|
Science fiction is known as a genre that is especially popular among young people - who may also belong to a vulnerable age group. Young gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex people face important challenges such as “coming out” to family, peer pressures, self acceptance, youth suicide and potential social rejection. Anyone who has “come out”, or who is facing that possibility, realises that family and friends are probably the hardest people to face, as it is these people whose potential rejection seems most frightening. PFLAG assists in this process by providing families and friends with support mechanisms as individuals come to terms with their children’s homosexuality - families and friends can begin their own “coming out” process. |
Science fiction is a genre that suggests possible futures. One future we would all like to see is a world where homosexuality is no more an issue than being left handed or having red hair. That day must inevitably come, but in the meantime, groups like PFLAG are vital. Members of Spaced Out can imagine a positive future - and it is members of groups like PFLAG who are changing the world into the positive future we can all imagine. We encourage members of Spaced Out to purchase PFLAG merchandise whenever it is available at Spaced Out meetings - or to support PFLAG Victoria in other ways, such as becoming a member. |
Spaced Out held its second annual mini convention day on 17 November 2001, and our attendees enjoyed an afternoon of fun and entertainment.
Our first guests were authors Jenny Pausacker and Kerry Greenwood, who have written a combined total of approximately 90 books. They entertained us with an open discussion about life, the Universe and (almost) anything, particularly their reminiscences over fandom, friendship and professional writing. They gave us some motivational thoughts about authoring - hopefully, some of the audience will be inspired to write their own material for this newsletter or our anthology. How much did we enjoy their chat?
| (wide gesture alert) | - - - THIS much! - - - | (with thanks to Kerry). |
We paused for a mid-afternoon break, and enjoyed the spectacular talents of our resident space chef. Then, Spaced Out held its Annual General Meeting. A highlight of this event was a visit by Dr Who (a la Tom Baker) - well, actually, a shrine was built in his honour, showcasing the creative talents of Trudy, who used the occasion to imaginatively present the club’s official Annual Reports. (If you wonder what this means, perhaps you should have attended the day!) The only concern was the worry that next year, we’ll have to be even more creative!
The workshop afternoon continued with more guests - H Gibbens and Peter Roberts, fan film makers from “Star Walking”, the Star Wars fan club. They showed some fan videos that included live action, model work and computer animation. These efforts caused one member to wonder aloud whether fan videos might be the modern-day equivalent of a “fanzine”. In any case, it was clear that fan videos enjoy a production quality unrivalled in earlier days - have we met some of tomorrow’s professional film makers? The quality of their work astounded us and sparked a long conversation that only ended when time ran out. We were sorry to have to end the afternoon!
It was great to meet new members on the day, as well as welcoming back older members. A great time was had by all. It’s also hoped that members will take away their feelings of inspiration and turn these into written or film efforts in the future.