It’s been so long since the last time that I’ve talked about the Cosplay community in the country; and that, of course, won’t stop. I’ve recently talked about the ‘fun’ and ‘competitive’ edges of Cosplay before.
Now, I would like to talk about why you can’t have objectivity in Cosplay, not just in the country but in a general sense — trust me, I tried — and that’s how I got confused with what to support and what not to. Once I realized that I’m confused, I dropped everything altogether and told myself: “Cosplay is Subjective.”
Criticizing Cosplayers is a hard feat for sensitive people like me, making me grow as an apathetic person. I’ve had different standards in looking at Cosplays before that it made me think of myself as a lost kid in a playground full of different characters.
Why Cosplay can’t be objective? Looking at the Cosplayers objectively — meaning, from the looks to the moves — is one thing; but the impact each Cosplay have brought you is another. If you were attached to that certain Cosplay even if you are aware that there is a better Cosplay than that one, what would you think?
Here, while you try to understand what I’m saying, here’s a sample. I hope I didn’t made it complicated to you though.
Say, you have two people in front of you — Mister C is a Cosplayer who wins Cosplay competitions with his solid accuracy in his costume and performance; Mister B is also a Cosplayer who is enjoying what he does even if he’s not that well in her physique.
One day, both of them are Cosplaying the same Anime character that you love the most. You were asked to pick only one person, and you know the backstories between their Cosplay. Let’s say that you are somehow ticked off by Mister B for all the right aesthetic reasons, but you saw Mister C trying to be in character.
The night before the decision was pressed to you, you hang out with them in a gaming session. Mister C is not that of an expert when it comes to games, as he only knew a part of the character that he is doing from the Anime and Manga adaptations; while Mister B is a solid fan of the game. Both of them are your friends.
Coming back to your senses, you are asked the same question one more time: “Which will you pick, broski?”
You’re happy with what the outcome of their Cosplays, so you decided to pick both. “I’ll pick both of them, seriously.”
The one who asked the question insisted that you must pick only one. “No broski, you ha~ve to pick one. Please pick one based on the lesser flaws that they have. We know you bro, you can’t just say ‘both’ when you are among the scathing critics in our circles.”
Mister C and Mister B are looking at your eyes. They looked at you as if something bad will happen once you’ve decided.
Come to think of it, you already saw both of their flaws.
It ended with you picking Mister B, since he had more experience in his Cosplayed character than Mister C, in which Mister C admits.
The story I had told you is just a small, humble sample of a proof where you can’t look at Cosplay objectively — look around you: Online, there are so many scathing evidences where cursing and even bullying is involved.
Speaking from a purist’s perspective, I hate it when you can’t do your Cosplay properly, but if you go to the Cosplayer’s perspective, he/she is asking himself whether if he/she is happy with Cosplaying or not.
You’ll hear more from me soon.