Cosplay - I don't get it. Can someone please explain?

Cafe Society
1

I have heard of cosplay, of course.

Yesterday, I saw a bunch of girls in the city square hanging around dressed as Lolitas (I gather in the cosplay universe this does not have the same connotation as it does in the porn universe).

Some were obviously Asian, some Caucasion. But they were just standing around, not doing anything much or even saying much to each other, just holding their umbrellas and looking cute in that Hello Kitty kind of way.

So what is the appeal to the cosplayers? They go to lots of effort to dress up and presumably impress each other with the detail and extravagance of their efforts. Is it just about showing off? But if so, why in this extraordinarily specific and narrowly defined way as opposed to any of the other ways of showing off available to kids?

Maybe they’re caught up in a social niche which has an embedded competition cycle to look more compellingly like Anime characters (or the like) and are so fixated on the competitiveness that they have lost sight of the oddness of it all.

Yes, I’m a middleaged guy. Kids off the lawn, and all that. But I am trying to get a handle on what drives this phenomenon - why the participants think it’s cool, and what effect they imagine they are having on people who see them.

I know there have always been little cliques that get together in public to impress each other. Greasers with motorbikes and ducktails, mods, rockers, punks, Teddy Boys, Goths and so on. But I grok the idea that the motorbike kids are trying to project menace and rebellion, like the others, and that there is a sense of sneering at the “straight” world for being conformist and so on in all that. It’s a way of a way of using visible tribal signs that exclude others from the group as a way of forging group (and personal) identity.

What I don’t get is what these cosplay kids imagine they are projecting. It seems the exact opposite of rebellion and oppositional defiance identity establishment. There is no sneer. There is no non-conformity. If anything, it involves extreme conformity.

So - somebody enlighten me. What are these kids thinking?

2

Don’t question cosplay.

3

There are a number of different possibilities depending on the context.

Anime/sci-fi/comic book conventions feature a lot of cosplay because they’re gatherings of geeks and nerds. Geeks and nerds take pride in their in-jokes, and it’s a way for them to show off their knowledge and hipness to the relevant genre. Delving into a bit of armchair psychology, geeks and nerds tend to be a bit more lacking in social skills, and when faced with a large gathering they prefer to hide behind a constructed character. Both of these reasons are pretty much why people don’t just put their face up as an avatar icon in message boards, blogs, and IM. They can hide and it gives them an opportunity to project a slightly different persona.

Just standing out on the street or in a park? Probably just exhibitionists. They want people to take note of them. Harajuku in Tokyo is absolutely filled with these kids.

It’s also really just an opportunity to wear something that would not really be acceptable in most everyday life. At anywhere other than an anime con, this would be considered indecent exposure and would frankly make prostitutes look ashamed. But hey, it’s okay, it’s a character from a game, so let’s just have fun with it.

In other words: …yeah. Don’t question cosplay. :smiley:

4

Well, it’s partly a way of identifying with your favourite anime characters, and being part of a group that does that, and it’s partly the fun of making your own costumes. Yes, you can buy cosplay costumes, but the most serious cosplayers make their own, and go into competitions.

Yes, it’s not really rebellion, but not all young people need to rebel: they just need to find a social group where others share their interests. However, you might find that some of the young women have costumes that push the limits of decency, while some of he young men have costumes that include outlandishly large weapons.

5

A few things. Firstly I’m not on-board with the idea that everything teenagers do has to be motivated by rebellion. That seems to me to be, frankly, a relic, and wasn’t even a useful way of evaluating stuff that kids did when I was in high school (the early 2000’s).

Second, I really can’t see it as “conformity” in any useful sense of that word. People who do this are seeking the approval and attention of other people who are interested in it, but they know as well as anybody that to normal people they just look crazy.

Third, I see it as a form of escapism, and that needn’t have a rebellious component.

6

WTH is cosplay? And why would anyone want to wear what that blonde girl has on?
Something tells me I am glad I’m in my 40s. The worst thing (besides Flock of Seagulls hair) we did was Flashdance’s ripped sweatshirts. (I’m ignoring the safety pinned cheeks of the punkers…)
Is cosplay a way of life or just fun for a night of clubbing? Do I want to know?

7

Both, I think. Different people take it to different levels, just as with any other hobby.

8

You’re ignorant of a serious part of American (and Japanese, etc) culture.

There are conventions (LOTS of them) dedicated to comics, video games, etc. It’s common for people to attend these conventions dressed as their favorite characters from their favorite comics/games, whatever. That’s all.

The chick in the picture I linked to is dressed like Cammie from the video game Street Fighter. And God bless her for it. There are animated gifs of her out there and yes, she’s just as boner-inducing in motion.

9

I don’t think it’s a way of life, though it would take a fair amount of time if you take it seriously. And I don’t think they go clubbing: they go to anime conventions like these.

10

It’s extended Halloween. If you ‘get’ Halloween, you get cosplay.

11

AHA! About a month ago I was on the train and a bunch of college-aged girls got on dressed in the most insanely provocative, scanty costumes (barbarian woman, witch, etc.), and I’m wondering what the hell? while trying my best not to ogle them too obviously. I had no idea where they were going.

But now I see this thread and google cosplay and my locale, and by god there was an anime con that week. So it may not make perfect sense, but it makes more sense than it did.

12

It’s threads like these that remind me how old you all are. :smiley:

13

I appreciate that you youngsters continue to bring fine ideas like this. Keep up the good work! :slight_smile:

14

I wasn’t trying to suggest that everything kids do has to be filtered through the lens of rebellion. But rebellion I get. This I don’t, especially the Japanese parts of it all.

I suppose I can understand the Star Trek/Wars dresser-uppers. It’s probably a conversation starter at a convention at the very least, and a big Look At Me in that environment.

But the random hanging around on street corners without any colour of “justification” of a convention or the like I don’t get.

Who are the Lolita girls supposed to be?

15

I didn’t read the link, but I think this is what you’re looking for.

16

If it makes you feel better, I fucking hate weaboos.

I’ve never been to an anime convention- only generic comicons (including the big one: San Diego ComiCon! It’s a fucking BLAST!). I see TONS of Western cosplay. I saw plenty of Jokers, Master Chiefs, Cortanas, Stormtroopers, Leias, etc. It’s not really a conversation starter. I’ve gone with cosplayers and really all they get is constant requests for pictures. It’s a hobby. You’re only seeing part of the fun. Many of these people have spent weeks designing and building their costumes. I dress up when I go to Ren Fairs and I do it because it’s fucking fun. Shrug. That’s it.

These conventions sometimes last for days on end. When I went with cosplayers they wouldn’t go back to their hotel and change into normal clothing during the day just so they wouldn’t draw stares while getting lunch. It’d be a waste of time. Just because they’re not physically at a convention when you see them doesn’t mean there isn’t a convention in town. Not all conventions are huge, some of the tiny ones only draw a few dozen people. No, you wouldn’t always know.

Just like the people who dress up as Stormtroopers, they’re not dressed up as a specific character. A lolita is a common character archetype in anime/manga/hentai.

17

Depends on your definition of “serious”, I imagine.

18

A lot of people are doing it. Enough for it to be serious, in my book. Whether you think you should take these people seriously is another matter. :wink:

19

What, in the name of all that is holy, is a “weaboo”?

20

NSFW