Off Book

[music playing] Cosplay's short for a costume play.

And the idea is that people dress in costume and literally act out the part of the character.

NARRATOR: I'd like to think that there isn't much of a difference between cosplay and Halloween.

The basic gist is the same.

You pick something or someone you like and you embody that for a couple hours or a day.

FRENCHY LUNNING: This is an absolute element of fandom.

There are lots of fans.

I think it's based because of the internet.

They come together on websites and conventions.

There are people from all over the world.

[music playing] Cultures have rules.

Good evening, Mrs. Norton.

FRENCHY LUNNING: Those rules have bounded categories.

So these things are allowed.

These things are not.

The difference under costume play is a difference that's allowed by our culture.

It's the sort of relief valve.

You can be a guy and play a girl.

You can be a girl and play a guy.

The funny thing about cosplay and Halloween, if you will, are that you're allowed to be the other gender.

Think of all of those sort of World War III USO shows where all the men dressed up as girls.

Well, this was a release valve, again, for a patriarchal society.

It shows up, as we call, a Gothic upwelling.

Those things that are repressed in a culture usually pop up in another way.

And since it is in contemporary culture, there are outlets for that are allowed, that are legal.

And cosplay is one of them.

That's where it shows up.

This is a theory by Felix Guattari called the transversal.

And he came about this theory working in a psychiatric hospital.

And he watched how the staff and the patients, when they got together on a meeting, everybody became equal.

And it developed a space in which equality happened, community happened.

That's exactly what happens with cosplay.

That community develops this transversals space for behaviors that are not generally allowed.

I'd say that cosplay is definitely a creative thing for me.

I really loved to embody these characters that I not only love, but that most of them I've loved since I was a child.

Being able to dress up like Wonder Woman or Super Girl brings so much power to you just by putting on the outfit.

I think the creation of the costume itself is one of the most important things of cosplaying.

It's the time and energy that you put into it.

And then when you get to finally show it off, it's all worth it.

[cheering] There are tons of conventions across the United States alone and all over the world.

If you're at a convention that's not in your state, you know, you have to pack everything, bring it to your hotel, get up most likely very early in the morning to start putting on wig caps and the wigs and the special makeup and the special shoes.

And that usually takes a lot of time.

But once you step out of your hotel room, it's like, this is it.

And you get on to the show floor.

Letting other people see your cosplay when it's finished is one of the most important things to a cosplayer.

That's where you're going to get to meet other fans and to see their faces light up when they see the work that you've put into it is fantastic.

I think I even signed an autograph once.

And I asked the person, do you know who I am?

Do you want my autograph or do you want me to sign as the character?

And they said the character.

So nothing beats that.

Cosplay fulfills a lot of different expressive elements and social elements.

In my mind, cosplay isn't different from going to a ballgame.

You know, with any kind of sporting event and wearing your team's jacket and hat.

Your attire identifies you as with your people.

And so I think cosplay works the same way.

Doctor Andrea Letamendi and I have done two research studies on cosplay.

We found that some people, when they wear a mask, feel more like themselves.

And an equal number said they felt less like themselves.

And so we think that it probably depends on the character that they're playing.

You do get to try on a persona.

Some of the people I've interviewed who've dressed as Batman talk about having experienced personal trauma.

[gunshot] His character really is an inspiration for them.

And other people that I've talked to who dress as Wonder Woman talk about her comfort with her body that kind of helps them bring out a part of themselves that otherwise isn't there that they can use whenever they want, not even in costume.

I think it's really wonderful how, in some cases, the character's-- I wouldn't go far to say therapeutic purpose-- but I think it can be really helpful for people.

I'd say much like the overall geek community, cosplay is getting more and more accepted.

More people are getting used the idea and seeing other people do it and think, oh.

OK. Maybe I'll try that too.

It allows you to try on roles that aren't you.

And then when you do it long enough, it can become a part of you.

FRENCHY LUNNING: Fan studies, you know, is now this emerging category.

It's huge right now.

Fandom has become a kind of a socialization process.

There are people from all over the world participating.

It's pretty, actually.

[music playing]