Cosplay
Cosplay is the practice of dressing in costumes to embody characters from various forms of popular culture, particularly from anime, manga, video games, and comic books. The term "cosplay" merges "costume" and "play," and the phenomenon gained traction in Japan during the 1980s, developing from a culture of manga and anime fandom. Over the years, cosplay has expanded globally, with significant promotion from events like Comic Con, which began showcasing costumes and competitions in the 1970s. Participants, known as cosplayers, range in age from teenagers to middle-aged adults, and both men and women engage in this creative expression, often competing at conventions for recognition rather than monetary rewards. The practice serves various purposes, including artistic expression, community belonging, and personal enjoyment, with some individuals feeling a deep connection to the characters they portray. Cosplay events attract thousands, where participants are judged on costume authenticity and character portrayal, making it a vibrant aspect of fan culture.
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Cosplay
Cosplay is the practice of wearing costumes to portray characters from popular culture. The word cosplay is a combination of the words "costume" and "play." Japanese manga, or comic, fans popularized cosplay in the 1980s. The trend eventually spread west and extended to television shows, movies, and other forms of popular culture. Cosplay is especially popular among fans of science fiction, video games, manga, and comic books. The practice does not require a single medium of popular culture and can include general fantasy costumes such as vampires or fairies.
Cosplay differs from other costumed play such as Renaissance fairs or Civil War reenactments because it deals with fictional rather than historical realities. Cosplayers attend conventions around the world where they can present their elaborate outfits and compete for prizes. Cosplay is a prominent feature of the comic book fan conventions that convene across the globe every year.
Origins of Cosplay
Most believe cosplay's origins are rooted in the surge in popularity the science-fiction genre experienced in the 1960s. During this time, people began dressing like and role-playing their favorite characters from television shows such as Star Trek. Manga publisher Takahashi Nobuyuki first coined the word "cosplay" after he observed the costumes at fan conventions in the United States in the 1980s. This type of costumed role-playing may have inspired the Japanese anime and manga fans, but the extreme degree to which cosplayers take their role-play originates in the East.
Cosplay became very popular in Japan in the 1980s with the rise of manga and anime fiction. Obsessive manga and anime fandom was referred to as otaku, and cosplay essentially emerged as a subtype of otaku. Japanese anime and manga fans gathered together dressed as their favorite animated characters and often competed against each other for best costume. The art became more serious over the years, and costume details were crucial to earning coveted cosplay trophies. Cosplay was most common among fans of anime, manga, and video games for many years.
Cosplay became a cultural phenomenon in the United States with the rise in popularity of comic books and science-fiction and fantasy literature. A major force of promotion for cosplayers was the annual Comic Con fan convention held in San Diego, California. This convention, which began in 1970, gradually spread across the country and soon made its way into international territory. Initially, costumes were not a prominent part of the event, but soon the convention began holding masquerades and encouraging attendees to dress as their favorite characters. Competitions were eventually introduced, and the level of costume role-play reached cosplay heights within a few years. As attendance and publicity for the event grew, so did cultural awareness of cosplaying.
By the early 2000s, cosplay became a major business. The first World Cosplay Summit was held in Japan in 2003. Japan also launched a magazine specifically targeting cosplayers that year. Over the next decade, the San Diego Comic Con made cosplaying incredibly popular in the United States and even made celebrities out of diehard cosplayers. In 2013, the Syfy channel debuted the reality competition show Heroes of Cosplay to more than 750,000 viewers.
Cosplay Demographic
Cosplayers usually range from adolescent teenagers to middle-aged adults, but older participants also engage in the practice. Both men and women participate in cosplay, though some genres attract more of one particular gender. Men often don costumes of their favorite male-centric comic books or epics such as Batman or the Lord of the Rings. Men and women do occasionally dress as the opposite sex.
Cosplay can take place in public or private settings. Many private fan clubs host parties and masquerades in honor of their favorite stories and characters. The most elaborate display of cosplay is found at public fan conventions, however. These events attract thousands of people each year and include costume and performance competitions. Participants are judged on the authenticity of their costumes and how convincingly they portray their characters. Contestants have been known to spend thousands of dollars and countless hours re-creating costumes. They also practice poses and memorize character dialogue. The prizes awarded to cosplay competition winners are rarely worth the cost of the costume. Contestants mainly desire the praise of their fan community.
Cosplayers also cite other reasons for dressing in costumes. Some merely enjoy the activity of dressing up and pretending to be someone different. Others use cosplay as a medium of creative expression. Many simply desire to belong to a community with the same interests. Cosplay goes beyond the social realm for some, though. Cosplayers have reported such intense obsession over a character that they dress up as them to experience their "soul." The increasing interest is cosplay has garnered the attention of social analysts who wish to understand why a person chooses to inhabit the role of fictive characters such as comic book heroes, or more intriguingly, comic book villains. Little research exists concerning cosplay's effect on its participants.
Bibliography
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Manifold, Marjorie Cohee. "Cosplay." Women in Science Fiction and Fantasy. Vol. 2. Ed. Robin Anne Reid. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2009. 75–77. Print.
Raymond, Adam K. "75 Years of Capes and Face Paint: A History of Cosplay." Yahoo! Movies. Yahoo!, 24 July 2014. Web. 14 Jan. 2015. https://www.yahoo.com/movies/75-years-of-capes-and-face-paint-a-history-of-cosplay-92666923267.html
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Winge, Theresa. "Costuming the Imagination: Origins of Anime and Manga Cosplay." Mechademia. Project MUSE, 2006. Web. 14 Jan. 2015. http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/mec/summary/v001/1.winge.html