Saturday, November 22, 2014
Am I the only one that gets mildly irked when asked, "Why do you cosplay?" from normies? People who don't interact in the cosplay community. I understand that they're curious but, I've explained it so many times that I'm pretty much sick of it. It's not like they'll really get it. Then I get asked what characters, like they'll know exactly who or what I'm talking about. If I don't tell them, they get offended. Why do you want to know if you have no interest in art, anime, or games to begin with? Because that's where most, if not all my characters are chosen or originate from. I don't think cosplay needs to be explained for them to take interest? I just started doing it on my own. Having to repeat myself over and over is a problem. Simply saying it's a hobby I enjoy isn't enough anymore? And for the main reason I get annoyed is because when I do explain, they respond with, "I don't get it, you're just weird". Okay thanks for wasting my time.
I mean, taking pictures is fun to me, but explaining that to someone else never fails to put a rock in my throat. I think I need some help in coming up with some intelligent answers. The next dreadful comment would be this: “Oh, I think the Japanese cosplayers are awesome, but Caucasian ones are far from it”. Seriously, sometimes I wonder what's the purpose of telling me that. Were they expecting me to bow in agreement and do a cheers hug with them? Are they trying to prove that they know something about this hobby. Or are they trying to imply I won't ever be as good as my Japanese counterpart?
I have nothing against Japanese cosplayers and yes, a lot of them are really awesome. I definitely wouldn't reign them as my personal throne master. It could be due to the fact that my language obstacle has stopped me from seeing more of their cosplays. From my admittedly skewed and shallow perspective, I find their cosplays too made-up and lacking in variety. Then again, I guess I don’t see enough of it as a whole to judge. I guess I should schedule a trip to Japan soon, huh? Yet, why is someone who has never cosplayed before giving me his/her critics and comments and expecting me to take it?
What I dislike most is the jab in the back by a supposed "outsider" implying I should know less than them! Every time one of them tells me: "If only you've seen the pictures I've seen." I pulled a muscle restraining myself from retorting: "What makes you think I've seen any lesser than you?". That’s a lot of anger and bitching going on above. I hope nobody takes what I say personally. As usual, I’m not being vindictive nor am I discriminating anyone/any race. My objective here is to share my observation of the reaction from non-cosplayers and start a discussion with like-minded cosplayers or at least people in this community. Am I the only one who gets responses like these when someone finds out you cosplay?
Before anyone jumps into any conclusion, I'm not hating on non-cosplayers for being curious and I'm definitely not hating on cosplay itself. If I was, I wouldn’t be doing it and even going as far as having social media pages about cosplay. The point of this entry is to share my very truthful experience and anxiety as a cosplayer who's also very much human. I know not everyone has the same experiences as me and I understand experience is what the individual makes of it. I also admit I haven’t been superbly confident and I’m still learning the ropes of living gracefully.
Ironically, this entry is simply put out here for non-cosplayers to get an insight into what a cosplayer really thinks when they ask questions like “What characters do you cosplay?”, “What is your most successful cosplay?”, “Why didn’t you choose a sexier costume?”. This is to remind everyone, cosplayers and non-cosplayers alike, that we're all just PEOPLE not a category of something based on our hobby of choice.
I just want to focus on talking about cosplay because that's what this blog is clearly about. It seems like some feel that it can be a problem in my life. Not because of the hobby itself, but the fact that the hobby itself takes up too much time and effort that otherwise would have been better used elsewhere. Some times I look back and wonder to myself , if I never found cosplay would I have become a more accomplished individual? Would I have spent my time on something more worthwhile that can better help the society or elevate my social standing? While we can go on to debate that this is an outcome nobody can predict henceforth theoretically incorrect to discuss for there is no basis for comparison... What I mean to say is sometimes I have these "What if's " in me too.
Many of the people I value and respect in life are nowhere near this hobby. I simply just dread talking about cosplay to most of them. I said most because there are some who genuinely appreciates this hobby. Most of them however, gives me an otherwise impression.
Now, some people might wonder why am I so against curious people asking harmless questions about the hobby and other people are of the opinion that we should never give up sharing this hobby as that's the only way to let them understand the hobby itself. There's absolutely nothing wrong with people being curious. Cosplay needs to be shared so the public eye can have a better understanding of this mysterious and often misunderstood hobby. This might sound selfish, but I just don't wish to be the only one having that talk in real life.
Being an active cosplayer who talks a lot about this hobby, I know this might be hard for you to believe, but I'm actually a very private and low profile person in real life. I'm not an introvert nor am I uninitiated, I'm just very subtle and I am comfortable this way. I really don't mind not talking about cosplay, we can totally chat about other things that the other party is more aware of. I have no problem sharing about cosplays at the right platform, but most of the time I was caught unprepared and in circumstances I'd rather not get affiliated with. Things get tricky when they're from people I have to face on a relatively regular basis. Meaning to say, if I screw this up, their impression of me is distorted.
Like it or not, everything we do is used by people around to judge us. I can't say I'm ready to be judged because of my hobby. I'm nothing like the characters I that I portray. Cosplay is just something I do, not who I am! I am a person with opinions, values, dreams, knowledge, ambitions, and hard work. I don't want cosplay to blur all those up. I know it's superficial of me to hold this front and some people might be of the opinion that we should be proud of who we are, cosplay, anime, and all. I'm proud of myself! I just don't see a need to express it outwardly nor turn it into a dinner conversation. I'm proud of who I've grown into and what I've learnt from life, NOT what I've cosplayed! I might be quiet and unassuming, but that doesn't mean I have no pride or think I am lesser than someone else.
I spend so much time and effort on matters outside of the anime and cosplay community. I'm pressurised, I cry, I get hurt, and learn from so many life experiences. I'm held responsible for so many other things. Why am I still being judged for a hobby that holds so little in my life on comparison to other things I hold dear to? And let's not kid ourselves, we all know how majority of the society looks at cosplay.
You're either:
None of the above options puts me in a losing situation and takes me twice as much effort to prove myself. Granted there are still some sane people out there who will look at cosplay with respect, but we all know those are few and far between. Even if they do respect and fancy the hobby, there's no saying they won't magnify the hobby as the root problem causing you to miss your assignment deadline/flunk your exam/arrive late at work/forgetting your household responsibly/etc in the future. Cosplay may be a little different, but its a completely legit hobby! However it is very misunderstood by the mass and I know I can't completely blame them.
Personally, I cosplay because it is an artistic outlet for me. I love playing as a character and putting myself into their shoes and think of ways to present them as realistically as I can. To me it's about being realistic and not pretty though granted 2D characters are always pretty.
While I don't mind sharing about cosplays with non-cosplayers, what I don't like handling is the torrential side effects that comes with it. While I can alter the things I say, there's no way for me to alter someone else's perception.
