Yeah, I think my "economics" take may be the "coal miner" of this thread. I don't really like my language that much either and still think I could have found better words if I'd given it more time, but it's an Internet comment, whatever, who cares? Moving on.
I still feel like you have a false dichotomy with the "we can keep a sense of community or go mainstream, but not both". I mean, totally agree the bigger comic cons are just corporate advertisements gone amok, but comic book fans are still a community nonetheless. Same with general science fiction, anime, whatever. Yeah, complain about mass produced trinkets, but as compared to what? Trinkets produced in limited quantities? Furry convention and comic book conventions still revolve around the buying and selling of "trinkets", if we're going to come right down to it. I'm not saying bring in Funko Pop over generic furry enamel pin creator #3, because generic furry enamel pin creator is depending on the table for their livelihood while Funko is selling shit at Wal-Mart, but let's not get snobby, here. For all we know, if generic furry enamel pin creator could sell their product at Wal-Mart, they might just (and, going the other way, if average furry con goer could buy Funko Pops at a furry convention, God help us all, they might).
To be sure, furry's "underground" status is still a part of the appeal, but the truth is we are borrowing way too much from mass cult properties (I shouldn't need to point this out to a Growlithe) and always have been to have too many pretensions. Furthermore, their is kind of a conflation of "anti-commercialization" with "anti-outsider" going on here, as if any attempt to appeal to outsiders will automatically cause the destruction of furry through commercialization. Worst case scenario, if conventions get too "gentrified" or whatever, we've still got the motherfuckin' Internet!
(Whatever FWA's doing with their music, it's still not it, though.)
Yeah, I think my "economics" take may be the "coal miner" of this thread. I don't really like my language that much either and still think I could have found better words if I'd given it more time, but it's an Internet comment, whatever, who cares? Moving on.
I still feel like you have a false dichotomy with the "we can keep a sense of community or go mainstream, but not both". I mean, totally agree the bigger comic cons are just corporate advertisements gone amok, but comic book fans are still a community nonetheless. Same with general science fiction, anime, whatever. Yeah, complain about mass produced trinkets, but as compared to what? Trinkets produced in limited quantities? Furry convention and comic book conventions still revolve around the buying and selling of "trinkets", if we're going to come right down to it. I'm not saying bring in Funko Pop over generic furry enamel pin creator #3, because generic furry enamel pin creator is depending on the table for their livelihood while Funko is selling shit at Wal-Mart, but let's not get snobby, here. For all we know, if generic furry enamel pin creator could sell their product at Wal-Mart, they might just (and, going the other way, if average furry con goer could buy Funko Pops at a furry convention, God help us all, they might).
To be sure, furry's "underground" status is still a part of the appeal, but the truth is we are borrowing way too much from mass cult properties (I shouldn't need to point this out to a Growlithe) and always have been to have too many pretensions. Furthermore, their is kind of a conflation of "anti-commercialization" with "anti-outsider" going on here, as if any attempt to appeal to outsiders will automatically cause the destruction of furry through commercialization. Worst case scenario, if conventions get too "gentrified" or whatever, we've still got the motherfuckin' Internet!
(Whatever FWA's doing with their music, it's still not it, though.)