The Escapade 20 Panel Ballot is up here. Forty four of you have already made your voices heard. If you’re not in the club yet, go and fill your ballot out! If you want to take a look at the results, you can find them here.
The deadline is January 28, midnight PST but here’s a quick look at the top 10 vote-getters so far…
General (Meta) Panels
Damn, they’re figuring it out. Is this a good thing?
Canon is giving us more (and more outrageous) slash-on-screen than ever before. This past year has produced Wilson proposing to House, Dean and Sam at a con, Holmes pining rather obviously after Watson, and, well, NCIS-LA. Is this really different from what’s we’ve seen in the past? And will this trend continue to its inevitable slashy end, or will there be a backlash? Should we worry or celebrate? treewishes & Sandy have volunteered to lead.
Academia/Fandom: Not Such Strange Bedfellows?
For the 20th Anniversary of Escapade, let’s revisit the Escapade III panel way back in 1993 that was the first to discuss the way academia looks at fandom and the way fandom looks back. What’s changed now that Fan Studies is an academic field and fandom continues to produce its own histories and theories and construct sophisticated archives of its creative work? Are there still interesting tensions between fans/academics that should be brought to light? Blacksquirrel and Constance have volunteered to lead.
Back in the day…
Jenn and Charlotte pull out the program from the first Escapade and pick us one or two panels that would be iconic of that con and still valid today.
Is Somebody Taking Notes On This?: A Discussion of the Role of Fannish History
In honor of Escapade’s 20th anniversary, let’s have a conversation about the questions associated with attempts to record fannish history. Recent conversations in fandom have raised questions about if, where, how, and why fannish history should or shouldn’t be recorded. What are the big challenges that the recording (or lack thereof) of fannish history faces and what do we want (or not want) to see happen in the next 20 years? ivy and Sandy have volunteered to lead.
Slashing the Cinema
Movieslash! We’ve all seen it, many if not most of us have done it. What are the benefits, challenges, and pitfalls to writing or vidding slash for a movie? What are some common approaches, and how do some work better with some types of movies than with others? (And what are the approaches that just don’t work?) How have you tackled it, or how would you like to? Dorinda and Christy have volunteered to lead.
The OTW in Its Third Year
Okay, sure, the Organization for Transformative Works bought its own goddamn servers and launched an archive (that hosted Yuletide) and published a journal (with a special issue on Supernatural) and saved a bunch of Geocities sites and testified at the DMCA hearings (supporting the EFF’s proposed exemption for vidders and other remix artists) and made a bunch of lolcats — but what have they done for us lately? What do you want them to do? Shoshanna has volunteered to lead.
The Case for Retired Fandoms
Some fandoms have seen renaissances where a new influx of fans and fic seemingly bring the community back to life. What makes a fandom worth bringing out of retirement? What are the most effective ways of doing so? And just for fun, a wish list of fandoms that should be revisited. M’lyn has volunteered to lead.
Characters of Color Lovefest 2010!
What fabulous characters of color have recents years brought us? Where’s the good stuff in those fandoms? What looks promising for non-white characters in 2010? Share your favorites and maybe find some new fandoms to love! no one has volunteered to lead this yet!
Light Out and Look All Around
Last year we had a panel about what it has been like to grow up, grow older, and grow out, about and smart in fandom (What A Long Strange Trip It’s Been.) It’s Escapade’s 20th birthday, so let’s reprise! Bring your stories, your thoughts, your experiences of life as a participant in fandom. Did you think it would last this long for you? no one has volunteered to lead this yet!
Strength of the Triangle: Evolution of the OT3
Most of the time we’re all about the duo, but occasionally canon presents us with three characters that are just perfect for one another. How has this kind of pairing evolved over time, as shows/movies have changed and evolved? How does a single gendered OT3 compare to a mixed gendered one? (And why are Parker, Hardison and Eliot–or Peter, Elizabeth and Neal–so darn hot?) Sandy and Sinead have volunteered to lead.
General Write-ins
The rise of the Kink meme, Kink Bingo, Porn battles, etc. Is it getting us what we want, or just a lot of sex drabbles?
Pictures, Print, and Sound
Where does your fannish vibe come from–books (and manga), television (and anime), movies, or boy bands? What difference does the media make in your relationship to your characters? What are the particular challenges, and how do you multi-media fans reconcile the conflicts?
Civility & Fannish Meta Discussion — Can they coexist?
Fandom-specific
White Collar: The other side of the heist
Finally, a show that gives us the elements we love from cop shows, and combines it with the fun of the con game. Christy has volunteered to lead.
White Collar: Love and Marriage: the OT3 to end all OT3s
A happily married couple and their boyfriend! Christy and Sandy have volunteered to lead.
ST: Kirk/Spock: Is 40 years enough?
Now that we have a new generation of Star Trek in the Reboot fandom, what the hell happened to Kirk/Spock?!? What once was a dominant OTP seems to be taking a backseat to a number of others. Did they take the K/S dynamic we loved and give it to Kirk/McCoy? Or is a strong Uhura just too much for our boys? What’s going on, and how can we get more K/S? Stacy has volunteered to lead.
White Collar: OTP or OT3?
Everybody wants Neal, and Neal wants Peter, but what about El? Does it have to be an OTP, or an OT3? Pros and cons and consequences, when one of the sexy guys in your slash pair has the perfect wife. glacis has volunteered to lead.
Holmes: The New Holmes Movie: Re-envisioning or Abomination?
The new movie has been called everything from dumbed-down to a tired repetition of worn-out 19th-century plots. But even the most hostile reviewers saw chemistry between our heroes. Is there potential here for a re-envisioning of Holmes and Watson that integrates physicality with the intellectual aspects of the Holmesean universe that have been gone over so many times before? Is this the Holmes universe that comes the closest to giving us canon slash? no one has volunteered to lead this yet!
Leverage: Team Slash
Talk about a perfect heist – is there anyone on this team who couldn’t be paired? Or tripled? Eliot and Nathan and Hardison, oh my. And does Parker count as a guy since she’s tougher than Hardison? Will adding Tara give Parker a playmate? Come hash it out, in the middle of the second season of Leverage. glacis has volunteered to lead.
White Collar: Peter Burke – devoted husband, dedicated agent, evil con man???
The mid-season cliff-hanger was truly a shocker – did anyone see that coming? It appears that Peter’s better at running a con than Neal and Mozzie combined. What could possibly be his motives for controlling Kate? And will he ultimately betray Elizabeth? Let’s discuss this surprise hit from the USA network. K’Kathy has volunteered to lead.
Holmes: Baker Street Irregulars
It’s not a new fandom, but damn, isn’t the new movie a slash dream? Let’s talk about all the incarnations of Holmes/Watson and whether the new movie will bring good new life to the fandom. no one has volunteered to lead this yet!
Torchwood: The Future?
Can this fandom move beyond the events of Children of Earth, or is it doomed to become locked into its past? Melina has volunteered to lead.
Burn Notice: Michael Westen, Good Guy or Good Spy?
The newest season of Burn Notice will be underway at con-time, and will Michael be closer, or further away from getting his burn notice revoked? What does it say about Michael that this tarnished prize is such an obsessive goal for him? What does this show say about the murky morality of being a spy? Is Sam a moral person? Is Fiona? Let’s talk about the idea of “good” in the show. no one has volunteered to lead this yet!
Fandom-specific Write-ins
Criminal Minds—what’s slashier than Dawson Does Reid? Morgan does Reid.
Castle: Not only are Becket and Castle enough to make me a het fan, but Ryan/Esposito are slashy background eye candy
Are the Disney Kids too young to slash?
There are plenty of adorable young ones out there over the age of 16 but not 18 – can we go there or not? Disney Channel and High School Musical will be discussed and clips played (if possible)
SG1 and Stargate Atlantis: the state of the fandom
Tech Track
Tech Toys
Ebooks, netbooks, PDAs, portable game systems. Every year the options change, let’s talk about it. What’s new that you’re reading on? How are you getting your fic on it? Where are you getting your fic? De has volunteered to lead.
Planning for the End
Do you want your kids (or grandkids) sorting through your porn when you’re gone? What if they toss that Suzy Lovett original in the trash. Let’s discuss how to protect/preserve/dispose of our fannish treasures. Stacy has volunteered to lead.
Introduction to Kindle/Sony PRS-505/and the Nook
The low-down on the popular e-ink portable reading devices and how they can save you from carpal tunnel and tendonitis. Amalthia and Melina have volunteered to lead.
Formatting Fan Fiction into Ebooks
This is an advanced panel for people who already have a ebook reading device or who would like to know how to format their own stories into ebook formats such as MOBI/LRF/EPUB. The panel will cover conversion tools, how to create a Table of Contents, insert images, and how to use Calibre, as well as other tips and tricks. Amalthia has volunteered to lead.
Tech Write-ins
What are the new toys that vidders crave?
What programs/hardware work or what works better. [I can’t lead this one, I’m looking for information.]
Best way to create podfic — tools, tips?
Alternate Programming
The Bra Is Your Friend / Steel Reinforced Undergarments
If you hate your bra, you’re probably wearing the wrong size. The idea would be to get a representative from a local store into the room to do consultations and find the correct size and the best cut for you and your lifestyle. And perhaps … some lingerie, too? Find out what you like, but also learn (for fiction purposes of course!) the way it changes how the body moves. kadymae and Jenn have volunteered to lead.
He/He, Round Robin in minutes!
A round table, round robin story game. Ridiculously fun and easy to play, we’ve been playing it at cons for over 10 years, and there has only been ONE person who didn’t laugh themselves stupid. Come join the giggles!JenCat has volunteered to lead.
Make a book today!
Making a simple, 8-page book from one folded piece of paper is…a piece of cake 🙂 Come with text or materials, or work on the fly: all you need to be able to do is fold a piece of paper. Gloriana has volunteered to lead.
Alternate ProgrammingWrite-ins
Why does EVERYBODY on the web make a video to the SAME song?
And there seems to be a lot of “plagerism” of shots from one video to another – what’s up with that. Share your web video complaints with us… Stacy has volunteered to lead.