The program for this year’s Finncon has been announced. You can find it here. I am on two program items:
Sunday July 3rd, 11:00-12:00
Trans representation in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Cheryl Morgan & Suzanne van Rooyen
Trans people are everywhere in the media these days, but are they in science fiction and fantasy? And if they are, do they look anything like real trans people, or do authors get things just as wrong as the newspapers? Our panel discusses the good, the bad and the hilariously wrong of trans representation.
Sunday July 3rd, 14:00-15:00
Music in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Catherynne M. Valente, J. Pekka Mäkelä, Suzanne van Rooyen, Cheryl Morgan (chair)
I’m waiting on an OK from the panel for the description, but I can tell you that this is going to be a David Bowie and Prince retrospective.
Then wouldn’t it be better to call it “A David Bowie And Prince Retrospective”? If I were going to an event entitled “Music In SF And Fantasy,” I would be expecting either a panel on the (highly underrated) music of sf films and TV, or the (frequently hilarious) portrayal of music and musicians in sf stories, or perhaps a general overview of sf-influenced bands, touching maybe on Hawkwind, Stackridge and Klaatu. I’m sure the description will make it clear, but it seems an unnecessarily broad title for an in-depth look at two artists who, while ground-breaking in many ways, aren’t to everyone’s taste.
Just my 0.02, and since I can’t be there it’s not really any of my business. But at least I didn’t mention fi[SIGNAL LOST]
It is a panel that has been run for the past 3 or 4 years. We’ve covered most of that stuff in the past, and for this year I wanted to do something different. Programming went live with the schedule before I had finished consulting with the panelists. The description will reflect the content, and hopefully we can change the title too.
If you want more music, I suggest you try 15:00 on Saturday when there is a panel titled F**k of Three Nations, featuring David Weingart, Karl-Johan Norén & Päivi Itäpuro.