SAN DIEGO — As my friend Nick and I walked around downtown on Friday, there was a sense of stillness in the air. Restaurants had mostly converted to serving only outside and while nearby beaches were packed there was still a sense of disconnection among individual families camped out on their blankets. Perhaps the strangest part was the San Diego Convention Center. If this were normal times, downtown would be Comic-Con central right now. People would queue in mile-long lines to see their favorite piece of media or stories come to life. The restaurants in the Gaslamp Quarter would be buzzing with hungry nerds. Hotels would be filled with tourists. Today I saw a lone man, dressed as Shazam, making chalk art outside the center.
Due to the pandemic, Comic-Con decided to go online this year. Companies either independently produced their own panels and videos, like the DC movies, or they could join panels hosted by Comic-Con on its YouTube page. I’m happy that more people get to enjoy the panels than ever before as a result of their being online. While I think that Comic-Con should record the panels for those who cannot come in future years, I hope that this will not be the new status quo.
I understand that Internet panels could be cheaper and easier for Comic Con to create in the future; nevertheless, they leave much to be desired. Personally, my favorite part of the Con is being surrounded by nerdom. I enjoy walking the exhibit floor full of hundreds of little booths, each showing off something unique, and hearing, even feeling, the screams of diehard fans excited about whatever panel they waited so long to see. Seeing the videos on YouTube isn’t the same but at least we got to see something in a year otherwise filled with so much sadness and pandemonium.
While watching the Star Trek panel got me very excited to see each of three featured shows, it felt restricted — not just because it was online but also because it was pre-recorded and YouTube’s comment section had been turned off. The pre-recorded format allowed for a tighter panel full of formal interview-style questions with the casts. The trade off was any sense of spontaneity. In fact, cast members were censored whenever they said anything deemed to be a “spoiler” and answers that may have gone on too long were shortened. This made it feel very robotic and unnatural. The lack of a comments section was understandable considering how toxic trolls can be, but the result was very un-Comic-Con. There were no nerds coming together and raving about what they love. At every other Con, people tweet about their favorite panels, adding to the excitement. This one lacked the spontaneity of experiencing something live with others. Without such interaction, Comic-Con feels distant and formal.
In my opinion, a better way to do things would be to livestream or premiere a pre-recorded video set for release at a specified time. This could be presented along with a live comments section so that people could enjoy the panel together and see the panelists in a more organic setting. True, that might be a logistical nightmare; they would have to get all of their panelists onboard and ready by the time it goes live. Additionally, they would need numerous comment moderators to monitor multiple simultaneous panels. Nevertheless, it would have been truer to the Comic-Con spirit.
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Shor M. Masori is a freelance writer who divides his time between his home in San Diego and his studies at UC Berkeley.
Cool story🙂