blogger Scott K. “SKJAM” Jamison. The panel was an intro to anime and anime fandom which I believe is of perennial usefulness at CONvergence (I’ve been on it a couple of times in the past several years). Anime fandom is great, but with so much anime out there and all sorts of places to get it, the amount of shows, news, movies, memes and other related material can be overwhelming to newcomers. In the panel we each shared a couple of anime series that we thought would be good jumping-off points for new fans. The thing about anime fandom is that you really tend to come to it as the person you are, so each person’s entry point will be different. I hope we were able to convey the things that make anime a great fandom to be in; as an adult in a fandom that skews young, I always selfishly hope to entice other adults to give anime a try.

Saturday afternoon we were on a panel called “Year in Anime” which I would equate to “Shiny New Anime,” a panel that J.C. and I (and occasionally others) put on at Anime Detour and Anime Fusion. J.C. served as moderator, and other panelists included Chrysoula, Anthony Pecoraro, and Ryan Placzkowski. The previous year this panel was late at night (and I wasn’t directly involved in it, though J.C. was a panelist) and the room wasn’t very full. This year the panel was at a good time but in a smaller room which turned out a little interesting since the room got overfull (I’m not sure what the listed capacity was supposed to be, but there were people standing and also sitting on the floor). It was nice to know that people were interesting in getting some recommendations for new anime to watch! This subject is one I’m passionate about, so I definitely believe I did more than my share of the talking (sorry, fellow panelists!), but I hope my enthusiasm was contagious.

The last panel was one of J.C.’s that I attended, called “Great Art by Horrible People,” a discussion about whether it’s possible to enjoy the creative products of someone who’s revealed to have said or done awful things (spoiler: it tends to be up to each consumer to identify their own tolerance level). I tend to be someone who can drop someone like they’re hot if they’ve done something bad, especially if they’re not properly apologetic about it (“sorry” isn’t good enough). This is also a discussion J.C. and I have had with each-other plenty of times, so I was interested to see that played out in a more public forum. Overall I the discussion was pretty interesting and went a lot of different places. I think my critique would be that I think the panel moderator could have done a more hands-on job ensuring that the discussion didn’t get so out-of-control (there was some impassioned arguing at one point that I don’t think was contributing anything, as well as a panelist who was doing a lot of interrupting and talking over others while also taking audience questions while others were trying to speak). It was also really late at night, which made it difficult for me to concentrate.

Panels we Attended

I don’t want to speak at length about every panel we attended; while most of them were good it would take me a long time to go into detail and I’m sure there are others that can fill in the gaps. I do want to provide a high level of some of my favorite panels and panelists, though.

Some of my favorite panels were, surprisingly, related to building and cultivating an internet presence (something I’m ambivalent about since I have some concerns about being trolled and harassed). “Build your YouTube Following” on Thursday and “Thoughts on Patreon” on Saturday were both helpful to me in terms of learning about ways in which one could turn an internet hobby into something with some financial benefits. I’m not sure if I’m there yet and I don’t ever envision quitting my “day job” to write full time, but it did open my eyes to some options and that was kind of cool. Both of these panels were moderated by Steve “Morjax” Sylvestre, a chemist by day and an internet “let’s play” streamer by night. I found him to be a very good speaker and panelist and appreciated the insight he and the other panelists had into making their internet presence work for them.

I also attended some panels that fit kind of under the general umbrella of diversity appreciation. “Masculinity Detox,” moderated by Dr. Nerdlove (Harris O’Malley), provided a good discussion about the way in which men are damaged by certain expectations of their gender and how this extends to harm others who are male and do not fit into these expectations, or who are other genders and are victims of these expectations in other ways. Toxic masculinity has been on my mind a lot lately and it was good to see it discussed out in the open by panelists with a wide range of different experiences. “Women in STEM: The Road Not Taken” was a cool discussion by panelists working in STEM industries and how they arrived at those careers, sometimes in roundabout ways. They also talked about some challenges they’ve encountered related to their gender – it’s upsetting to know just how often sexism and misogyny still play a part in women’s experiences in the sciences. “Fat Positivity & Representation” gave perspective on how fat bodies are represented in media (spoiler: not well the majority of the time) and the panelists’ experiences in their own lives living in a culture that still has disdain for fat bodies. There was also some discussion about nuances between fat positivity and the body positivity movement (specifically, there are some critiques that the body positivity movement has paved the road for backlash against people who want to gain/lose weight or make changes to their bodies for personal reasons). “It Was a Different Time” discussed media from the past that’s blatantly racist, sexist, homophobic, etc. as seen through our eyes today and how we approach those products. It also talked about some current media and what might look terrible to us down the line. I liked all these panels in particular because they’re the best places to listen to the experiences of others in the world and how they interact with fandom, and those are valuable conversations to be a part of.

Besides that there were a few panels that were just fun and fascinating. “Kids Ask a Scientist,” which is unsurprisingly a panel where kids can ask a panel of different scientists the pressing science questions that they have, was very informative, both in the answers from the scientists, as well as in the thought processes of the kids in the audience and the things they really wanted to know about. “A World Without Bees” discussed what would really happen if our bee population went away or couldn’t serve as pollinators for our crops anymore. As it turns out, our agricultural system relies on bee pollinators in ways that are not natural nor healthy, but it’s been a conundrum that no one has been willing to directly address on a large scale. If you ever get the chance, check out the University of Minnesota’s Raptor Center presentation; they brought in live birds and discussed how these predators live and behave.

We don’t normally see many main stage events, but this year we caught “Art of the Dress” (a costume exhibition), “Cirque de Vingt” (a variety performance with belly dancers, acrobats, music, and spoken-word segments), and the Masquerade contest (which we thought we had missed – it actually started late so we had only missed maybe two performers!). We enjoyed all of them, especially the Cirque, which was a fun surprise (we stuck around after the “Art of the Dress” and we’re glad we did).

Critiques

Overall CONvergence was great this year and I had a better time than some past years just due to being able to participate more (with my work schedule in the past it’s occasionally been difficult to commit to being on panels and such). There were a couple of aspects of the con this year that, while not necessarily the convention’s fault, I felt were worth mentioning.

It’s news to almost no one that there were some additional requirements of the convention from the Doubletree hotel management this year. While this was true in some previous years, the convention was not allowed to run its CoF2E2 coffee shop between 6am and 12noon so as not to conflict with the hotel’s own cafe in the lobby. Considering that there’s both a Caribou Coffee and Starbucks restaurant across the hotel parking lot, it was fairly easy to support alternate businesses during the time period when many of us like a little caffeine boost. That said, the coffee shop was open the remaining hours of the convention, so it was not such a huge deal in the grand scheme of things.

There was also a much greater police presence at the convention this year in comparison to past years. My understanding is that this was not by the convention’s choice, but another requirement of the hotel due to security concerns of theirs. Convention staff released a video discussion with one of the guests of honor, Michael “Knightmage” Wilson (a cosplayer and stuntman, also a sheriff’s deputy) regarding the police situation; I’m not sure that it satisfied most critics of the situation, including myself, but I understand they were trying to provide some information to con-goers. Having such an overt police presence is threatening not only to communities of color, but other marginalized communities which have been disproportionately targeted by police. I’m hopeful that next year’s convention will be able to go without the added “security.”

The “big” issue this year was that the hotel imposed new rules regarding alcohol served at room parties. For those of you who aren’t familiar with CONvergence, one thing that draws people to the con are the cabana room parties which are often decorated elaborately and which serve themed alcoholic drinks (not all do, but many do). Party hosts were informed about a month before the convention that the Doubletree would be requiring alcohol service at the parties be provided by their own (hotel) bartenders at a price of about $75/hour. I also believe they put limits on what types of foods could be offered a the parties as well. Considering the expenditure of running one of these parties (I’ve been a member of a group running one a couple of times), and the fact that at least some of the cost is recouped in tips, the new regulations made it difficult for some groups to afford to run their event. I don’t drink, but I know a lot of people who do and who enjoy CONvergence as a place to “let loose” in that way, so I experienced some secondhand frustration. I know several parties dropped-out and having strolled around the party areas later on Friday and Saturday, I could tell things were much more subdued than normal. I can understand the hotel’s point-of-view regarding potential liability issues, but CONvergence has done a good job over the years policing itself and its party hosts about providing alcohol, so it seemed like just another rude move.

I’m gathering that the hotel is hoping to change the types of events it hosts and to focus more on smaller events with a higher profit margin; I don’t know how true this is, but they’ve made it pretty clear that they’re not all that interested in accommodating events of CONvergence’s size and type anymore.

Looking Ahead

It’s been an open secret in the local convention community recently that CONvergece was looking at moving, and it didn’t surprise me to learn that the 2019 event is going to be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Minneapolis. This is the same hotel that housed Anime Detour earlier this year, and hosts several other geeky events including Furry Migration and AniMinneapolis. I’m really looking forward to seeing how CONvergence utilizes the extensive multi-floor event space in the Hyatt (including multiple decently-sized ballrooms – I bet some of the events and programming tracks that ended up in the Sheraton this year could be reincorporated into the main con hotel space). There’s also an area on the ground floor that works perfectly for a merchandise hall, so no more merch being split into multiple smaller rooms! It’s been a fun exercise to take my memories from Detour and drop CONvergence into that space, so I’m looking forward to what the CONvergence convention staff comes up with.

I had a lovely time at this year’s CONvergence, and I’m going to echo the words of many others who have spoken out this year – CONvergence isn’t a place, it’s a people. It’s an environment where I get to hang out with my friends, meet new people, talk about things I like, and generally have a good time away from the concerns of my boring normal life.