BLERDCON Forever!

Last weekend, I went to the sixth annual BLERCON held at the Hyatt Crystal City in Virginia. Though I will do the best I can, I cannot aptly describe everything that goes on there. it is best to watch the video on the website: https://blerdcon.com/about-blerdcon/

This was the second time, and a great time for me, one because I got to hang out with my oldest friend in the world, Colin Flanigan. Two, we both were reporting for Game Industry News (https://www.gameindustry.com/), his wife Marie being Director of Sales and Marketing.

As a self-described black nerd, I felt right at home at BLERDCON. Every year there is a sea of science fiction and fantasy cosplay costumes, some of which are scantily clad – definitely more of an adult playground – the median age of which were early 20’s through mid-30’s.

I vowed one day I will attend dressed as Morpheus from The Matrix. We’ll see.

The three-day event occupies four floors of the hotel. There is an open-air makeshift video arcade area with consoles surrounding a DJ cockpit pumping out hip hop, house and EDM, two rooms of vendors selling everything from comic books to costumes to artwork to artisan wares, a dungeons and dragons gaming room, and a food court outside with musical acts on the soundstage, as well as conference rooms with regularly schedule panel discussions ranging from equity and inclusion in the film, gaming, and literary industry, to a medieval joust demonstration. The large auditorium hosts cosplay competitions, anime screenings and celebrity appearances. This year the big celebrity was Orlando Jones (Evolution, The Time Machine, Drumline).

It’s a lot going on. Overstimulation can be my nemesis. After a while I either have to focus on a few things, or I shut down completely and have to take a break.

There is definitely something for everyone who is into these worlds, a safe space to play, have fun, and to be the wonderful weird person that you are. I believe in fact, that “normal” society is weird, and taking time out to play like this should be considered normal.

Let’s face it. We all enjoy role playing and delving into worlds where we can escape from our own, if only for a little while. Our bodies are ransacked with jobs, responsibilities, bills, and so on. We are told to be “grown up” to engage in “adulting”, and to socialize ourselves away from things that would cause society to lump us into fringe or subculture groups.

Which is strange because America is obsessed with sports, and there is a ton of cosplay going on there. There is a sea of face painted, hat wearing, costume adorning people crammed into stadiums every Sunday. Then there are those who dress in costumes to go to televised game shows like The Price is Right. We as citizens have no problem dressing up and engaging in ritual. It’s just the typical cultural relativism that pervades.

Layered is the inclusion of people of color, LGBT, and other groups who have been marginalized for so long, who have determined to break through and be recognized, to create more access and avenues and be included in gaming, films, literature and so on, anywhere images can be seen.

We know the history of Hollywood, and the continuing contradiction therein. Though we are in the 21st century, the industry is resistant toward equity. There maybe more screen representation, but in true power sharing – executive producers, boardroom executives, generally people who have the power to greenlight films, there is a paucity of it. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/hollywoods-race-problem-an-insular-industry-struggles-to-change/2014/12/19/d870df04-8625-11e4-9534-f79a23c40e6c_story.html

https://www.thewrap.com/black-hollywood-executives-naacp-diversity-report-2022/

Which is why the presence of independent outlets is so critical to telling these kinds of stories. Online publishing, social media promotion, streaming services give independents life.

There are black anime sites like https://blackstreakanime.com/, https://blkuniverse.com/, and https://www.afroanimation.com/, Arthell Isom is CEO and art director of Japan’s first black-owned anime studio, https://dartshtajio.com/.

So, people like me who are avid fans of such cosplay rituals – I am a horror fan myself as you know – think this is just normal, fine and great. Unfortunately, I only found one online site dedicated to black horror https://www.blackhorrormovies.com/.

When it comes to horror noire – black horror – there were the classics like Blacula and Scream Blacula Scream (1972 and 1973), Dr. Black and Mr. Hyde (1976), Def by Temptation (1990), Candyman I, II and III (1992, 1995, and 1999), Tales from the Hood (1995), Demon Knight (1995) and Vampire in Brooklyn (1995). However, it seemed for a couple of decades black horror would take a backseat.

Thank the universe for Jordan Peele, who has broken through in a big way with successes like Get Out and Us. We hope there will be another and more permanent wave of films.

Though I am a diehard fan of the 60’s and 70’s gothic Hammer vampire films, I do want to see more vampire films of color like Black as Night.

Although Blade can be included, it is in the Marvel Comic universe, first featured in the 70’s. It failed to become the franchise it had the potential to become.

Which circles back around to fantasy, specifically the superhero genre, which is always highly contested at the conference. Frankly, I stopped watching the formulaic Marvel and DC Universal films for the better part of a decade, and I have not collected comics since I was in elementary school, so I cannot hold a substantive conversation on the topic.

As you can imagine, there were several superhero characters represented at BLERDCON. Those cosplayers are enamored with the storylines and powers of each. Perhaps they identify with the concept of the mild mannered/nerdy protagonist who transforms into the alter ego superhero and saves the day.

I do, along with many fans, still lament over the canceling of Luke Cage, an extremely well crafted, incredibly popular and critically acclaimed show that only ran for two seasons, and along with Black Lightning and the Watchmen, were the only black non-animated superhero series running in the last few years.

Though we will deeply miss the presence of Chadwick Boseman, the exciting news amongst the masses is the upcoming November 2022 release of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the sequel to the 2018 silver screen phenomenon.

What was most fascinating was the rich conversations among participants who had such intense knowledge of their worlds, while contextualizing them with real world dynamics.

Once again, I had a great time and look forward to next year. If you are into science fiction, fantasy, anime, cosplay, as well as horror, I highly recommend you attend BLERDCON. You never know how you will be inspired, and what may be unleashed inside of you!