Pierre Levy (2013) has noted that one of the major platforms that has aided in the explosion of fandom communities worldwide in the early twenty first century is the Internet. The Internet provides a connection and helps people with similar interest to create online communities that are focused on “the collective production, debate, and circulation of meanings, interpretations, and fantasies in response to various artifacts of contemporary culture” (Jenkins 137). On the internet, people can have access to a variety of gender expressions, but it is not necessarily diverse. For instance, if a person does a general Google search for “cosplay” the search will yield the most popular images of cosplay at the moment, which may or may not have a variety …show more content…
COSPLAY AROUND THE WORLD Cosplay sub-culture had spread first to the other parts of Asia, then around the globe, and finally fused with costuming at science fiction conventions in North America and Europe. Research shows that, even though cosplay came from Japan, the otaku culture suffered from negative stereotypes, unlike the US. The United States has a long tradition of Halloween and masquerades which helped them to accept this culture better. By the time cosplay began, Americans had been dressing up as superheroes and Star Trek heroes for over 20 years (Bainbridge, 2013). Although cosplay means costume-play, cosplayers of America and Japan differ in a few aspects. For example, American cosplayers perform onstage skits as part of cosplay competitions. Fig.26 Anime cosplay skits Japanese cosplayers strike a signature pose or recite the motto of the character. Fig.27 Japanese cosplayer striking pose They are not welcome outside of conventions because they are seen as individualists in a culture that focuses on community values (Caffrey, 2015). Cosplays concerning Star Trek, Star Wars and other science fiction series are popular in conventions worldwide. However, Renaissance-era characters, and historical re-enactments (e.g. Civil War battles), are far more popular in the West than they are in Japan. …show more content…
The winner of this competition gets to participate in the Annual Crown Championships of Cosplay at Chicago Comics and Entertainment. Sameer Bundela (Fig.33), one of the finalists of Indian Championship of Cosplay (ICC) 2017 says, "Earlier when we entered cosplay competitions, you could see a few cosplays and think ‘this one is going to win’ by the sheer scale of it. But ever since the ICC began, the participation has increased and so has the competition. There are so many good participants at every Con now, it is difficult to choose. Especially this year, after the ICC was announced in advance, a lot more people have put in a lot of effort in each city. In inspires us to put in more effort as well”