Cosplaying while black
May 10, 2015 8:15 AM Subscribe
Cosplaying While Black Is Actually A Far More Positive Experience Than You Might Think
You know, about the only reason I MIGHT grief a cosplayer is a lousy, no effort costume. Which she did not do. So, yeah, that's all I have to say.
posted by Samizdata at 9:41 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by Samizdata at 9:41 AM on May 10, 2015
I'm not big into cosplay, but is there a tradition to grief people with bad costumes?
I'm just kinda tired of geekdoms often acting cliquish when newcomers or amateurs enter their hobby.
posted by FJT at 9:48 AM on May 10, 2015 [13 favorites]
I'm just kinda tired of geekdoms often acting cliquish when newcomers or amateurs enter their hobby.
posted by FJT at 9:48 AM on May 10, 2015 [13 favorites]
Are there really that many low effort cosplays? Can a person make money selling a t shirt that says "This is my cosplay, please give me pocky?"
posted by mccarty.tim at 9:49 AM on May 10, 2015
posted by mccarty.tim at 9:49 AM on May 10, 2015
It's been years since I've been to an anime con, but when I did, there was a full range costumes, from the hastiest "throw on some clothes I own that kind of make me resemble a certain character" to the elite Japanese cosplayers in their seriously badass costumes, and I never saw anyone get flak for their efforts or interpretation.
From the article:
Assuming the con scenes are still the same as I experienced a decade or so ago, this is a great article for would-be cosplayers. Don't over-think it, just do your best with your costume, and have fun. If you choose an obscure character, or create some "non-canon" variant, don't be surprised if you don't get as much attention as the people who try to directly replicate current, well-known characters. Everyone there knows they're among fellow geeks and nerds, as anime and manga still aren't really mainstream in the US, so the scenes are more or less self-identifying outsiders, unlike gamer and now comic culture, which are both pretty well "mainstream" and subject to more cliquish behaviors. I'll bow to Voodoo Howyacall's suggestions on interacting with online fandoms, as that stuff didn't really exist "in my day" the way it does now.
I miss anime cons, except I'd feel like a grandpa because I'm out of the loop with current media, not because of the age of the attendees - from my (dated) experience, they were all-ages events, with life-long fans beside the newbies, and none were scorned, but the current/ more in-tuned fans could speak about new shows and characters, directors, studios and whatnot with fluency that I am totally lacking. I'd feel like an unfrozen cavemanlawyer fanboy.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:15 AM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
From the article:
I thought (and please note, this is what I thought) that the mark of a “successful”cosplayer was to be mobbed by people wanting your photo. And you know what – it doesn’t always work out that way. And in smaller cons, not going to lie, sometimes that stings. But it may not always be a racial thing.This was my experience, too, except I didn't put nearly as much effort into my costume (Commander Amaro from FLCL, with hastily dyed red hair and construction paper eyebrows, in a suit -- pretty close to the low/lazy end of cosplay), yet I still wanted more people to at least recognize me, if not ask to take my picture. The only criticism I got was from friends from my local anime club, who said I should have used actual nori, not black paper.
Assuming the con scenes are still the same as I experienced a decade or so ago, this is a great article for would-be cosplayers. Don't over-think it, just do your best with your costume, and have fun. If you choose an obscure character, or create some "non-canon" variant, don't be surprised if you don't get as much attention as the people who try to directly replicate current, well-known characters. Everyone there knows they're among fellow geeks and nerds, as anime and manga still aren't really mainstream in the US, so the scenes are more or less self-identifying outsiders, unlike gamer and now comic culture, which are both pretty well "mainstream" and subject to more cliquish behaviors. I'll bow to Voodoo Howyacall's suggestions on interacting with online fandoms, as that stuff didn't really exist "in my day" the way it does now.
I miss anime cons, except I'd feel like a grandpa because I'm out of the loop with current media, not because of the age of the attendees - from my (dated) experience, they were all-ages events, with life-long fans beside the newbies, and none were scorned, but the current/ more in-tuned fans could speak about new shows and characters, directors, studios and whatnot with fluency that I am totally lacking. I'd feel like an unfrozen caveman
posted by filthy light thief at 10:15 AM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
Are there really that many low effort cosplays?
I go to a lot of smaller anime cons, and at those the lines between cosplayers and random attendees tend to be pretty blurry. For some people it's a serious hobby that involves meticulously studying artbooks, sewing everything from scratch, vacuum forming armor, etc. and they have a shot at winning the cosplay contest. At the other end of the spectrum someone will wear a Pokemon hat and carry around a Pikachu plush for no reason other than that they like doing it. But I would say that fifty percent or more of the people you will see walking around at the con are wearing something that could be considered cosplay.
I'm not big into cosplay, but is there a tradition to grief people with bad costumes?
I'm just kinda tired of geekdoms often acting cliquish when newcomers or amateurs enter their hobby.
At least at the cons I go to, it's made pretty clear that insulting people or other forms of harassment are not tolerated and personally at least I have not directly seen it happen. But obviously there are going to be some rude people at any kind of event. Overall though at smaller cons pretty much everyone attending is an amateur, and the whole con tends to have a DIY, have fun the way you want to kind of feel. The panels for example are mainly just random kids talking about things they like rather than big budget events staged by media companies.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:32 AM on May 10, 2015
I go to a lot of smaller anime cons, and at those the lines between cosplayers and random attendees tend to be pretty blurry. For some people it's a serious hobby that involves meticulously studying artbooks, sewing everything from scratch, vacuum forming armor, etc. and they have a shot at winning the cosplay contest. At the other end of the spectrum someone will wear a Pokemon hat and carry around a Pikachu plush for no reason other than that they like doing it. But I would say that fifty percent or more of the people you will see walking around at the con are wearing something that could be considered cosplay.
I'm not big into cosplay, but is there a tradition to grief people with bad costumes?
I'm just kinda tired of geekdoms often acting cliquish when newcomers or amateurs enter their hobby.
At least at the cons I go to, it's made pretty clear that insulting people or other forms of harassment are not tolerated and personally at least I have not directly seen it happen. But obviously there are going to be some rude people at any kind of event. Overall though at smaller cons pretty much everyone attending is an amateur, and the whole con tends to have a DIY, have fun the way you want to kind of feel. The panels for example are mainly just random kids talking about things they like rather than big budget events staged by media companies.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:32 AM on May 10, 2015
I'm not big into cosplay, but is there a tradition to grief people with bad costumes?
It's definitely something you hear about, but neither I nor anyone I know has ever heard it. I think it's the kind of thing that happened a lot more five years ago, when the scene was a lot smaller and more cliquish. These days, there's kind of a understanding that being a dick to anyone for their cosplay is Not Cool.
posted by Itaxpica at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2015
It's definitely something you hear about, but neither I nor anyone I know has ever heard it. I think it's the kind of thing that happened a lot more five years ago, when the scene was a lot smaller and more cliquish. These days, there's kind of a understanding that being a dick to anyone for their cosplay is Not Cool.
posted by Itaxpica at 11:26 AM on May 10, 2015
There's only one wrong way to cosplay while black.
posted by Apocryphon at 1:09 PM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Apocryphon at 1:09 PM on May 10, 2015 [2 favorites]
I think I'm gonna cosplay as Supa Hot Fire.
...but I'm not a rapper.
posted by I-baLL at 7:57 AM on May 12, 2015
...but I'm not a rapper.
posted by I-baLL at 7:57 AM on May 12, 2015
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