GeekGirlCon ’13: Deconstructing the Mary Sue
We’ve all seen female characters in movies, television shows, books, and comics who are “too” something—too perfect, too pretty, too smart, and too angry are a few examples. Fanfiction and critics of these media have branded such female characters as “Mary Sue.” Where did this come from? Why is it happening with female characters specifically? What can writers, actors, and especially fans do to combat this negative stereotype?
GeekGirlCon is proud to present a panel titled “Deconstructing the Mary Sue Myth” at our upcoming convention, October 19 and 20, 2013. This panel will “…explore the idea of the Mary Sue and how it relates to the creation, interpretation,and reception of female characters in genre and geek-centric works.”
From left to right: Sarah Kuhn (photo credit), Javier Grillo-Marxuach (photo credit), Amber Benson (photo credit), Cecil Castellucci (photo credit), and Andrea Letamendi (photo credit)
Panel presenters include:
Sarah Kuhn: freelance contributor to Alert Nerd, Star Trek.com, Geek Monthly (now known as Geek Magazine), Back Stage, IGN.com, Creative Screenwriting, the Oakland Tribune, and The Hollywood Reporter; author of the geek romantic comedy novella One Con Glory, now in development as a feature film.
Javier Grillo-Marxuach: writer and producer of television shows such as Lost, Jake 2.0, Medium, Charmed, and both the comic and ABC Family series The Middleman; co-winner of Emmy and Writers Guild of America awards for work with Lost.
Amber Benson: actress widely known as Tara Maclay from Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writer of The Ghosts of Albion books and television movies; author of book series featuring Death’s daughter, Calliope Reaper-Jones; playwright, actress, director, and producer in numerous projects. Recent projects include a guest role on Jane Espenson’s web series Husbands, and Blood Kiss, a vampire noir film starring her and fantasy author Neil Gaiman.
Cecil Castellucci: also known as Cecil Seaskull from indie rock band Nerdy Girl, which can be found on iTunes; author of books The Year of the Beasts, First Day on Earth, Rose Sees Red, Boy Proof, The Queen of Cool, Beige, and The Plain Janes.
Andrea Letamendi: clinical psychologist, scientist, and convention addict/speaker. She has spoken at San Diego Comic Con, New York Comic Con, Wondercon, and other conventions.
Come see this panel of amazing and talented peeps at GeekGirlCon ‘13! I know I’ll be there.
Written by GeekGirlCon Staff Copywriter Sarah Grant
