Comic Cons, Pop Culture, Catastrophe and Coronavirus
2020 was supposed to be a time that nerds were going to be the rulers. Thoughts of flying cars, super-humans, and robots were supposed to be in fruition this year and above all, comic cons would have been awesome as they would have had ‘2020’ at the end of their names representing a turn of the decade in regard to awesomeness and pop culture.
Unfortunately, this is not going to happen.
After January 2020, various comic book conventions in various areas of the world followed by many other special events on other continents have been cancelled as that invisible enemy, the Coronavirus aka COVID-19, has seeped into the way of life for many, especially the movie goers, comic book fanatics, gamers, cosplayers and of course the fans.
One of the many cons that started to go was Emerald City Comic Con, which was housed in Seattle, Washington. This con drew in an estimated 100k + attendees and as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, has ruined this event and caused ReedPop to postpone it. Additionally, other conventions have started to cancel as well. South x Southwest, one of the most exquisite conventions dedicated to technology, art, music, education and other genres has cancelled their event in Texas and as a result devastated hundreds of thousands of attendees and cost event planners millions of dollars.
Sad, very sad indeed.
There is no silver lining here as this pathogen is ripping through families eliminating people of the past and present and little by little, destroying pop culture in various countries. Italy, famous for their family, food, fashion and art has just implemented a countrywide quarantine on its country to prevent the spread of this microbe. Additionally, Japan at the time, cancelled schools, implemented a nationwide quarantine, tightened its borders to prevent incoming tourists from carrying and spreading infection and even canceled their olympic games to prevent even more dispersion of the bug. Just a few days ago, life is starting to begin again there.
The coronavirus is here and it’s affecting the geek way of life. Malls have closed, pop culture stores like Hot Topic, Loot Crate, and many other pop culture retail stores have closed. They are trying their best to retain their customer base and stay afloat as they have now gravitated 100% of their business to online discounted selling. With people ‘still’ overbuying supplies in the form of bleach wipes, toilet tissue, and food items, it’s becoming problematic as hand sanitizer and toilet tissue are the hardest items to obtain. Just a travel sized amount will cost you an arm and a leg and toilet tissue is limited to one person per roll. Additionally, as this ‘panic-hoarder-survivor-mentality’ continues, the virus is traveling and is ever closer to taking over the world.….if it hasn’t already.
As for Comic Cons…with the postponing of ECCC, Ace Con and many local con-related events, nerds and geeks are now wondering if San Diego Comic Con will be cancelled as its little brother, Wondercon, was postponed. Literally the most famous con of them all, are they too, going to cancel? Will this be the end of comic con culture… for now?
It’s possible, but let’s look at what is happening nationwide:
1. The Coronavirus has left its home from Wuhan, China since December 2019 and within a matter of months has infected every country on the planet.
2. The virus is still spreading, and the infection rate has increased exponentially, especially in New York.
3. Supplies are being bought in surplus to the point that stores are limiting how much you can get.
4. The Trump Administration is projecting mixed messages contradicting the CDC, blaming Obama for this mayhem, saying that supplies are being sent, and arguing with the experts.
5. The stock market has plunged as people are worrying about their retirement, savings and futures.
6. As of right now the economy is teetering towards a recession.
This is a hard situation for America to deal with as pop culture has also taken an extreme hit. Gamestop, a famous video game retailer, has even shut their stores as customers and the company’s employees complained on twitter how the company made them work, while being exposed to the microbe .
So far, the nerds at the CDC said that any available vaccine will not be around for either a year to a year in a half; So, as of right now, the numbers we are seeing on TV are growing as more and more people are getting tested. It’s possible that these numbers are going to hit record infections similar to Italy real soon.
As comic cons are becoming postponed, pop culture is on hiatus and as a result, many people who depend on these events for survival are struggling. What’s important to note is that those who might be infected are not staying home, violating quarantine, and are still acting as though they are impervious to this disease and as a result, are infecting others.
Additionally, the American economy is also declining. Weeks ago, interest rates have once again been reduced to almost zero percent levels and many companies who specialize in leisure, retail and entertainment are about to receive a final death blow in the coming months.
In my opinion, comic cons will be canceled for 2020 or at least the first half of the year (till August). Now if I’m wrong and they don’t cancel and wait out the pandemic, think what would conventions look like as people, who have suffered from the dreaded ‘virus’, may still have the virus remaining in their system and if they attend, infect many others? Let’s not forget what happened at H1Nerd1
Ladies and Gentlemen, pop culture is now suspended as conventions are canceling because of this dreaded disease. With many people who rely on these events going to the unemployment line ASAP, pop culture is now in a state of flux as America is wondering when they will get healthy again?
It is also important to note that we should, in some way, continue to support Comic-Con artists and creators. Any sites that they are a part of, please take the opportunity to read and provide any support that they might need if you can; mental, social or financial. At least say hi to them.
Comic cons and pop culture are a part of our nerd and geek culture. We will get through this as we have survived many other epidemics that have taken place in America. The only question is when…
