MarsCon 2018 - Day 2

If you didn't read the previous post, MarsCon 2018 - Day 1, I would suggest checking that out first. The panels that I was on, "Avoiding the Tokenism in Comics and Sci Fi Cultures," "How to Fail Gracefully," and "Polyamory: Perceptions and Realities" are all related to today's panels in one way or another: "The Prime Directive as Liberal Eurocentric Superiority," "Gem Watch," "Star Trek," "Cleavage Optional: Gender, Cosplay, and Genderbending Cosplay," and "Race and Culture in the Honorverse."


The Prime Directive as Liberal Eurocentric Superiority

Starfleet's Prime Directive is evidence that Borg, Dominion, & Klingons are not the only ethnocentric civilizations in Star Trek. Let's talk about how and why deciding what's best for another culture is problematic regardless of intentions, even in space.
Panelists: Justin Grays, Stephanie Stensland
Listen to the panel on SoundCloud


Gem Watch

Discussion of the recent episodes of Steven Universe. What are your theories about events on Homeworld? What will this bring to Beach City?
Panelists: Kathryn Sullivan, mod.; Justin Grays
Listen to the panel on SoundCloud


Star Trek

A talk about the last 52 years of Star Trek, 6 Shows, and the 13 movies. Yes there will be spoilers for Star Trek Discovery.
Panelists: Tony Artym, Elizabeth Erickson, Justin Grays, Joan Marie VerbaStephanie Stensland
Listen to the panel on SoundCloud


Cleavage Optional: Gender, Cosplay, and Genderbending Cosplay

How is the cosplay experience different for women and men? Why is genderbent cosplay so popular? What fans aren't doing it and what characters aren't being genderbent? What does this mean for trans and non-binary characters and fans?
With: Bridget Landry, Justin Grays, Kris Heding
Content Warning: Blackface gets brought up in this panel.
Listen to the panel on SoundCloud
Learn more about Blackface

The movie that was recommended: Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec (The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec)


Race and Culture in the Honorverse

David Weber's Honor Harrington series presents a very diverse gambit of humans in a far future when race does not seem to matter as much as politics. Juxtaposed against our own realities, how does this fundamentally affect our perception of the Honorverse?
With: Justin Grays, Stephanie Stensland
Content Warning: Slavery gets brought up in this panel.
Listen to the panel on SoundCloud


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