Since GA passed the Heartbeat Bill criminalizing abortion, which has been described in horrific detail in several diaries so I am skipping that part, some actors and producers have called for a boycott of Atlanta. For those of you who don't know, that city has become a huge center for film and TV production. They are calling it Hollywood East. I am.not just talking Tyler Perry here. I mean the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other major movies and TV shows. Avengers: Endgame, The Hunger Games, Guardians of the Galaxy and a host of others were filmed there. So far,most of Hollywood,including Netflix and Oprah's production company, are NOT boycotting, simply " monitoring the situation" and assuming the courts will strike it down. Unfortunately any action they take won't happen immediately, because many projects are already filming, so that boycott won't take effect immediately.
There is,however, something on a much smaller scale that we can try. Every year on Labor Day weekend, Atlanta hosts Dragoncon. this isn't a typical sf con with a few thousand people in a couple of hotel s with maybe 20 pro guests. This enterprise fills multiple hotels with 80,000 people.
Yes,l you read that right: Eighty Thousand People.
I just did a count of the number of professional and semi-pro.guests in attendance so far. The total was over 200, and they include comic book.writers and artists, sf/fantasy/horror authors, TV/film writers, actors and producers, and a few scientists. The programming has about 20 tracks, with numerous panels in each one. There are concerts all day, plus dances every night with a mix of live music and DJs. There are gaming set-ups, a ball, major costume events. Just walking through the door costs $125. Some programming costs you more to attend.
In short, this isn't your typical sf con. It more closely resembles San Diego Comic Con in size and scope. It receives a lot of local news coverage, and sometimes goes national. Hotels and restaurants make tons of money off this con. Rooms are booked far in advance, and multiple hotels count on these bookings. Attendees have to eat, so area restaurants are jam-packed for 4-5days.
My suggestion is we start writing guests and urging them to cancel. Ditto con committee members. We probably can't shut it down, but news of a boycott cannot hurt. If we have any members of Science Fiction Writers of America, Horror Writers of America and other similar professional associations, can you spread the word? Is there someone here who can build a website on some free hosting service? We can write letters and press releases to local TV stations and the Atlanta Journal -Constitution and even major newspapers.
If all else fails, we can organize a protest outside the venues. Handmaid's Tale cloaks and bonnets would be very appropriate, since that novel.is dystopian sf at its finest.
Yes, it is a publicity stunt, the same way the Women's Marches are. GA needs to know women and their allies will not allow them to turn women into.brood mares.
If I were still in GA, I would be happy to co-ordinate this, but we are in New E gland. We are still recovering from the car engine replacement, and hoping the dining room chairs will last till we can afford to replace them. When I say "collapse" I am. not speaking metaphorically, but literally; one is in pieces downstairs, and another tossed me on the floor, bruising my butt spectacularly. We won't be traveling any further than Boston any time soon. (Vacation? What is that "vacation" of which you speak? I think the last time we had one was 2001.) Somebody in GA will.have to.do that part. If I were still.there, though, I know what I'd be doing Labor Day Weekend.
And to those people who objected when I proposed this casually on another diary, this event is WAY too large to.move. Dragoncon may not have capital investments as Disneyland or a theme park, would, but a con this large isn't planned months in advance, but a year or two. There are contracts with hotels and performers that are signed. I worked a WorldCon and those are planned 2 years in advance. Dragoncon cannot just cancel or move without legal issues. Too much.money is involved. A boycott won't just annoy fans. It will cost Atlanta a lot of money in hotel cancellations, restaurant and bar business, and even parking garages
Here is the website:
dragoncon.org
If the Sad Puppies and Rabid Puppies can steal the Hugo nominations, we should be able to get some mileage out of this in publicity.
Besides, it will give Vox Day and his cohorts apoplexy.