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Over the past ten years, conventions around universes from pop culture (series, comics, manga, etc.) have exploded in France. With a visible and astonishing phenomenon: all generations come together! What is creating such enthusiasm? We asked Jonathan Dumont, creator of the Paris Fan Festival which will be held this weekend.
Fans coming to meet their favorite series actor, figurine collectors, entire families dressed up in cosplay… Whether they are fans of Star Wars, manga or Stranger Things, more and more French people are running what Fan conventions are what we call these events dedicated to one or more worlds of pop culture (read “entertainment”). But, unusual enough to be mentioned, the event attracts all kinds of audiences, from the youngest to grandparents. But what is causing such enthusiasm?
Attachment to characters, a phenomenon that is growing
For Jonathan Dumont, creator of Paris Fan Festival which will be held on April 27 and 28 in Paris, Porte de Versailles, the attraction felt for around ten years can be explained by several facts, in particular the emphasis placed on attachment, which works perfectly: “Before, there was only one support per “product”. We liked a series, a comic strip. Today the franchises have been deployed on different media, which contributes to creating an increasingly strong attachment to the characters. This emotional power alone generates more and more attraction” he analyzes.
To the point of booking your ticket several months in advance to meet other fans like yourself? Here again, Jonathan Dumont evokes the current context:
“In a world that is becoming increasingly digital, there remains an even greater need for physical gathering. And these events, first created for and by fans, are today perceived as meetings, high masses, which correspond to their own identities in which people recognize themselves.
Meetings which, moreover, are expanding by mobilizing several worlds… and therefore more people too!
The meeting of several interests and several generations
The other astonishing fact of these conventions lies in the constitution of their audience: fans, of course, but also families, with husbands, partners, adolescents, children… A transgenerational dimension, rare today, which contributes to the success of the conventions . A matter of transmission for Jonathan Dumont:
“We often link entertainment to comics, but those who were fans of comics are now 40, 50, 60 years old. They have today become collectors, ready to spend on a rare object. But they don’t come not alone: they are accompanied by their wife, their children who come for other forms of pop culture: superheroes, manga, etc.”
The pre-sales figures don’t lie: the family audience is growing every year and family packages are now compulsory. The fan convention became a family outing.
The convention, or the opportunity to stay a “kidult” longer
In this playground, the boundaries between the adult world and adolescence also tend to disappear, for the happiness of all. So adults also have the opportunity to extend their passions as a young man or woman to another dimension, without harming anyone:
“There are interesting examples around toys, a desire to extend the experience” notes Jonathan Dumont. “With in particular a phenomenon that is emerging, adults and artists who stage figurines to reclaim the values of their childhood, what we call kidults. Today, children buy Star Wars figurines to play with. Parents will take advantage of it in an artistic approach.
With conventions, one thing is certain, staying young at heart is a personal choice, which is passed down from generation to generation.