Instead of five hundred years backwards...

[redneckgaijin]

So I've been listening through a shipment of music- mostly Renfaire stuff- that I ordered for the handful of humorous songs within, as part of a music line.

And the fact is, I'm not all that fond of medieval-style music. At all. If it isn't making me laugh, I can't stand it enough to listen to it continuously.

But thinking of it led my mind to renfaire, and the thought: So, we have recreations of five hundred years ago, but why not five hundred years FROM now?

Think about it- we have sci-fi conventions, yes, but we don't have the anti-Renfaire- where people actually set about for a weekend, or a set of weekends, to create a microcosm of an idealized world five hundred years AHEAD of now, rather than five hundred years BACK.

Think about it: instead of a mudhole out in the woods, they'd find a college campus or research center or industrial park used for B and C movie sets. Instead of pubs, there'd be food replicator booths. Instead of bards with autoharps, we'd have Thomas Dolby, Devo, and wandering minstrels with portable Theremins. Instead of caber tossing, we'd have VR tournaments, or maybe Rock Rock Revolutions- that's where you have to play the guitar and dance AT THE SAME TIME.

Jousts? Maybe- but on hovercraft, not horseback. Tankards and knives for sale? Feh- try sonic screwdrivers and lightsabers. And instead of the King's Feast, we'd have a cantina full of aliens, complete with a dabbo table in the back.

But I have to repeat the point: this would have to be different from a convention. This would have to be an attempt to create the future, not just gather people together who like to dream about it. You'd need performers, actors, some scenery, and oh my God the props.

But it intrigues me, it intrigues me quite a lot.

And you'd think it'd be easier than a Renfaire. We only have ONE history to pull from for the Renaissance. For the World of Next Tuesday, we have THOUSANDS of possible histories...

Comments

[rsjr.livejournal.com]

Sounds nifty but expensive.
Also, I think Walt Disney still holds the copyrights on that concept.

Still, an alternative to that would be nice...

[faxpaladin.livejournal.com]

The late, lamented Star Trek Experience in Vegas was a step in that direction. And, of course, that was the original idea behind EPCOT.

You do have less worry about authenticity, but the effects work would be a major expense.

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Star Trek Experience and EPCOT were both top-down attempts. There needs to be a bottom-up attempt, like all the good conventions are.

[bar1scorpio.livejournal.com]

or how about semi-history that never was? Screw accuracy! A SteamPunk Faire means Singing Tesla Coils & Mad Science!

[baka-mazoku.livejournal.com]

What? Like a Historical Pre-enactment?

http://dresdencodak.com/cartoons/dc_046.html ^_^

[redneckgaijin.livejournal.com]

Um... maybe, I guess. Dresden Codak doesn't make enough sense for me to re-load it six or seven times to get each page completely.

It's a nice idea, though.