Week 8 Question

What does the term détournement mean and how is it applicable to cosplay?

Cosplay refers to the words ‘costume’ and ‘play’ which were first used together in Japan through 1980 (Mckay, n.d.). Cosplay is a form of dress-up that is targeted more for adults, and usually includes individuals dressing up as famous characters from movies, T.V shows, books, and even games. Although cosplay was thought to have originated in Japan during the late 19th century, it has been around since the early 15th century during carnivals where people would dress up as anything from famous people of that time, to objects and ideas (Mckay, n.d.). Mountfort, Pierson-Smith and Geczy (2018), explain that dressing up is a part of many cultures and communities and it is a form of communication and socialising. They also explain that in the 21st century, cosplay consists highly of popular fandoms and the engagement of different cultures. 

In an article written by Mountfort, Pierson-Smith and Geczy (2018), there is a word that is associated with intellectuals and artists that are based in Paris but is also used to describe and explain the basis of cosplay. Détournement in French means to ‘hijack’ and was used to deliver political pranks and was later used in the punk movement of 1970. Détournement can be applied to cosplay because the word is known to be related to ‘ludic’ play, which is also how many individuals see cosplay. According to Mountfort et al. (2018), détournement applies to cosplay because it is potentially reforming an idea into something else. Cosplayer’s often visualised their ‘dressing up’ as a serious practice, and from this they took it a step further and instead of just dressing up as the character, they became the character. Cosplayer’s today also reinvent their characters in different settings with different characteristics. An example of this would be gender-bending or typically sexualising a character that would not necessarily be sexy. 

Cosplay is a popular art form that many fans have taken up as a hobby. It refers to détournement because of the way it combines media materials that already exist to create masterpieces that are almost like parodies. One of the great and powerful characteristics of cosplay is the fact that race representation is usually fluid which means as long as people are respectful and less appropriating, they can dress as a character that is the complete opposite race to them (Mountfort et al. 2018). Popular characters are created as particular genders and races but this does not mean that only that minority can dress up as them. Instead of just plainly dressing as a character, many cosplayer’s go beyond this and they become the character through artistic ability and creativity. 

References

Mckay, R. (n.d.). Cosplay 101: Everything You Need To Know About It. Who Australia. https://www.who.com.au/what-is-cosplay

Mountfort, P., Peirson-Smith, A., & Geczy, A. (2018). Planet Cosplay: Costume Play, Identity and Global Fandom. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/