Sta.sh
→The recent explosion of Cosplay across the world has elevated “dress-up” far more into actual role-playing,
with the fans not just trying to look like their favorite characters but actually “becoming” the characters for extended periods of time.
This is a whole new level. Leading up to Comic-Con this year I will publish two articles that intend to capture the pulse of the Cosplay
community here on deviantART while also exploring the history and social significance of the movement as a whole. There is so much to explore
in this current Cosplay crusade. Let's take a look behind the headlines and thriving Con event circuit and get to the heart of what makes
Cosplay so special to so many around the Earth Sphere. This is your chance to share with me the important elements, storylines, issues, and
community members you would like to see highlighted.
Now there is the ongoing process of the multiplying and diversifying of distinct cosplay communities into so many different ways of coming
together, online and in-person, to express themselves (not just becoming characters from manga, anime, comic books, graphic novels, videogames,
TV & movies, but also transforming themselves with renaissance, fetish, “furry”, gender-reversal and even entirely Virtual immersions). It seems
to me that what had once been an expression of group fandom, and then morphed into a sort of mass “political” expression of a specific cultural
sensibility – is now becoming something more: a true commitment to a set of pop cultural characters, in their world and according to their rules and ethos.
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Halloween costume play has come a very long way. It’s passed even beyond consumer culture fandom and now become an important part of who we are –
our virtual identity. I don’t think I can even as of yet speculate on where things are ultimately going. But at least, rather than being circumscribed
in your “identity” at all times by where you were born and to whom you were born... now it’s possible to don the costume of whomever you have chosen to be
– the “identity” that is your free choice, not the one the world “gave” you without your permission. That just might be a really great thing, even if it
is for just a week, or weekend, at a convention somewhere in the world.
Questions for the Reader
1
Which elements of the Cosplay movement would you like to see highlighted?
2
Which deviants in the community might be best to contact for an interview about their process?
3
Are there any elements in Cosplay that never seem to get mentioned that you feel need to be brought to the forefront of the conversation?
4
In your opinion which Cons represent the best that Cosplay have to offer?
5
Even if you have never dressed for a Con which character would you choose to emulate if you did decide to particpate?
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I'm currently putting together my Naruto Uzumaki cosplay (which I have always wanted to do! ^.^) and am ready to attend my first ever convention! (Metrocon in Tampa, FL June 15-17).
After Naruto, I would love to cosplay Lightning from FFXIII!
I believe that ~MuzzaThePerv is a really good cosplayer to talk to.
In answer to the question who would I dress up as, most likey Alice from PandoraHearts.