Universal FanCon is an event that will occur in April in Baltimore, Maryland. This will be the group’s inaugural event and just like Comic-Con and other types of major venues with a similar influence, this one promises to have a lot going on. In fact, the developers of Universal FanCon, including Robert Butler, promise that there will be something for everyone there.
This organization got its start during a dinner conversation that occurred only a couple of years ago. Butler was having dinner with some of his associates when the conversation turned to the need to represent certain groups of individuals, not only in film, but with an event such as FanCon. The more the conversation continued, the more everyone involved realize that there was a real need for something like this. As a result, Universal FanCon was born and will be holding its first event in just a couple of months.
The idea is to represent those who have often been under-represented in mainstream society, especially in film. As a result, Butler and his associates are making it a point to cater to the needs and desires of people of color, those of different nationalities, women, and those who are involved in the LGBT community. In reality, anyone that doesn’t feel that they have been adequately represented as a group in film can be directly represented through FanCon.
This group serves a two-fold purpose. One is to represent these groups of individuals more often with dignity in film. The other is to create this Universal FanCon event in which everyone is well represented and can come to the event in order to have a good time. There is something of an educational aspect to it as well, as it wants to help everyone learn more about the films which do represent these groups of individuals, not to mention film in general.
Autism is also well represented at FanCon. The group’s organizers want to showcase autistic individuals more frequently in films, as well as creating films that put more accurate information about autism out there to the general public. As far as the event in April goes, there will be educational information presented about autism, all while the organizers are encouraging those who have the disorder to visit the event for themselves. Ultimately, much of the profits from Universal FanCon will go to help autism research and education.
It’s nice to see an organization that is setting out to do something honorable in the film industry, especially with regard to the current state of affairs that seems to permeate virtually every aspect of Hollywood and beyond. In this particular case, the realization that every person needs someone they can identify with is being made a reality. This is good news, not only for audiences and for film lovers everywhere, but for the entire industry is well. Hopefully, Universal FanCon will become an annual event that can continue to provide representation in films as well as solid education for those who are seeking it the most.
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