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Morphicon Year Zero Results and Pictures!

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Morphicon's Year Zero Picnic (held this past Saturday) was a great success, with over 30 attendees to the Columbus, OH event.

See the official Morphicon website for more information, and links to picture archives as they become available.

For those of you who may be impatient, Trickster has pictures up already at this location.Special thanks go to to Jewel and Ostrich for assistance in planning and implimentation, Jewel and Arcturax for help with the cooking, Max Goof (a.k.a. Stargazer) and Cirrus Kitfox for the puppet show, and everyone who attended!

The purpose of the event was to build enthusiasm for next year's Ohio Morphicon (hotel bidding is currently underway). OMC will likely be held in late June of 2004. If you want to stay current on OMC events, please join our mailing list.

We're also interested in expanding our current convention staff. If you're near the Ohio area and are interested in helping make the convention a reality in 2004, please click here to view application information.

Thanks again to all who attended, and we'll see you in 2004!

Trickster

Comments

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Quoted from the official website for Morphicon 1...
http://ofc.wereanimal.net/2004main.htm

"There will be a Mature Programming Track. This programming will be kept separate from the rest of the convention and will not be accessible to minors or displayed prominently. It will include a mature variety show, a pet auction, and mature panel discussions. "
Adult "mature" variety show?
Adult pet auction?
Hmmm... Did the attendees know that this was planned for next year's convention?

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Most probably do. The mature track was discussed in detail for weeks on the mailing list for the convention, and several polls were taken on the concept. There was quite a bit of interest in those items.

In the end we decided to have mature programming, but keep it completely segregated from the rest of the convention. It won't appear in the main program book; only registered adults who request information on it will be given a schedule to the mature track.

If I recall correctly, only one furry polled said s/he would refuse to attend the convention if any mature programming were held, even if it were kept from public view. This is probably because every furry convention out there already contains extensive adult material in the dealer's room which far surpasses the content of any mature panel discussion.

Also, keep in mind that our definition of "mature" does not mean "pornographic". We're talking PG-13 and R, not X. The mature variety show will free up performers to use vulgar language and sexual themes in sketches, not to expose themselves to the audience.

It's an unfortunate commentary on the fandom that there is a market for G-rated material and X-rated material, but not much in between that. We at OMC staff feel that there is a place for mature discussions and content at our convention without it necessarily turning obscene.

Trickster

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You got it, Trickster. I like to think there's a market/area of interest for material that runs between G and X.

Though that does beg the question of just what constitutes PG-13 or R -- I've looked at material I considered mildly spicy at best that was praised/condemned as 'hard-core porn!'

Any ideas?

Ardashir

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What I usually mean by that realm is "mature content, but not explicit". Like a story that has a sex scene in it, without actual detailed descriptions of the sex act.

I don't really like rating systems in general because they're arbitrary and maintain the pretense of being more objective than they really are. I don't think Hollywood knows what's appropriate for your thirteen year-old daughter. Families are different, and children are unique. It's really up to individuals to make those decisions for themselves, even if they would prefer the rest of us to go to the trouble of screening their input for them.

However, this is the culture we live in, and people need to be at least moderately comfortable with an environment that they go to for recreation. Furry cons are pretty crazy places, compared to the outside world of the States, but most attendees are comfortable with the microculture. Our goal at OMC is to see that there is a place for mature material and discussions, but to keep that place separated from the rest of the convention. This may include panels or workshops where people can speak their mind on sexual issues without worrying about minors being present. And again, none of this is revolutionary. I've attended a showing of "Meet the Feebles" at a furry convention before, and that's far more graphic than anything we would allow in a mature panel.

On the other paw, some discussions of things many people deem "mature" are arguably important for minors to engage in. For example, issues involving the awakening of one's sexual orientation, and the social problems one faces when dealing with this. Having worked with gay youth, I feel that younger teenagers should be privileged to such discussions. I plan to host a panel on gender issues in the fandom, and it will be an all-audiences panel even though gender is considered by some to be a "mature" topic.

Trickster

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