American Cosplayer: Delving into Japanese Tradition

~This is a paper I wrote earlier this year, for the summer semester. Enjoy!~


In early May, I attended my first anime convention, Anime Central, located in Rosemont, Illinois. Anime is a Japanese style of cartooning and comic books, the drawings in which showcase characters with elongated limbs, large, expressive eyes, and frequently, magic powers of some kind or other. I attended this convention because I had become acquainted with the art form of cosplay. A cosplayer seeks to accurately recreate the costume and mannerisms of a character from a particular show, book, or even video game.
Cosplay is, in effect a sort of theatre art. The convention I attended even offers what is dubbed “The Masquerade,” a venue that allows cosplayers to perform skits in costume. As is stated in our textbook, “Costume designers work with the entire body of the actor” (204). Such is also the case with a cosplayer. To properly design a costume, its purpose must be understood, and attuned to the body of the wearer. In my case, my mother and I created a costume of the character Raiden, a combatant from the Mortal Kombat video game series. As a fighter, Raiden’s costume must be able to move freely; the clothes he wears must never keep him from using his body to its fullest. And because of this, I chose breathable fabrics with which to create the costume, not only for the sake of the character, but also because of the weather conditions.
A friend of mine, Jia, has been cosplaying for several years now, and I have taken her as a mentor in order to further myself in the understanding of what it takes to be a great cosplayer. Jia is an award-winning cosplayer and costumer, and she judges at conventions country-wide. Below is Jia, cosplaying as Belldandy, a goddess from the anime/manga series Ah! My Goddess:



My classmate, Shy, has offered his comments on the construction and design of this costume:


"The focal point is her face with the lines created by the gold triangles leading the eyes. The draping cloth of the arms of the costume feature vertical lines that seem to imply a high status for the person the costume represents, and seem to give a sense of lightness. That, along with the light, loose fit of the clothes, and the pose seems somewhat reminiscent of the goal of ballet dancers to portray dancers as ethereal beings not bound to the earth. Mass is primarily in the torso and head with the blond hair and dark blue fabric being darker and more opaque than the lighter blue."


These comments really capture the essence of the costume, and the skill with which it was created.
I encourage those who enjoy sewing and camaraderie to consider cosplay as a possible hobby. It is a wonderful way to meet fascinating people, and to become more cultured in the art of costuming, and in Japanese culture as a whole, I enjoyed Anime Central, and plan to attend many conventions to come.


And now, five other totally amazing blogs that you should visit:
1. Jia*Jem
2. Damn Interesting
3. Neatorama
4. Why the Fuck Do You Have a Kid?
5. David Mulley
6. Apostrophe Abuse
So, if you ever get bored with my [absolutely fascinating and awe-inspiring] posts, check one of those out. I'm still way cooler. [WARNING: SARCASM DETECTED]
~Sushi

Groupthink Occurrences In Modern Trick-or-Treating

A paper that I recently submitted in my Marriage and the Family class.
Obviously, names have been changed.



Though I am aware that the original assignment was to observe groupthink in either a haunted house or at the movie Paranormal Activity, I didn't have the opportunity to take in either of those things, because I had to take care of my sisters all weekend. So, rather than forgo the extra credit that I know I so badly need, I decided to use an experience that I could have over the Halloween weekend. Being that my sisters are a great deal younger than me, I had the chance to go trick-or-treating with them, which can oftentimes be more terrifying than any haunted house.
My sisters, Ladybug, 8, and Sunshine, 5, were stuck in the house for the majority of the day, so I set the kitchen timer so they would know exactly how much time they had for me to change my mind about taking them anywhere. When 4:30, the beginning of trick-or-treating in our town, came, they were already in their costumes and clawing at the door. My dad and I drove them to town [we live in the country], to my friend [and fellow classmate] Spock's house. He and I decided to dress up as Shaggy and Velma from Scooby Doo. And so, the trick-or-treating began.
Groupthink isn't really prevalent in trick-or-treating when you're young. Half the time, you don't even realize you're following a crowd. However, as I observed my sisters, as well as the other children, I noticed a few patterns. For example, whenever someone screamed, either from sheer delight or absolute terror, an echo of accompanying screams would bounce from street to street. When a group of children would skip a house, either because it was scary or because it didn't have a light on, several other groups would skip that same house, even if there was someone with candy there. Also, and I have noticed this at several costumed events, adults would refer to the children as the costume they were wearing. I am included in this group, sad to say; I even referred to children I knew as the embodiment of their costume. Occasionally the children would do this as well, but they mostly greeted each other by name, or as “Whoever-You-Are.”
There was one instance of learned behavior that I, disappointingly, didn't see all night. This would be the dreaded question, “And who are you supposed to be?” When I was younger, I would be asked this question countless times, by countless adults, even if I was dressed as the most obvious thing on Earth. Possibly that example of groupthink has been eliminated, but when I'm certain that when I answer the door on Halloween night, I'll ask every single child what they are. Just for fun.


A different kind of list
My On-the-Way-Home-From-School Playlist
_{Just as a warning, most of these songs are rather...well, dirty.}
1. Capital P, Mindless Self Indulgence
2. Sometimes a Fantasy, Billy Joel
3. Pussy All Night, Mindless Self Indulgence
4. Bomb This Track, Mindless Self Indulgence
5. Fanatica, Eisbrecher
6. Utah Saints Take On the Theme From Mortal Kombat, Utah Saints
7. Faggot, Mindless Self Indulgence
8. Mark David Chapman, Mindless Self Indulgence
9. Tom Sawyer, Mindless Self Indulgence
10. Honesty, Billy Joel
11. Alienating My Audience, Mindless Self Indulgence
12. Smooth Criminal, Alien Ant Farm
13. Give Me Love (Give Me Peace on Earth), George Harrison


My mix CDs sometimes have a life of their own.
~Sushi