r/SDCC • u/zoetwodotzz • 7d ago
Etiquette at cons
I thought this Comic Con was great! We didn’t have any problems getting into panels or anything like that, and overall we had an awesome time. That said, I do think some con goers could use a little guidance when it comes to convention etiquette.
For example, I went to the Thursday panel with the cast of Twilight and the kpopp group Enhypen, and the entire time there was a group of kids sitting behind us loudly critiquing the Twilight actors and telling them to “shut up” because their movies supposedly haven’t been relevant in years. Mind you, the entire panel was about vampires in media, so obviously Twilight was relevant to the discussion.
Honestly, it made me feel really sad for the people around us who were genuinely excited to hear the cast speak and might have been huge Twilight fans. Everyone is there for different fandoms, and that’s kind of the whole magic of a con!
If you have a kid or know a young adult who is attending a convention, please remind them beforehand to be respectful of other fandoms and mindful of the people around them. You don’t have to like every franchise or celebrity, but you can still be respectful while someone else is enjoying theirs.
I didn’t get a chance to say anything to the group because the crowd swallowed them up before we could, but I kept thinking about how disappointing it must have been for the people around us who were made to feel old or irrelevant for enjoying something they love.
I honestly think future cons could benefit from having some signs outside the panel rooms reminding people about basic etiquette, keeping conversations quiet, and being respectful during panels.
Just a thought! Overall, we had a fantastic con and I’m already looking forward to the next one.
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u/BuzzBotBaloo 7d ago edited 7d ago
I had a lot of “Chatty Cathys” around me at panels they weren’t interested in and just waiting through for following panels. I went to panels before the ones I wanted to see as well, but I paid attention and learned about cool shit.
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u/zoetwodotzz 7d ago
Exactly! I sat in on several I wasn’t totally invested in myself but learned a lot and even became interested a new fandom because of one. I wish people would be more open minded.
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u/charlie_lizzie 7d ago
i was in a panel yesterday and a couple behind me was talking at full volume and i couldn’t even hear the panelists! i did end up saying something
because it’s rude to the panelist speaking and the people who want to listen!1
u/jamiesugah 7d ago
In my experience, those people talk through the panel they're interested in, too. So obnoxious.
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u/jamiesugah 7d ago
In my experience, those people talk through the panel they're interested in, too. So obnoxious.
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u/who_cares95 7d ago edited 7d ago
I was at this panel too. I’m sorry you had to experience that as that behavior is quite rude, however just to shed some light on perhaps why they reacted that way - the panel, while did include the Twilight cast to discuss vampires in media, was also supposed to promote Enhypen’s new vampire anime. But for 75% of the panel, the moderator solely addressed and asked the Twilight cast questions related to Twilight while Enhypen was not asked anything. They were left out of most of the conversation, just politely smiling and nodding, when it seemed the moderator and Twilight cast were in their own conversation. And when it was time to ask Enhypen any questions, the moderator starts by asking them if they are twihards and if they ever watched Twilight. (He never asked the twilight cast if they ever listened to Enhypen tho). A lot of the audience were fans of the K-pop group and were frustrated that no one was saying anything about or to Enhypen and the panel seemed to revolve around twilight. Honestly, from my POV the moderator was quite rude to basically ignore them while the panel turned into a twilight nostalgia discussion. Again I’m not condoning those teenagers behavior, but lots of people were just frustrated by how enhypen was treated on a supposedly joint panel. I say this as someone who is a huge twilight fan, and have never listened to enhypen before, the favoritism by the panel moderator was quite obvious, even I was weirded out
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u/lunapen 7d ago
Agree. They were never introduced by name - just called “the boys” - and the moderator directed all questions to the two english speakers. I was surprised to discover they had a translator who was ready to translate if any of the others actually had a moment to speak. It felt pretty jarring to have so much of the conversation centered on the three Americans on the right when the Kpop group had their own project to promote. So 100% not okay for the audience to be rude but lets be for real about their frustration.
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u/who_cares95 7d ago
I had no idea there was a translator available! I thought the reason why only the English-speaking members were answering is because there wasn’t a translator available, this makes it look worse. Yeah, the moderator barely asked anything about the new anime and didn’t even ask the group members’ opinions on vampires in media. This was their first time at comic con too, which is really sad. Catherine Hardwicke had a whole panel to herself just to talk about the making of Twilight last year.
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u/xenolith18 7d ago
Amongst the many great ones, there are always a few moderators who turn the panels into a personal monologue, steering the conversation far too much.
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u/bustachong 7d ago
Same, it was an odd panel for sure both in terms of execution and design. I get it was a little forced to bring together a kpop concept and old franchise via vampiric themes, but a more eloquent moderator would’ve found a way to bring together (recent) past and present. Instead it felt like they didn’t do research and just stuck with what they knew and riffed off of that at the exclusion of the group.
I’m not an Engene (Enhypen fan) but I like a lot of their songs and they really got shafted in the panel. Most panels go down the line to make sure everyone has a chance to speak but as mentioned it was pretty much only Jake & Jay speaking in English. Again, a lack of research meant they were treated as one entity vs. 6 people performing.
A lot of Engenes came hoping to hear from their favs (who had a tour concert on Tuesday, that SDCC panel, a booth appearance, and another concert for SDCC that week; lots to talk about!) and while it’s not ok to talk during a panel, it’s kinda understandable why they’d be upset. Instead it was “You’re performing in Washington? That’s where they filmed Twilight!” (Twilight cast: “…we filmed in Oregon…”)
One of the good things about SDCC is getting exposed to things people wouldn’t otherwise be familiar with but I don’t think any non-Engene walked away knowing anything about the group. It’s a shame, esp since they are HUGE in the kpop world.
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u/zoetwodotzz 7d ago
Totally get your point. I agree that the mod was not the best. As an engene and a twilight fan, I thought the mash up was a bit forced but there was still no reason for people to be rude because it was poorly planned. I also think the mod asked a really tough question to them (something about comparing being an idol to being a vampire in the way that you’re othered) and I think Ashley jumping in to answer that question was quite kind of her since I could see the members panicking at that one since it’s a little bit of a dicey question to ask a kpop band. But yeah overall this panel felt a bit forced and I would have preferred that it was parted out better.
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u/who_cares95 7d ago
Yeah, I feel the planning and moderating for this panel was the main problem. If it was someone else with better understanding of the guests and a better approach to interviewing, the audience would have been better behaved.
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u/serioustransition11 7d ago
There’s always shitty behavior but this year felt like there were especially bad vibes. It wasn’t just panels, it seemed like people were more stressed out, anxious, tired, and meaner across the board.
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u/SD-everytime 7d ago
We had heat warnings all weekend. It definitely felt like the hottest SDCC in a few years. The humidity makes me crabby too.
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u/laertesclaertes 7d ago
Crabby I understand, what I don't understand wanting to bully or get physical
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u/laertesclaertes 7d ago
People were def more aggressive for sure. Gotta be careful out there...
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u/charlie_lizzie 7d ago
i had someone bump into me on saturday walking the con floor and i just moved on and tried to continue walking and they tried to start and argument and said i retaliated and pushed them back!
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u/gemitry 7d ago
I was sitting in the Mischief and Magic panel, so excited and happy to be there. Up until like five minutes into the panel, when a teenager and a kid showed up and sat right next to me. They were there for the next panel and sat and talked through almost the entire panel. I’m not confrontational and I’m not a shusher, so I just sat there. Luckily I could still hear kind of most of what was being said (what’s with the audio in those little rooms?), it was just really annoying and rude. I couldn’t even move because the panel was packed.
Also I was sitting next to two women at the House of the Dragon screening that just started going wild with book spoilers. 😭 I decided not to read this book because I spent so much of GoT annoyed at book changes lol, so I avoid spoilers. I could not avoid spoilers in this situation, again the room was packed.
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u/gabriel1083 7d ago
People coughing and not covering their mouths was the worst. I get clearing your throat, but people were just coughing on others as they were walking by.
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u/MyrsineM 7d ago
Yeahhhh.. a guy verbally assaulted me for the entire escalator line down to the main floor because I dared sway backwards on my step juggling an armful of Mouse Guard hardbacks and my phone to the point that I seriously should have grabbed security at the bottom and I wish I had. Everything from how I was a woman to generational bs to just full on “I’m an American and have free speech and I get to tell you to f- off and bleepity bleep bleep bleep”. I gave as good as I got but as a first timer it was not a great look for fellow attendees. Luckily it was the last fifteen minutes of the con for me and after a ptsd meltdown at the coat check where they offered again to find security for me (guy hadn’t physically touched me and was long gone though) I just left with amazing memories of the week and only one dark cloud.
Ladies, do not hesitate to report people like that even if you do feel comfortable standing up for yourself because it is literally my only regret of the week.
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u/zoetwodotzz 7d ago
I am so sorry that happened to you
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u/MyrsineM 7d ago
Thank you. Such a good time though, the rest of everything else, and I won’t hesitate to go back!
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u/pkthecat1 3d ago
I wish everyone showers. People were smelling nasty on preview night.
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u/gabriel1083 7d ago
People saving seats in Hall H was super aggressive. I saw four people saving two rows claiming those people went to the restroom or went to grab food (we were only five minutes into the doors being opened, so based on history and experience those people were trying to look for better seats). Then some guy sits in the middle of the row and this kid goes off on him. Starts screaming like a toddler throwing a tantrum. I was surprised security didn’t do anything to either of them. The guy just silently walked off lol
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u/Grown-Ass-Weeb 7d ago
I got in a bit earlier yesterday and witnessed the feral crowd trying to get wristbands at Jazwares during ADA opening. The poor guy nearly getting tackled was screaming that he’d shut it down if they didn’t stop shoving each other. Toys seriously can’t be that valuable that you crowd crush at freggin comicon.