2020 is officially in the history books, and likely to be taking up more content in those books than most years. While most folks are happy to see 2020 go, 2021 is off to a big start with a new US President, COVID-19 vaccinations under way, and a lot of hope for the new year. That said, COVID-19 is still a serious pandemic, and continues to have a huge impact on everyone’s lives. That impact includes the topic of this post, which is the Boston Science Fiction Marathon. Last year’s SF45 was held as usual at the Sommerville Theater in Davis Square, Somerville, despite the potential of a pandemic becoming clearer. I did wonder if attendance would be impacted, as a bunch of people from all over the country, and potentially the world, spend 24 hours in an enclosed space together to watch movies, and masks were still not considered useful. It did not seem to be any less attended, and as far as I know, there were no reports of COVID.
This year, with the pandemic in full swing, masks mandated in Massachusetts, and if not mandated elsewhere, extremely highly recommended, as well as limits on sizes of gatherings, and other health safety measures, SF46 will be held virtually. I did attend a virtual session on plans for this years SF46, and while it covered most of the technologies and vendors, there are more details to come on the specifics. It should be no surprise that there are challenges doing this sort of thing virtually, particularly when it comes to distribution and presentation rights. When it is in a single theater, you know the geographical location of all attendees, and have more control over who gets in to see the movies. When virtual, you no longer have as much control over where attendees are when viewing content, and there are different distrbution and other rights for content in different countries, and even different areas of this country. This will limit access to some content, and will likely limit where attendees can be to access the content.
One of the best parts of the Boston Science Fiction Marathon is the social aspect of watching movies with many other fans of the genre. As I expect most of us realize by now, trying to adapt to socializing virtually can be challenging, and is a very different experience that may get better, though time will tell. Garen is planning to use at least one app to help folks engage remotely. It is called Socio, and while I have downloaded the app, I haven’t had much opportunity to try it out, particularly a large group experience like SF46. I am willing to give it a try, and while it won’t be the same as in person, it may be an interesting new experience. Since I don’t want to miss out on the focus of being committed to the full event, which would be possible just sitting at home with all it’s distractions, I have reserved our common house living room for the whole time, so Alexei and I can just hang out there the whole time. It will be easier to go to the bathroom, and pop out for a nap, which Alexei has been known to do even at the Somerville Theater, and not as distracting as being at home. Besides, at home it would be hogging screen and space resources the whole time, which would put more impact on the rest of the family. Right now I plan to follow my usual food plans, though again being essentially at home, I will have more flexibility if I want. I’m a little dissappointed that my favorite local take out chinese place went out of business during the pandemic last year, and I thought that was a little surprising, as non-take out restaurants switched to take out for many months and survived. Now that I think about it, perhaps more take out competition was a problem for them?
As for what will be shown, I was a little worried that it might be mostly second tier stuff due to distribution challenges, and am happy to report that I am looking forward to what has been announced so far, listed below. Plenty of time to get your tickets, and with it being virtual this year, it will be easier to do for those who can’t commit to 24 hours in one place. I hope to see new faces, and maybe some returning faces as well. ^_^
- 12 MONKEYS (1995)
ADV OF BUCKAROO BANZAI (1984)
THE CREEPING UNKNOWN (1955)
THEY LIVE (1988)
TRON (1982)
SPECIES (1995)
FLIGHT OF THE NAVIGATOR (1986)
THE THING (1951)
Perley's Pontificating Place 