A few days
ago, I read this article on BuzzFeed, about a young woman who knows virtually nothing
about such things being walked around New York Comic Con and asked to name
various characters that were being depicted with varying degrees of accuracy
and success.
Her answers
were all hilariously, good-spiritedly, entirely wrong. Which is cool. If it’s not your thing, it’s not your
thing. But she was a good sport about
it.
The same,
however, can’t be said for the commenters on the article who called her “uneducated”,
asked if she’d been living under a rock, wondered if she’d ever had a
childhood, all sorts of variations on that same assholic theme.
What
bothers me the most about that reaction is that the cosplayers I know, the ones
who actually make the costumes and post the photos and bring the characters to
life for these conventions, would never
react that way to this young woman’s ignorance of their craft. Granted, I don’t know every cosplayer in the
world, but the ones I do know are genuinely nice, friendly, helpful, supportive
people who get that their thing isn’t everyone’s thing.
So, because
I’m fighting a cold and it’s making me grumpy and considerably less forgiving than
usual, I’m issuing a little challenge to the judgmental elitist cosplay fans
who are convinced that lack of knowledge of their particular interest makes someone
a complete moron.
The
following are photos of women who will be immediately recognizable to most
pinup & burlesque enthusiasts. Can
you name them all? Can you? CAN YOU?!
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| #1 |
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| #2 |
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| #3 |
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| #4 |
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| #5 |
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| #6 |
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| #7 |
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| #8 |
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| #9 |
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| #10 |
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| #11 |
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| #12 |
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| #13 |
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| #14 |
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| #15 |
WTF
really? You can’t? Is it because you’re an uneducated
rock-under-dwelling Amish who never had an adolescence?
Or is it
maybe just because this isn’t your thing, and that’s perfectly okay?
ANSWERS WILL BE POSTED HERE ON 10/15
rita hayworth... a lot of blonde... annnnnnnnnd i got nothing, i fail. ;_;
ReplyDeleteRita Hayworth is in there, yes. You do not fail. I guarantee two things: first, you would recognize the majority of these names if you heard them even if you can't immediately put those names to faces, and second, you could make a list of art supplies or cartoon characters or a bunch of other things that you know and I don't, and those lists would baffle me just as much. Because everybody has their things.
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ReplyDeleteRita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, Raquel Welch...That's all I got.
ReplyDeleteRita's there, yes. The others, no, but I can absolutely see why you thought they were, there are some very strong resemblances.
DeleteBetty Brosmer
ReplyDeleteRita and Ava Gardner are the only ones I got and I've been professionally pinup modeling for a few years and living the lifestyle every day since I was 10! As you said, know the names, but it's tricky to put them to faces unless your a fan of that particular girls work. I'm also bad with names and faces so that could be it!
Betty B. and Rita, yes, Ava, no. And thank you for chiming in as a pinup enthusiast, it helps illustrate the point further because just as pinup/burlesque enthusiasts sometimes don't recognize well-known names, even cosplay enthusiasts won't recognize every character all the time, no matter how well-known those characters might be.
DeleteHarlean,
ReplyDeleteI think your issue here is with bullies created by bullies. There may be some that are genuine assholes, but for the most part I feel like the ones who belittled this woman had in the past been belittled themselves for possibly the same reason. You see, some of these people only have Cosplay. That is the one island to which they feel like they rule. The recent commercialization of cosplay has probably felt like and invasion by those who don't deserve to be a part of what just a few years ago they called "dorky" and "uncool". I get where you are coming from some are asshole, but some just need friends to teach them the proper way to educate and accept others in to the activity they enjoy. Please excuse my grammar and mechanics as I am at work and don't much time.
I do see your point, but my real issue is with ANYONE who thinks their world is the WHOLE world, be it something like cosplay, or a particular field of study, a religion, vegetarianism, etc. I was one of the dorky unpopular kids, and to me it's all the more reason to be accepting of other people and their interests. There's never a good reason to insult someone because they don't share your interests.
DeleteI agree with you that there is never a reason to insult someone because they don't share your interests. I started thinking about how we would change such things on a micro level, I.E. One person at a time. A direct and private conversation with the individual may be more fruitful than you might expect. This is difficult on the internet, but if it can be accomplished we can find out why they are acting the way that they are. If a trust relationship can be established though our caring for their emotional state, maybe then we can start to help them grow and act towards other in a positive manner. In short, someone has to take the first step and I feel that burden falls on the more mature.
DeleteSadly, that comparison is apples to aircraft carriers; direct conversation can happen, gently but firmly pointing out why behaviors are not appropriate can happen, but private conversations with every individual in a bullying mob on the Internet can't. Which is why I choose the route of "hey, group, here's what you're doing, here's why it's not cool, here's an example of how someone could just as easily say the same about your group, so let's just all play nice". And if everyone chooses a route of positive change, then yes, eventually we will collectively make a difference.
DeleteThere are many roads that lead to the same place. I can hear the frustration you have with these people. I admire the strength and conviction you have shown. I only present an additional path for a smaller environment to help the overall cause. You are a shining beacon in an ocean of trolling. In the words of the fictional character Marco from Trepoya from the movie Taken...Good Luck.:)
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