In what ways can cosphotography be understood as a form of “fan capital”? 

Photography is an important part of modern cosplay in that it reflects and shapes how cosplay is performed (Mountfort et al, 2018). Cosphotography can be looked at as a form of fan capital as it is a permanent media that promotes and documents cosplayers, it is a two-way exchange, and it legitimizes or validates the cosplayer’s labor.  

According to Mountfort et al (2018), photography and video can provide cosplayers with both private value and fan capital to distribute within the wider cosplay community. Cosplays accumulate “subcultural capital or a quality of hipness” every time they are photographed by their peers (Hale, 2014, p. 9). These photographs are then circulated on social media or online platforms such as Deviantart, Instagram, Tumblr and dedicated cosplay websites (Mountfort et al, 2018). This allows cosphotography to be consumed and recirculated by others, generating interest in the cosplayer’s costumes and performances (Hale, 2014).  

Cosplay performance is typically short-lived as the costume is only worn by the cosplayer for one day at a time, so cosphotography can help make the performance longer lasting as it is a permanent form (Mountfort et al, 2018). This serves as a personal token to the cosplayer of their labor, but also as a way to promote their work and document it (Mountfort et al, 2018). For example, Cosplay Music Videos (CMVs) uploaded onto YouTube can serve as promotional material to the cosplayers featured, a documentary of their work, and can even help them profit from it. The MCM London Comic Con has a CMV supercut on YouTube featuring cosplayers at the convention over the years. While their video is mostly a fundraiser for the Equal Justice Initiative, in their video description they include a list of all the cosplayers featured, as well as the social media channels and Patreon for the hosts of the video, The 86th Floor (The 86th Floor: Cosplay and Cons, 2020). This is one example of cosphotography being used as a form of capital to help promote the cosplayers, increase their influence and spread, and even profit from it. 

Cosphotograhy can also be considered a form of fan capital in that it’s a two-way exchange between the cosplayer and photographer. The fashion photography and impromptu photo shoots provide the photographer with a subject, and the cosplayers with important acknowledgement and something tangible to take away, in what is a reciprocal relationship (Mountfort et al, 2018). According to Lamerichs (2011), the photographer can use the photo session as a way of developing their photography skills further while obtaining a shot of a character they love, while the cosplayer sees getting their picture taken as a compliment and acknowledgement of their hard work. They also often receive print outs or copies of their photo (Mountfort et al, 2018). This is particularly important as cosplayers are not just clotheshorses for a particular collection, but are showcasing what they themselves have made (Mountfort et al, 2018). This is also why selfies are not common at cosplay conventions, as cosplayers hope to have their picture taken by others to provide them with a form of tribute or payment, or to have their images circulated through online platforms (Mountfort et al, 2018).  

Cosphotography also legitimizes and validates a cosplayer’s labor. Scott (2015) argues that compared to other forms of fan production, such as fanfic, cosplay is expensive to make. But the cost of fabrics, materials and makeup, as well as the tactile nature of the finished product, allows cosplay to be seen as a legitimate form of labor (Scott, 2015). In their study of cosplayers, Taylor (2009) found that cosplay is often devalued by society as it is not seen as productive work. It is viewed as an unproductive hobby in which fans devote time and money on products that are worthless (Taylor, 2009). This shows a divide in the time and labor cosplayers put into their work and the worth it is given by society. Cosphotography legitimizes the amount of work that is put into cosplay as it validates the cosplayer by acknowledging their labor. For example, a study by Ramirez (2017) found that their participants saw the recognition they received from a fan asking for their photo as a form of cultural capital. The less attention and recognition they received from fans, the less likely the cosplayers were to build identity, social and cultural capital, and social cohesion (Rameriz, 2017).  

While there are questions around the sometimes-exploitative nature surrounding cosphotography, as well as who owns the product, cosphotography enables fans to go from passive consumers into active producers of culture (Mountfort et al, 2018). 

References 

Hale, M. (2014). Cosplay: Intertextuality, public texts, and the body fantastic. Western Folklore, 73(1), 5-37. 

Lamerichs, N. (2011). Stranger than fiction: Fan identity in cosplay. Transformative Works and Cultures, 7(3), 56-72. https://doi:10.3983/twc.2011.0246  

Mountfort, P., Peirson-Smith, A., & Geczy, A. (2018). Planet cosplay: Costume play, identity and global fandom. Intellect. 

Ramirez, M. A. (2017). From the panels to the margins: Identity, marginalization, and subversion in cosplay [Master’s thesis, University of South Florida]. Scholar Commons. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7946&context=etd 

Scott, S. (2015). “Cosplay is serious business”: Gendering material fan labor on Heroes of Cosplay. Cinema Journal 54(3), 146-154. 

Taylor, J. R. (2009). Convention cosplay: Subversive potential in anime fandom [Master’s thesis, The University of British Columbia]. The University of British Columbia Library. https://open.library.ubc.ca/cIRcle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0067114  

The 86th Floor: Cosplay and Cons. (2020, June 12). MCM London Comic Con 2020 – COSPLAY MUSIC VIDEO SUPERCUT [Video]. You Tube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KJuZez817o&ab_channel=The86thFloor%3ACosplayandCons  

Cosplay is the act of citing or referencing a text from popular  culture, by dressing up and embodying a certain character. It is a fan practice that is popular all over t in he world, though0020de3originally it emerged from intersecting cultural influences from Japan and the United States. Conventions which are dedicated to comic books and genres from popular culture have acted as a cultivating force in the world of cosplay, allowing for the practice to become a serious business. The costumes and attire have become more elaborate, cosplayers putting in  a significant amount of effort in order to portray their interpretation of the text and character they are referencing. Because of how much effort goes into their costumes, props, hair and makeup, cosplayers feel that gaining some sort of fan capital would be desirable. This is where cosphotography comes in, as this is a way for cosplayers to capture their practice for the personal value of the photography, but also potentially gain fan capital as their photos are displayed within the cosplay community. “ Being photographed and videoed, as long as it is not of the invasive variety, can thus provide cosers not only with tokens of private value  but fan capital that circulates within wider, largely online networks of exchange operating in the cosphere. Understanding the photograph as a token of ‘subcultural or fan capital’ or ‘hipness’ allows us to better scrutinize this economy of desire, and frame some of the polarizing issues that surround cosphotography.” (Mountfort, p.:47)

According to Lameriches, there are four crucial components which define cosplay, and these can be interpreted in a global sense. There is a source text or narrative, which the cosplayer will be referencing through their physical body and costume, then the costume or clothing itself, performance in front of an audience, and the cosplayer/subject. A fifth element can be added to this list, which is cosphotography. Photography is an integral part of cosplay, as it helps shape the practice and define its artistic meaning. The performance that is associated with cosplay is different to other types of performing arts, as it is much more fleeting and relies on its true essence being something that can be captured in the moment.

The different types of cosphotography range from formal and informal photography practices. Some of the most famous or most circulated photographs are simply taken inside the convention’s venue, or outside in a predetermined setting like a park or forest. Another setting for cosphotography are specific fashion shows dedicated to showcasing cosplayers and their elaborate costumes. Because of the purely visual nature of cosplay that includes the attention of spectators and photographers alike, there is a common occurrence of cosplayers, , who are subjugated to unwanted or unwelcomed gazes. “Conflated in the popular imagination with fetish and other kinky behaviors , cosplayers, especially female are also frequently objectified by the male gaze, reducing the multivalency of cosplay performance to a clutch of normative cliches about girls in sexy outfits.” (Mountfort, p.: 63)

This issue can arise from the notion that certain cosplayers are simply embracing and embodying a character who has already been sexualized within their source text, this means that cosplayer themselves aren’t attempting to subjugate themselves  to hypersexualization, rather that they are referencing their text in an accurate way. Certain genres, such as manga, anime, and comic books, include characters who are caricatured in a way, and this can also lead to hypersexualized interpretations by fans. Those who are not apart of the cosplay world may not understand the complexities of the source text that is being portrayed, or the act and process of referencing as being the defining feature of the fan practice. While many photographers are also apart of the cosphere and harbor intentions which are indicative to cultivating fan capital, it is important for cosplayers to know of other photographers who have the intention of exploitation. Like in any other public situation, cosplayers, males and females, deserve the same amount of respect, and the notion must be understood that no matter what the nature of someone’s costume is, they are not to be subjugated to inappropriate comments or sexualization.

References : Mountfort, P. Pierson, Smith, A. Geczy, A. (2018) Planet Cosplay Intellect Books. Chapter 2

Referring to Mountfort et al. (2018), in what ways is cosplay analogous to citation.

The modern phenomenon of cosplay has become extensively cherished and practised by an extensive community around the world. First coming into fruition in the late 1960s, cosplay involves individuals dressing up and acting as beloved characters from popular media texts (Mountfort, 2020). Throughout the early years, cosplay mostly centred around popular science fiction texts, such as Star Trek, Star Wars and Superman. However, as cosplay achieved an international reputation in the 1990s, due to globalisation and the advancement of technology (Napier, 2007, as cited in Rahman et al., 2012), cosplay began to both expand and diversify. 

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, cosplay had started to gain mass appeal in Japan. Cosplay appeared in Japanese publications such as issues of My Anime in 1983, which coined the term cosplay. With the rise of cosplay in Japan, cosplay would become indebted with Japanese popular culture sources such as manga, anime, gaming, otaku and idol culture. Cosplay quickly developed into an international sensation with cosplayers frequently incorporating or blending eastern and western influences into their costumes. Thus, Mountfort (2020) argues that cosplay “sat at the intersection of American and Japanese popular culture flows”. Mountfort et al. (2018) state that cosplay is a form of citation, in which individuals are referencing a parent text through the act of dressing up, performing and posing as a chosen character. Mountfort et al. (2018) elaborate by stating “it is the cosplayer’s costumed body that becomes the text or site that references another text— that is, the specific source media that the cosplayer chooses to perform” (p. 23). Furthermore, Hale (n.d., as cited in Mountfort, 2020) states that there exists a distinction between different types of cosplay, in which cosplay can either be ‘direct imitation’ or ‘textual transformation’. Direct imitation focuses on maintaining a faithful adaptation, while textual transformation allows cosplayers to adapt and transform the parent text. Textual transformation enables cosplayers to recontextualise the parent text by applying “parody, pastiche, satire, burlesque, and caricature” into their designs (Mountfort et al., 2018, p. 24). Yet, cosplay differs from conventional forms of costume performance in that cosplayers are not attempting to enact an entire script or story, as it would be impossible. Consequently, cosplayers are not bound to the same boundaries of traditional costume performances. Therefore, cosplayers have more freedom in how they adapt or reference the parent text into their designs. Cosplaying often references a specific character from a pre-established text. Thus, when cosplayers create their costume, they base their designs on extensive knowledge and research. Furthermore, cosplay enables participants to reinterpret and recontextualise the parent text through their costume designs (Mountfort, 2018).

In summary, cosplay is analogous to citation in that participants are adapting or referencing a parent text in their costumes. Furthermore, the medium of cosplay allows participants to push the boundaries of fan practices.

References.

Mountfort, P., Peirson-Smith, A., & Geczy, A. (2018). Planet cosplay:
Costume play, identity and global fandom. Intellect Books.

Mountfort, P. (2020). Popgenres week 8 cosplay as citation [PowerPoint Slides]. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/

Rahman, O., Wing-Sun, L., & Cheung, B. H.-m. (2012). “Cosplay”: Imaginative self and performing identity. Fashion Theory, 16(3), 317-341. https://doi.org/10.2752/175174112X13340749707204

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

Détournement is a term coined by a group of artists and intellectuals known as the Situationist International (1957-1972), which refers to a novel variation or artistic practice of transforming artworks with a political message (Oxford reference, n.d.). Its original purpose was to provide a ‘re-route’, disfigurement or a subversion of social hierarchy or authority; in other words, the activity is synonymous to satirical parody (Mountfort, 2018). In context to Cosplay, détournement encompasses the ‘direct reuse’ of ‘faithful imitations’; in its world of fandom, Cosplay sees this technique as a critical practice, which is mostly played and observed through ‘parody, pastiche, satire, burlesque, and caricature’ (Mountfort, 2018). Cosplay is applicable to extent where the character in play is cited from a source text and has the appropriate audience to actualise its validity (Mountfort, 2018). The concept can easily be interchangeable with the term détournement; the factor of recontextualization differentiates citation from détournement when features such as body type and collaborative role are considered (Mountfort, 2018).

Material and social aspects of the cosplayer are considered in détournement, such as the body type, accuracy of costume, and their role in a collaborative cosplay group (Mountfort, 2018). The concept can be termed as ‘cross-play’ wherein female players dress as male characters and vice versa; simply put, the representation of gender in addition to race is fluid (Mountfort, 2018). A subtype of détournement in Cosplay is fanfiction, where cosplayers mess with the source material to create their own text; this is only able through the player’s familiarity with the source material’s story and fandom (Mountfort, 2018). Often these type of subversions are created to transform the text for readers and audiences with specific interests in ‘disfiguring’, or following up the story with their own plot twists to cater ‘fetishes’ (Mountfort, 2018; 2020). With this technique, Cosplayers display textual mashup and creative reinterpretation; in a way, players have the freedom to knit their identity through mixing and mashing up of the character’s original ideology and their material interests (Mountfort, 2020). In addition to giving their character a three-dimensional aspect in Cosplay, the cosplayer attempts to reconstruct the character by becoming the character but with a derailment in either act or feature (Mountfort, 2020).

References

Mountfort, P., Peirson-Smith, A., & Geczy, A. (2018). Planet cosplay: Costume play, identity and global fandom. Intellect.

Oxford reference (n.d.). détournement. Retrieved from https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095713704

The term cosplay derives from the portmanteau of the words  costume and  play, and it entails the act of dressing up as popular characters from comic books, movies, television series, video games, etc. Cosplay is a performative act, as those who engage in this activity go beyond just dressing up as their character of choice and also perform as them. It is said that there is a certain indebtedness to Japanese culture, such as manga and anime in terms of popular culture, though cosplay as we know it today sources its influences from both eastern and western culture. It was these cultural exchanges between the United States and Japan which allowed for the foundations of cosplay to be established in the 1970’s and 1980’s. With many more fandoms arising in the 21^st century, along with the globalizing current of information due to the age of the internet, the realm of cosplay has expanded and the complexities of this artform have been noted and studied. Specific conventions which were created to cultivate and magnify the qualities of cosplay have shown the true essence of what this fan practice really is. Cosplay can be interpreted as a form of modelling, textualization, translation, and most importantly, citation.

So, how exactly is cosplay analogous to citation? First of all, it is important to understand the metaphorical nature of this concept, as the traditional understanding of the term citation lies in textual referencing. Cosplay as a citation can be interpreted as a physical referencing, through the body of the cosplayer which is the medium, the text which is being cited is the costume and performative being of the body and costume together. Dressing up is an expression of self, as it is connected to showcasing the body in a way which connects to the self in a non physical way. This is something which can be practiced through fashion and personal style, while cosplay transcends beyond that as it is the embodiment of a certain character which isn’t necessarily synonymous to the self. “This embodiment includes not just costume but theatricalism, including pose and gesture. While there may be limitations to analogies between cosplay and citation, investigating the practice, on one level, as a system of reference between texts helps us differentiate it from other forms of dressing up and acting-out.” Mountfort, (2018) (p.:23)

Cosplay has an undeniable postmodern quality to it, as it is connected to the concept of the “death of the author”. The Death of the Author is a 1967 essay by French literary theorist  Roland Barthes. This concept refers to the idea that authors no longer have autonomy of their story or characters, and that interpretation and meaning can be assigned by the reader or audience. This is a postmodern understanding of literature, because classical texts allowed the author to posses sovereignty. In the realm of fan practices, meaning and interpretation have a more fluid understanding, as the components of the text can be manipulated according to personal affinity. A good example is the creative freedom associated with fanfiction, as the writer can take certain parts of the story, or characters and create their own story with their own meaning assigned to it. Cosplay acts in a similar way, as it is a citation that can be referenced in a way that suits the cosplayers preferences, imagination and creative autonomy.

References :

Mountfort 2018, Planet Cosplay (Bristol, UK: Intellect Books), Intro and Chapter 1

Mountfort 2018, Planet Cosplay (Bristol, UK: Intellect Books), Chapter 2

In what ways can cosphotography be understood as a form of ‘fan capital’?

Photography has played a significant role in contemporary cosplay as well as costuming in the 20th century. Over the decades, fan conventions have progressed the development of different styles of cosphotography, and photography and videos have not only been used as memorable pieces of media but also acts as shaping agents for how cosplay is performed (Mountfort et al., 2018).

As creating a cosplay requires a lot of skill and effort, cosplayers also hope to seek some form of capital in return. Photography and videos helped provide cosplayers with tokens of private value, as well as fan capital that has the opportunity to circulate to a wider, online community that engages in the cosplay community. However, as long as these photographs and videos are not invasive of the cosplayer’s privacy. In addition, the specific photographs that are taken are considered a token of ‘subcultural or fan capital’ or trendiness, which heightens the popularity of the cosplayer and cosphotography and can guarantee some fame.

Some issues also arise within cosphotography as there can be tensions between fan-directed and commercial cosplay-spheres. For example, the heterotopian and hegemonic control of certain cosplaying spaces, as well as supportive or exploitative audiences. There is a fair amount of discourse regarding vicious body-shaming and flaming of cosplayers in the community, and can create a negative space.

Furthermore, there are many online galleries dedicated to the visual discourse of cosphotography, as well as books, prints, ‘coscards’, and many newer forms of moving image media like cosplay music videos, indie documentaries, and even reality television programs. This helps expedite the emergence of cosplayer’s fan capital as their photographs can be accessed throughout many forms of media.

The concept of cosphotography is a rather newer phenomenon, however, photographing people who are engaged in costumed play of media characters has existed for many years. Dating back to older fan conventions in the 20th century, or even earlier when the public would dress up as outlandish characters. With these costuming acts, they were different from current cosplay as the outfits were crafted from imaginative projections of potential future fashion trends, instead of media references like today. Cosphotography along with costuming can be impressionable on the public, for example, Morojo’s futuristic costumes were a turning point for many costume trends and women costumers. This enabled her to appear in different sci-fi fanzines through the 1940’s and 50’s. In fact, early Worldcon costuming supported important models that the cosplay community would come to accept universally, with their costumes being presented in both formal and informal convention settings.

4. How do postmodern “superflat structures” relate to cosplay?

Cosplay (costume and play) is a contemporary phenomenon and according to Mountfort (2018), it’s also part of something venerable. The term cosplay describes an action where a person preforms and portraits a fictional character (Hale, 2014), today cosplay reflects modern fandoms and their ability to create mass cultural engagement both online and offline (Mountfort, 2018). The person uses a costume and accessories to look like a character and uses their body to mimic postures, gestures and the language the specific character uses. Cosplay is a “somatic, material and textual practice.” (Hale, 2014).
Now how does the concept of superflat structures relate to cosplay? Firstly, let’s have a look at what superflat is.  According to Favell (2011) superflat is a term used to describe a distinct type of Japanese art. Takashi Murakami used the word superflat to describe something that is naturally two dimensional, that instead of alluding to depth highlights its inner flatness (Beynon, 2012).
It began with a sculpture made by Murakami, the sculpture is called My Lonesome Cowboy and is described by Favell (2011) as “A naked cartoon boy with a big grin,  enormous eyes and crazy hair … masturbating, a wild lasso of plastic semen filling the air around him.” The work stands as Japan’s most successful piece of art ever (Favell, 2011).  
Superflat is inspired by the animation and comic culture in Japan and we see a lot of childlike paintings, toys and big instalments (Favell, 2011).
Cosplay relates to the structures of superflat because of how the audience is watching fragments of a two dimensional fictional/nonfictional character being performed by a cosplayer.
The cosplayer displays a performance either live or through photography, cosplay is a visually rich medium, but with no or little narrative and it is the lack of narrative content that makes it fit in within the superflat structures (Mountfort, 2018).

Sources:

Beynon, D. (2012) Superflat architecture: culture and dimensionality, in Interspaces : Art + Architectural Exchanges from East to West. The University of Melbourne, School of Culture and Communication. https://dro.deakin.edu.au/eserv/DU:30044887/beynon-superflatarchitecture-2012.pdf

Favell, A. (2011) Before and After Superflat A Short History of Japanese Contemporary Art 1990-2011. Blue Kingfisher Limited. https://www.adrianfavell.com/BASF%20MS.pdf

Hale, M. (2014). Cosplay: Intertextuality, Public Texts, and the Body Fantastic. Western Folklore. 73(1), 5-37. Retrieved October 3, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24550744

Mountfort 2018, Planet Cosplay (Bristol, UK: Intellect Books), Intro and Chapter 1

Mountfort 2018, Planet Cosplay (Bristol, UK: Intellect Books), Chapter 2