ReaderCon Paneling June 12, 2008 – Posted in: Aberrant Normalcy, Altered Fluid

I’ll be on at least two panels at ReaderCon this year. They are:

I’ve Seen Things You People Wouldn’t Believe: The Influence of Blade Runner (Matthew Kressel)
This year saw the twenty-fifth anniversary release of the definitive version of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner, a film universally recognized as one of the two or three greatest achievements of sf cinema. The film’s groundbreaking (and insanely detailed) visual design has influenced everything from runway fashions to building architecture, and some would argue that the current “default” dystopian science fiction vision comes right out of the film’s dark LA streets. How pervasive has Blade Runner‘s influence been on sf (both written and cinematic)? Has the film altered the way we look at ourselves and our future? Is it possible that its dark landscapes have discouraged us from envisioning a better tomorrow?

I have been an obsessive fan of this film since I first saw it on HBO as a kid. Since then, I’ve probably seen it more than 100 times. Eugene Myers wanted me to point out how I missed writers group one night to see The Final Cut version in the theater, a version which I’d already seen just a few days before.  My reason?  When would I ever get to see it on the big screen again?  I’d like this panel to not be about the movie itself so much as how the movie has changed or affected our thoughts of the present and the future.

The other panel is:
Writers’ Groups and Writers: A Match Made in Heaven or Hell? (Matthew Kressel & Alaya Dawn Johnson)
Writers groups: some writers swear by them, others swear at them. Many writers consider critiques from their writers’ group an invaluable part of the submission process. Others believe that writers’ groups tend to dilute individual style, tending toward “groupthink.” Our panelists include members of Altered Fluid, a Manhattan-based writer’s group that has met regularly since 2001.

We are going to try and get someone on the panel who loathes writers groups to provide a contrasting argument.  Times for these panels have not been posted yet.