Author Archives: Gabrielle Pilgrim

Cosplay in the US: from Subculture to Pop Culture

http://video.pba.org/video/2365060703/

(watch this video before reading this, or after. Honestly, it’s up to you. Just watch it ok?)

“The term cosplay corresponds to an abbreviation of the English words costume play, though the term was coined in Japan the practice is not solely Japanese. The use of the term cosplay applies to any costumed role play out side of theaters. Characters are often taken from popular Japanese fiction. Popular sources that fans draw from include anime, manga, video games, comic books, and graphic novels. American cos-players practice this form of fandom at anime conventions. However there are a growing number of web pages and photo sites dedicated to the art of cos-playing, such as DeviantArt and Cosplay.com.”

 

I have honestly yet to find out just when cosplay started, nor do I know when exactly it traveled over to America. From a Japanese subculture, to an American subculture; Cosplay was an underground hobby for comic and manga enthusiast alike. It really wasn’t until (to my understanding) around 2010 that cosplay began to really grow. Cosplayers got way creative, more intricate costumes were made, the number of people going to conventions really bumped up. It was amazing to bear witness to. Lights, hoop skirts, armor, swords, halberds, holsters, helmets with built in mics.

Oops, got a bit off topic. *Ahem*

It grew, and grew, until finally what was once viewed as just a hobby became something more. People actually started making a career from cosplay. Modeling, selling prints, taking commissions, competing. Cosplay became a growing enterprise of sorts. Then of course it began to catch the eye of the media, and shows (more like shit shows) like Heroes of Cosplay were created. There were documentaries as well, good ones and not so good ones. But all of them allowed people to see the various sides of cosplay; as a visual art, a performance art, a hobby, a lifestyle, and a business. Music Videos, books, movies, shows, you name it! Cosplay spread through the media in a multitude of ways, attracting an ever-growing audience.

Source

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_pop_culture_in_the_United_States

Class Notes 2/20

  • Put something that will reflect what you’ve learned in the program so far into the lunchbox.
  • Look at those guiding questions for A Tale For the Time Being

Jeet Kun Do vs Hip Hop

  • Self expression
  • Ever-evolving, never static
  • Immigrant art forms
  • Take what is useful and improve from that

Class Notes 2/6

Manong/Manang- First born male (older brother or first generation)

Resistance vernaculars- using a native language instead of English. “I will preserve this language in order to fight colonialism”

 

Potential Rock post

  • Lolita is a lifestyle, not Cosplay
  • Kyrary Pamyu Pamyu, Kawaii Embassador

 

Miles from the 6 could refer to the 6/8 islands that make up Hawaii which people inhabit.

Class Notes Date Unknown 2

Malapropism- A term that means switching words around humorously.

Koan- Public Record

Important Players

  • Nao
  • Ruth
  • Reader

Themes

  • Time: Age, Life, Death
  • abandonment/ running away (loss)
  • communication
  • place
  • the environment

It’s our time now (or should I say Nao)

 

Cosplay Is Not CONsent

http://www.laweekly.com/publicspectacle/2013/01/10/cosplay-is-not-consent-anime-conventions-attack-the-problem-of-harassment

The cosplay community has been recently faced with a lot of issues with harassment (mostly sexual) towards many different types of cosplayers. (As if we didn’t already have enough to deal with on top of elitism)

Individuals that have been labeled “Cosplay Creeps” have begun to appear at cons (short for conventions) all over the country.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Things like this have caused cosplayers to stop wanting to cosplay certain things or stop attending cons all together (acutally it’s because of creeps that I don’t go to conventions by myself and if I’m dressed as a character I know will get unwanted attention, I carry a weapon of some sort that goes with the costume). And  because of reaction videos like those, there have been complaints that the female side is just targeting guys giving them “extra attention”. And that is not the case, people of all genders have been effected by this!

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

What is “Cosplay is not CONsent”?

A movement to make the cosplay community more aware of the harassment going on in the community.
“MISSION STATEMENT: To empower fan convention costume enthusiasts (aka “cosplayers”) to SPEAK OUT against inappropriate social behavior of a sexual and/or stereotypical nature for themselves and fellow fans… cosplay is NOT consent!
Description

The culture of Cosplay is one of fun, creativity, and mutual respect. Unfortunately, not every fan adheres to the “respect” part. Cosplay is NOT Consent – and cosplayers who dress in (sometimes) revealing costumes should not accept inappropriate behavior from their peers. Speak out; speak up; and help keep cosplay comfortable and fun!”  - from the Cosplay is not CONsent facebook page

Will this stop the harassment? No, but it’s a start.

 

 

Class Notes Date Unknown

  • Anime that shows Asian/American connections
  • Either you present your blog or a partner’s
  • Shaolin Masters are interested in learning from their students. Bring what you know
  • Learn not to fight before you learn to fight.
  • Avoid rather than check, check rather than hurt, hurt rather than maim, main rather than kill, because all life is precious and none can be replaced.
  • Write about what animal style you would be. Tiger, Leopard, Snake, Mantis, Dragon, Crane.

My Feel Better Soup :3

A recipe for what I call, egg-drop ramen. This recipe changes based on what ingredients I have on hand.

This time it includes:

  • 1 pack of Ichiban Ramen, Chicken Flavor
  • Cabbage
  • Carrots
  • Roasted Garlic
  • 2 eggs
  • Turkey Luchmeat
  • Soy sauce
  • Worcestershire Sauce
  • Oyster Sauce
  • Red Pepper flakes
  •  Thyme
  • Black Pepper
  1. Cut your vegetables! Cut the carrots into rounds, cut your cabbage to your preference (I just tore it into pieces), and chop your garlic to however fine you want it!
  2. Fill a pot with enough water to immerse your vegetables and noodles (don’t put them in yet), and heat it until it boils.
  3. Add your vegetables, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, turkey, thyme, red pepper flakes, and black pepper. Let this boil for about 5ish minutes. It won’t take long.
  4. Add in your noodles, seasoning packet, and oyster sauce. Let it cook for three minutes.
  5. Your noodles are almost done! You just need to add in the eggs. You will have to stir based on how big you want your egg bits to be. For bigger egg bits, wait for a moment then stir slowly. For smaller almost nonexistant egg bits, stir quickly and immediately after you add the egg.

And voila! You’ve successfully created my version of Egg Drop Ramen (aka Feel Better Soup, aka Broke College Student Who’s Tired of Plain Ramen’s Delight)! This is a very filling meal and the best part is, you can interchange ingredients based on your needs! I make it like this when I’m feeling sick or if I have friends over because it’s easy to mass produce.

Enjoy~! I know I will!

gifpal-20140302231633

 

 

My style???

“Control yourself, let others do what they will.This does not mean you are weak.Control your heart, obey the principles of life.This does not mean others are stronger.”

Rules:

  1. Focus to train and condition the body.
  2. Be righteous and uphold your honor.
  3. Respect your parents, honor your teacher.
  4. Treat others with honesty, treat your friends with loyalty.

 

This is the way of the Dragon style. I feel I relate to this style most due to the fact that I try my best to live my life the way a practitioner of this style would. I have a bit of trouble with the focus and my type of training is most likely different.  While researching this subject I found it interesting that this was the style that the firebending style in Avatar: The Last Airbender was based off of this particular martial art. The series has been a major part of my life, and I have actually had to represent the element of fire using this style for a previous class.

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

There are two forms of the Dragon style, a Northern (as mentioned in the video) and Southern.

“In both the Northern and Southern Dragon Style systems, leg work is characterized by a zig-zag motion that mimics the imagined movement of the mythical Chinese dragon. In Southern style, smaller strides are emphasized to complement the system’s short range combat style. In the Northern system, the strides are greater, utilizing the strength of the legs to move in and out of the opponent’s range of attack with speed and force.”

Based on this description, I would be best fitted for Southern Dragon Style.

 

Sources:

http://www.americanshaolinkungfu.org/shaolinAnimalStyles.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Shaolin_(martial_art)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Dragon_Kung_Fu