How many of you visited the recently held Lanka Comic Con? If you are a geek then that is not even a question. Lanka Comic Con organised by the Geek Club of Sri Lanka was held last month at the SLECC to celebrate their passions for comics, anime, cartoons, fiction and games. The event got a lot of attention both locally and internationally. Hundreds of enthusiastic geeks participated in the event attracting a huge number of people to the event. We spoke to two of the organisers Vasanth Kahandawela and Thilani Samarasinha to know more about the event as well as the purpose behind it being held annually also about the recent controversy when their cosplayers got cyber-bullied and body shamed for their Cosplays.
Organisers
The Geek Club of Sri Lanka is the feeder for the Comic Con. Thilani said a core team of four people do all the planning of the Comic Con. “This time we spent about eight months to plan the event and we have an extended team of volunteers who are ready to step up and help us at any given time. On the day of the event it is completely run by our volunteers and the support we get from them is invaluable.”
Vasanth explaining more about the event said that the Comic Con concept is still a novel one for the country hence the hesitation to participate or to get familiar with what it is all about.
“This is a western concept. But we feel that it is catching up here quicker than we thought.
And it turns out that a lot of people are interested in it and we witnessed that very well at this year’s Comic Con. Right now we are trying to combat the whole idea that Comic Con is for the English speaking people. In future we hope to educate people more on this and show them what Comic Con really is.”
Both Thilani and Vasanth reiterated the fact that the event Lanka Comic Con is a safe space for the geeks.
Because the whole idea behind organising such an event is to provide a platform for the geeks to express themselves freely. “Our tag line for the event is Be Yourself.
The main reason for us to come up with that is we want the geeks to feel comfortable and safe when expressing themselves in their favourite Cosplay.”
Geek
“A geek is someone who is really passionate about something. Be it pop culture, comics, movies, music and the list goes on. There are all sorts of geeks. It is not just about one particular thing,” said Thilani.
She also added that a lot of people tend to think that they need to know all about something otherwise they will not qualify as a geek. She mentioned that if a person has an interest in something then he/she should explore it and learn more and Comic Con is such an event where you get to meet likeminded people from whom another will probably learn much more or find new interests.
“Some think, I have only seen the three Iron Man movies therefore I do not qualify as a geek. And I won’t get to participate in this event. But that is not true. Once you participate you will learn and share interests. It is open to anybody who is basically ready to nurture their inner child a little bit,” Thilani added.
Cosplay
“It basically means costume play. You wear the costume of your favourite character and act it out. So you will be embodying that character. We had this cosplayer who acted out the character of No Face from the Japanese animated film named Spirited Away. That person who cosplayed did not talk the whole time. That is because it is a character and he is acting it out. We had a lot more other Cosplayers who showed so much of dedication and enthusiasm to do justice to their Cosplay. It is truly amazing,” said Vasanth.
Explaining further Thilani said that the cosplayers spend four-five months designing and making their costumes. Some people come all the way from faraway places to Colombo to just to get the material for their costumes. She admired the effort, dedication and the passion they show at the event.
“The artistic talents of the geeks are just amazing. Everything is handmade and mostly designed by them. While doing all of this they build their network as well so at the end of the event the geek community is expanded more and more.”
They also added that in future they hope to make the event, Comic Con more of a trilingual event so that everyone can participate and share their knowledge. Next year Lanka Comic Con will probably be a more interesting event.
Controversy
Speaking of the controversy which took place after the event, Vasanth said, “They made fun of our cosplayers. Which we, as the geek community found very disgusting, unacceptable and offensive. Certain parts of society are still not ready to accept this kind of thing, so what they do is they make fun or ridicule it.
“We are more like a family so if you are a geek the other geeks tend to step up and look after you and that is exactly what happened. We are so happy how all the geeks got together in this particular situation. There is a sense of ownership so they rise to the occasion”. Thilani revealed that one of the major issues of the geek community is that although they have highly talented artists who are into writing comics, the cost to print such a book is so expensive that it is out of the reach of any budding artist.
“We got a grant from the U.S Embassy in Sri Lanka and we will make use of it to buy a high end commercial printer so that we can offer printing at a cost to our geeks.
“There is no shortage of talent but a platform and a helping hand to make it a reality. In future our club intends to encourage people to write comics and to convert those in trilingual comics. Also to distribute same to those kids in rural areas for free. We are looking at more of a CSR thing to provide for a lasting developmental for kids. Art wise because they are not taught those in school,” she said.
Run by a non profit trust, Lanka Comic Con has provided a platform for small scale business people as well. The geek community is around 15,500 and is a very powerful community. According to the organisers they have very strict policies.They have a zero harassment policy, no misogyny, no politics, no religious posts and no bullying.
“We have to make sure that it a safe space for everyone. Anyone who is ready to respect other people’s views and beliefs are welcome to join our club, Geek Club of Sri Lanka. Also we would like to thank all our sponsors and the volunteers. Special thanks go to the U.S Ambassador, Atul Keshap who was our Chief Guest for the event, for his tremendous support throughout.”