So, my goal here is to write all the informative (and asinine) things I think about on a weekly basis. Sounds easy enough.

First off, my name is Cristi. I’ve been a huge nerd for as long as I can remember, and have been a con-hopper and costumer since the summer before I turned 14. It all started with Star Trek cons and tiny local comic cons, and then in 1999 it evolved when I attended Otakon in Baltimore for the first time. After that, I hit between 4 and 7 anime cons per year, plus Dragon*Con and the occasional Wizard World, etc.

The rest is history. I enjoy everything from Firefly to Ghost Hunters. Catwoman to Chastity. Slayers to Code Geass. Pretty much everything that has ever been good in the world, and even Star Trek: Enterprise, which I know is questionable.

But we’re not here to talk about me, though I am quite an expert in that subject.

I think I will start my first entry talking about something I happen to know a lot about: Cosplay.

The origin of cosplay has been debated for several years. We all know that a Japanese man came up with the word, itself. Just an Engrish amalgamation of the words “costume” and “play.” But I argue that we came up with the concept of costuming and reenacting right here in America. Look at the Renaissance folks, and the Civil War re-creators. I once heard a story that during World War II our Superman comics made their way overseas, and the Japanese were inspired to create their own comics after seeing ours. Well, I don’t care one way or another about that. I don’t even know if it’s true. But it’s definitely plausible, and makes me wonder if the very manga and anime we love now came from Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s creation?

The first Star Trek convention was held around 1972, by a group of like-minded fans who rented out a ballroom with their own money. They had a costume contest even then. So all I’m saying is that while the act of costuming is only now coming more to the surface of popular culture (i.e. Jay Leno sending a correspondent to San Diego Comic Con to interview costumers) it has existed since before I was even a twinkle in my mom’s eye. Where it came from isn’t even that important, but what about where it’s going?

What about cosplay showing up in today’s media? Does it make those of us who participate look like weirdos, or does showing its popularity make it seem more acceptable? I find that cosplay in the media is a double-edged sword. After all, “mainstream” doesn’t necessarily have to be a dirty word. I can get my anime now at Best Buy, or online the very next day after it airs in Japan. Back in the day, I was paying $30 for a 4-episode crappy bootleg fansub at the local comic con, or ordering fansubs online that had to be *gasp* MAILED to me! So mainstream works for me in that way, because I benefit from it. But mainstream costuming? Suddenly everyone thinks they should go to school for fashion design, or thinks they are a model. While I think that’s great and everyone should do what they want in life, the hobby does seem to be getting a bit inundated with it. I used to say, “The more the merrier!” but as the con attendees keep getting younger and I keep getting older, I’m not so sure.

I guess I have more complex thoughts on the subject, but I don’t want to start sounding like a cosplay grandma. That does tend to happen. “BACK IN MY DAY ALL OUR COSTUMES WERE MADE OF TRASH BAGS AND CHEWING GUM!”

To change gears for a second, a female DJ on the local rock station where I live was making fun of Dragon*Con today. Somehow she found out about it, and started making really obnoxious jokes about nerds reading from books all about dragons. While I don’t take myself seriously at all (cosplay is NOT serious business), I was prompted to write to her. I called her out on her attitude, and explained how friendly, talented, and straight up awesome the people who go to Dragon*Con are. She wrote back and explained to me that she thinks of herself as a bit of a nerd and was only making fun because you’re allowed to “make jokes about your own kind.” She told me to let her know the next time there’s a con, so I linked her to Baltimore Comic Con. In return, she gave me free tickets to see The Black Crowes. Right on!

Anyway, it does make me wonder. Was she serious? Is she just going to show up at the con with her microphone and belittle the attendees? I really hope not, because I’ll feel somewhat responsible. I think I’ll try for some healthy optimism, and hope that she really is a geek and will go experience the con for herself. Maybe she’ll see we’re not all creeps living in our parents’ basement. I hate stereotypes, and I am living proof that they are wrong.

So what does everyone think?

Share This

Stumble it!

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 11:17 pm and is filed under American Comics, Cristi, Random, Television, events, Fandom, anime. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.