A panel discussion, or simply a panel, involves a group of people gathered to discuss a topic in front of an audience, typically at scientific, business, or academic conferences, fan conventions, and on television shows. Panels usually include a moderator who guides the discussion and sometimes elicits audience questions, with the goal of being informative and entertaining. [1] [2] Film panels at fan conventions have been credited with boosting box office returns by generating advance buzz.
The typical format for a discussion panel includes a moderator in front of an audience. [3]
Television shows in the English-speaking world that feature a discussion panel format include Real Time with Bill Maher , Loose Women , The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore , as well as segments of the long-running Meet the Press . [4] Quiz shows featuring this format, such as QI and Never Mind the Buzzcocks , are called panel games.
Panels at sci-fi fan conventions, such as San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic Con, have become increasingly popular; there are typically long lines to get access to the panels. [5] The panels often feature advance looks at upcoming films and video games. [6] Panels and the early screenings at conventions have been credited as increasing the popularity of blockbuster films in recent years. [7]
One of the earliest film panels was at the 1976 San Diego Comic-Con, when publicist Charles Lippincott hosted a slideshow—in front of a "somewhat skeptical" audience—for an upcoming film called Star Wars . Five years later, the Blade Runner panel at the 1981 San Diego Comic-Con featured a film featurette, before featurettes were popular. At the 2000 event, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring preview panel ushered in today's era of hugely popular panels. [8]
A manel is a panel whose participants are all men. The term is a portmanteau word deriving from the man and panel. The Oxford Dictionaries and Cambridge Dictionaries teams both published blog posts on the word in 2017, suggesting the term was new at that time. [9] [10] In the second decade of the twenty-first century, such panels, in academia, the private sector, the media, government, and beyond, became the object of feminist critique and of extensive media discussion, [11] [12] [13] as well as academic research. [14] [15] Commentators challenged conference organizers and speakers to refuse to present manels. Organisations responding included The Financial Times , whose board decided in August 2017 to end men-only conference panels, and encouraged its journalists not to participate in these elsewhere. [16]
Cosplay, a portmanteau of "costume play", is an activity and performance art in which participants called cosplayers wear costumes and fashion accessories to represent a specific character. Cosplayers often interact to create a subculture, and a broader use of the term "cosplay" applies to any costumed role-playing in venues apart from the stage. Any entity that lends itself to dramatic interpretation may be taken up as a subject. Favorite sources include anime, cartoons, comic books, manga, television series, rock music performances, video games and in some cases original characters. The term is composed of the two aforementioned counterparts – costume and role play.
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is commonly known simply as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con or SDCC.
Real Time with Bill Maher is an American television talk show that airs weekly on HBO, hosted by comedian and political satirist Bill Maher. Much like his previous series Politically Incorrect on Comedy Central and later on ABC, Real Time features a panel of guests who discuss current events in politics and the media. Unlike the previous show, guests are usually better versed in the subject matter; more experts such as journalists, professors, and politicians participate in the panel, and fewer actors and celebrities are included.
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,000 in 2022, it is North America's most attended fan convention.
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and film convention held in the San Francisco Bay Area (1987–2011), then—under the name WonderCon Anaheim—in Anaheim, California, and WonderCon Los Angeles in 2016. The convention returned to the Anaheim Convention Center in 2017 after a one-year stint in Los Angeles due to construction at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The Comics Arts Conference (CAC), also known as the Comic Arts Conference, is an academic conference held in conjunction with both the annual Comic-Con International in San Diego, California, and WonderCon in San Francisco. Founded in 1992 by Henderson State University communications professor Randy Duncan and Michigan State University graduate student Peter Coogan, the Comic(s) Arts Conference brings together scholars, professionals, critics, industry professionals, and historians who study comics seriously as a medium.
Sheldon "Shel" Dorf was an American comic book enthusiast and the founder of San Diego Comic-Con International. Dorf was also a freelance artist and graphic designer, who lettered the Steve Canyon comic strip for the last 12 to 14 years of the strip's run.
The Montreal Comiccon, under its current form, was launched in 2006 as "Montreal Comic-Con". The event features comic books, toys, games, science-fiction, horror, anime, non-sport cards and collectibles. It is held 2 times a year at the Palais des Congrès convention center in downtown Montreal, with the larger "Comic-Con" taking place in July over the course of 3 days. The same organizers also hold and a smaller one or two-day "Mini-Con", traditionally held at the end of the fall season, in early December.
BronyCon was an annual fan convention held on the East Coast of the United States for fans of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, among them adult and teenage bronies. Eleven events were held, with the final one in August 2019 drawing in 10,215 attendees. Though originally planned to run through 2025, it was announced at the closing ceremonies of the 2018 convention that 2019 would be the final year, tying in with the final season of the show.
L.A. Comic Con is a three-day multi-genre convention held annually in downtown Los Angeles, California. L.A. Comic Con is one of the largest independent conventions in the United States and encompasses several categories, including comic, horror, sci-fi, anime, gaming, and pop culture, with a particular focus on the local Los Angeles community.
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope is a 2011 documentary film on the San Diego Comic-Con International, directed by Morgan Spurlock.
Fan Expo Denver is a speculative fiction fan convention held annually in Denver, Colorado, in the United States. The event is a celebration of comics, books, movies, TV, gaming, and other pop culture.
Calgary Expo, known in full as the Calgary Comic and Entertainment Expo, is an annual fan convention held at Stampede Park in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Con Man is an American comedy web series created, written, directed by, and starring Alan Tudyk. The series follows cult science fiction actor Wray Nerely (Tudyk), as he tours the convention circuit. Tudyk, one of the stars of the 2002 science fiction TV show Firefly, based Con Man loosely upon his own experiences. The series is co-produced by PJ Haarsma and by Nathan Fillion, who also co-stars in it. Crowdfunded through Indiegogo, Con Man set records for crowdfunding a web series by raising more than $1 million in 24 hours and more than $3.1 million overall.
BookCon was an annual fan convention established in 2014 in New York City. Taking the name format from other fan conventions such as Comic-Con, BookCon was established to combine pop culture and the book industry. Many authors, celebrities and publishing professionals would attend BookCon. In a statement made on December 1, 2020, it was announced that due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic the convention was canceled for 2021 and would be reworked for the future. As of August 2023, there have been no updates as to whether the convention will return.
A comic book convention or comic con is a fan convention with a primary focus on comic books and comic book culture, in which comic book fans gather to meet creators, experts, and each other. Commonly, comic conventions are multi-day events hosted at convention centers, hotels, or college campuses. They feature a wide variety of activities and panels, with a larger number of attendees participating in cosplay than most other types of fan conventions. Comic book conventions are also used as a vehicle for industry, in which publishers, distributors, and retailers represent their comic-related releases. Comic book conventions may be considered derivatives of science-fiction conventions, which began in the late 1930s.
Stacey Roy is a Canadian actress and producer of the TV show “The Nerdy Bartender,” and the first Canadian to win Lego Masters with her victory with Nick Della Mora on US Lego Masters Season 3. She is also the live host of the Amazon streaming show “Cooking with Stacey.” Based out of Kelowna, British Columbia. She produces content with Mike Parkerson via their production company Whabam Media.
DC FanDome is a virtual event platform created by DC Comics and Warner Bros. Entertainment. Created initially as a virtual entertainment and comic book convention, the name is used for other online events centered on DC properties. The events feature announcements about DC-based content, including the DC Extended Universe film franchise, the Arrowverse television franchise, other films and television shows, comic books, as well as video games.