Appeal of Cosplay

If you’ve ever been to a convention of some kind of genre subject, be it sci-fi, fantasy, comic books, or steampunk, you are probably already familiar with the concept of Cosplay. Cosplay stands for Costumed Play and it is where a fan or a group of fans (group costumes are quite common) decide to dress up like a particular character from any number of different fictional properties. And while some people just slap something together to have a good time, there is a deeply committed cosplay community that have elevated what might just be considered a hobby to a true art form.

Alessandra Torressani

First thing that struck me about cosplayers when I attended my first convention is that they are rock stars. There are fans who seem to treat these individuals in costume with as much reverence as they would for the character being portrayed. They’ll pose for pictures, act out little skits and even sign autographs, all in the name of the character they are dressed up as. There is a sense of responsibility felt by those who dress up as a character, to represent that character to the best of their ability.

Adrianne Curry

There is also a social responsibility shown by cosplayers that I respect. Many cosplayers, such as the 501^st Legion, will dress up in their costumes and visit sick children. There is no special agreement people have to sign in order to put on a stromtrooper uniform. They have no obligation to do this. Fandom just means you have to love the object of your fan focus. But these people put on their costumes and bring smiles to little kids faces, who for all intents and purpose assume these characters are real and have come out of the films and shows they love.

Andrew Garfield

As a fanboy myself, one thing I truly respect about so many cosplayers is their attention to detail. It’s a bit of a negative trait about the geek community but we can be rather nitpicky at times and tend to overly dissect the things we love. That is why most cosplayers deserve a special award because knowing how nitpicky fans can be they venture forth and manage to present such excellent reproductions as to calm the fan community. And they do. They create works of art that may have only existed previously on a comic book page or in a video game. In effect they bring into reality what has only ever existed in fantasy.

Sara Jean Underwood

Another appeal to cosplay, and why so many people engage in it, is that cosplay has no limits. People dress as any character from any fictional property. So regardless of the particular intellectual property a person is interested in, they can express their love by dressing as that character. And there is no animosity towards them. It is not like going to a sports arena wearing the jersey of the rival team. Star Trek and Star Wars fans can be photographed side by side. DC and Marvel characters share tips on prop reproductions. It doesn’t matter what you love, just merely that you love it.

In many ways, cosplayers represent what it truly means to be a geek. Being a geek is about having passion for something and what could be more passionate than dressing up as a character. To put in the time and effort to not only craft a costume, but then to wear that costume throughout a convention, truly shows devotion and love for a character.  Most geeks wear t-shirts or some article of clothing that has an emblem of some kind on it. Cosplayer just takes it one step further and wear the whole costume.