(no subject)

[learnedax]

Catching up on the olympics, thanks to TiVo, has made me realize how many strong parallels they have with Pennsic. From the athletic core which revives ancient tradition (with champions contesting points ranging from archery to fencing) to the strong cultural representations of diverse homelands, there's a big cognitive similarity. When landscape-transforming temporary construction, ingrained rivalries, and a healthy dose of pomp and circumstance are taken into account, I begin to seriously wonder whether the two events serve similar psychological purposes.

This nicely dovetails into two longstanding discussions that came up again at war: first, is there any significant difference between Pennsic and a large sci-fi convention, and second, is the role of martial activity within the SCA truly a critical element, or merely a historical quirk?

Specifically, if fighting, as the Olympic tradition seems to, serves a higher purpose than being yet another fun thing that people do, it represents a qualitative difference between the SCA and other things that the counterculture does... And if it's just a diversion for a bunch of stick-jocks, then what is Pennsic but a themed con?

Thoughts?

Comments

[jducoeur]

One goes, I gather, to a WorldCon to talk and to listen to talk.

Disclaimer upfront: I agree with the core of your point.

That said, this is an oversimplification of Worldcon -- it's not very different from saying that people go to Pennsic to fight and to watch people fight.

The talking and listening to talking is probably the single biggest element, and informs a lot of the tone, but many (perhaps most) people are actually there for other reasons. Indeed, much like Pennsic, Worldcon is a major nexus of a number of different activities. The filkers are mainly there for the filking; the gamers are mainly there for the gaming; lots of people are there mainly for the shopping and socializing. The fact that 1-2 thousand people or so are mainly there for the panels and lectures and such sounds impressive until you consider that that's out of 3-5 thousand attendees.

So in that respect, it's rather like Pennsic: a large event that cuts across a number of related activities that hang together under a big tent. Like Pennsic, the tone and style are very strongly informed by the nature of the single most central activity, but the activity itself is actually practiced by a minority of the attendees...

[siderea]

The talking and listening to talking is probably the single biggest element, and informs a lot of the tone, but many (perhaps most) people are actually there for other reasons. Indeed, much like Pennsic, Worldcon is a major nexus of a number of different activities. The filkers are mainly there for the filking; the gamers are mainly there for the gaming; lots of people are there mainly for the shopping and socializing.

But, of the alternatives you list, only shoping is not "talking and listening". Gaming is talking and listening (unless you're talking boffers or disk guns, or things like chess?) and socializing is talking and listening. Filking is listening and, oh, alright, singing.

When I wrote "talking and listening", I was trying to find an expression which encompasses the major themes which are as you stated them, particularly: the panels/lectures, the socializing (which, I gather from repute, is more conversational than, say, a dance party), and the awards stuff.