A-LISTS not halfway doneby walter meyer
“In both cases, people who are reluctant to reveal their full passions can dress in COMIC-CON VS PRIDE
character or however they please and rather than being ridiculed for it, are more likely to be celebrated for it—being outrageous is a good thing.”
It is that time of year—two of the biggest events in San Diego are here and they oc- cur back-to-back: Pride and Comic-Con. Both have more in common than end of July scheduling; they are festivals honoring self-expression, happiness and joy. But they’re much more—they’re celebrations, more even than celebrations—they are liberations. Not that very long ago attending either was a risky proposition. To be seen leaving
the Pride Festival could have consequences at your job, among your friends and for your whole life. Inside the festival however, everyone was alive and free. Breaking through the closet door if only for a weekend allowed us to revel in who we are. Like- wise, at Comic-Con, geeks who supposedly lived in their mothers’ basements, afraid to show the world their love of D&D (no, gay folk, that isn’t some sex practice—if you don’t know, Google it) could fly free among people who were just like them. In both cases, people who are reluctant to reveal their full passions can dress in char-
acter or however they please and rather than being ridiculed for it, are more likely to be celebrated for it—being outrageous is a good thing. Instead of being marginalized by society, at least for a few days they become the dominant culture; they get to dictate the norms. As the years have passed, that feeling of freedom has given people the confidence
to be openly gay for 365 days instead of two, or to sport their Firefly T-shirt year-round. I was reminded of this during last year’s Comic-Con. I went with Nick Bielawski, a self- proclaimed geek, the brother of Brian Bielawski with whom I co-created our play about all things geek: GAM3RS. Nick had never been to Comic-Con before and I saw him and was reminded of the excitement I had the first time another gay man brought me to Hillcrest. At times I thought I would have to have Nick sedated, his excitement verging on a
coronary. “It’s so-and-so!” He’d exclaim, throwing out the name of yet another comic/ sci-fi/TV/fantasy/artist/celebrity or costume character of whom I’d never heard. He’d then try to explain the person to me, “She was in—and—and—” and he’d name several shows, movies or comic books of which I was equally ignorant. I tried to think of it in
opposite terms, if I took Nick to an event at the hockey Hall of Fame, he might recognize the names of a few greats—Wayne Gretzky perhaps, but if Sidney Crosby checked him into the wall he wouldn’t have a clue. During Comic-Con, I often feel like I’m in Japan—there are similarities to our cultures.
They seem to sit the same way we do, and eat some of the same foods. But they dress differently and speak a foreign language and most of the culture to me seems odd, although I have now learned some terms like MMORPG and know who John Crichton is, and I have even met Shepherd Book. Touring the Con with Nick was like having a na- tive Japanese person show me around Tokyo. He knew the subtle ways of this strange land—ironic considering I had been to Comic-Con a dozen times and he had never been before, but we both learned so much. I love both events, you can feel the joy and excitement in the air. Happiness which has been bottled up all year is released and it’s fun to share the joy. As I discovered at Comic-Con with Nick, it’s even more fun to see the event with a n00b (new-bee). It’s like watching a child experience Christmas morning for the first time. It’s been years since I have taken anyone, gay or straight to their first pride, but I want to have that vicarious thrill again. I have heard people question why we need Pride and been asked if we are trying
to convert people (as though that were possible). Why do we need Scottish festivals? Isn’t grown men running in skirts and throwing telephone poles a bit weird (it’s called caber tossing—again, look it up). I’ve been and no one ever tried to turn me Scottish. They just wanted me learn about their culture, embrace it for a day and celebrate all that it means. I would recommend the same of Comic-Con or Pride. Embrace and enjoy without fear or judgment. Come to think of it, more of life should be like that.
Walter Meyer is the co-creator of GAM3RS (the play) and Gam3rCon (the gaming convention that runs concurrently with Comic-Con) and a regular contributor to The Rage Monthly.
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RAGE monthly | JULY 2011
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