Blackface in Cosplay
Throughout the year hotels, convention centers, and other high capacity venues are transformed into a social haven and meeting ground for fellow Otakus and cosplay fans or cosplayers for short. The act of cosplay, the abbreviated form of “costume play”, is defined by Oxford Dictionary as “the practice of dressing up as a character from a movie, book, or video game, especially one from the Japanese genres of manga and anime”. However, there is much more to a cosplayer than this simple definition leads one to believe. To its most dedicated patrons, cosplay is an art form incorporating unlimited mediums, such as textile fabrication, woodworking, clay sculpting, resin casting, and even theatrical makeup. Some enthusiasts take cosplay far more seriously than a weekend social hobby. While some would be content with purchasing a commissioned piece or mass produced costume for their convention adventures others are not satisfied until they have handcrafted a masterpiece with 100% accuracy. These cosplayers will spend week or months and hundreds of dollars insure their costume is a perfect adaption of their selected character. Yet for some that is still not enough. There are those who will not be content until they have become the living embodiment of their chosen character. They become the method actors of cosplay, memorizing the characters personality, walk, quirks, and vocalics. Going even deeper into the realm of cosplay, there are still those who are so obsessed with becoming a character they will paint their skin, whether it be pink, grey, green, or any color in between. This is where a sensitive debate explodes. Coloring yourself grey or pink for your Marceline or Princess Bubblegum adventure time cosplays will ...
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...ver America does chose to censor and alter the appearance of certain anime characters who appear to resemble the Minstrel men in black face. For instance, Mr. Popo from Dragon Ball Z, a primitive speaking servant, has jet black skin, large bug eyes and large, red clown lips which are iconic features of minstrel show actors. Another example is the Pokemon Jynx, who also has large bug eyes, pink, bulbous clown lips, and shoe polish black skin. To combat the controversies, the American version of Mr. Popo was recolored blue and his lips were edited to be smaller. English dubbed Mr. Popo
As stated in the beginning cosplayers will use actual makeup to change their skin color to their selected characters. While unnatural skin colors are accepted, the only time a cosplayer can paint their skin black with approval is when one is doing Dark Link or other shadow characters.
The Effects of African American Culture Appropriations on the Minority Black Culture The black culture is the minority culture in this instance and in most cases, it is dominated by the white culture which has imposed its ideas on them (Stuckey, 2013). When two different cultures come together, different types of cultural appropriations occur. These include transculturation, cultural dominance, and cultural exploitation. The appropriation between the white and black cultures, resulting in the African American culture, is defined by cultural dominance and exploitation.
The films from the early 1910’s and 1920’s had a lot of African American characters were actually played by white actors. Hearts and Flats (1911) and Birth of a Nation (1915). These are just some of many films in that era that portrayed Black characters as submissive, dim, criminal, dangerous, and buffoonish or animalistic. Duke University Website (2007)
Nationalities in society today have a stereotype that they are unfortunately characterized by. People assume that Asians are smart and good at martial arts, that the Irish swear too much and consume too much alcohol, that Americans are obese and lazy, and that African Americans are criminals into drugs and are in prison. These stereotypes make everyone of one nationality to be the same as individuals. There are, of course, people who fit the stereotype, which is how the stereotype came to be, but there is a large number of people who defy the stereotype of their race. The film industry helps to reiterate the stereotypes of certain races by matching the race of the actor with the character in the film for a certain effect. African Americans, specifically, in modern day films have been frequently seen to both
Lippi-Green gives an in-depth look at the negative portrayal of African-Americans in Disney animations. She acknowledged the fact that the cartoon characters that have connotations to be from an African descent, are voiced over by actors that are also of African descent. These actors and the animated characters spoke in "African-American Ver...
From time immemorial, hell was an inspiration for the costumes used during Halloween. In the contemporary society, turning up for Halloween dressed up as a goblin, zombie or ghost is less likely to make a staunch follower of the event to receive sufficient appreciation. Popular culture has succeeded in replacing the underworld in terms of providing influential costumes for the event. The aspect of individuals from different races increasingly dominating pop culture is causing costume lovers to face a number of issues. The most dominant question has always been whether it is ethical to dress or appear dressed up like someone from a different race during Halloween. This factor largely bases on the costume an individual chooses, and the manner he or she ends up presenting the costume. It also depends on what the individual wearing the costume is representing or duplicating during the event. In view of all the complexities involved in choosing an appropriate dress code, it remains imperative to display keenness while settling on certain attire. Observing one’s dress code prevents an individual from making a racial gaffe that may occur when the person wears attire that derogates another race.
In the twentieth century, the United States of America has transitioned into a more diverse nation. Immigrants arriving from around the globe combined with African Americans to challenge the American identity. As a result, prominent figures including Theodore Roosevelt believed every American should indeed be Americanized. Throughout the twentieth century, Americanization, which means to sacrifice an old culture in favor of American culture, remains an issue amongst authors in particular. Authors in the twentieth century expressed their stance on the battle between cultural heritage and American assimilation. Some authors such as Langston Hughes supported diversity and pride in their culture. On the other end of the spectrum, others like Booker
Woll, Allen L and Randall M Miller. Ethnic and Racial Images in American Film and Television: Historical Essays and Bibliography. n.d. Print.
Their content satirized blacks and mocked the entire race to white audiences. The minstrel shows initially featured White actors with dark makeup that portrayed a distorted form of an African American. The lack of African Americans in the first minstrel shows prompted the development of black makeup and its later uses as Black Face. The image on the left is the Virginia Serenaders, which were a group of white actors that took on the guise of African American individuals. These actors were quite more famous amongst the public. The poster allows the viewer to see the transformation from a white man to an African American man, highlighting the profound effect of “black face”. Moreover, it reinforced how society viewed African Americans, since there is a major contrast between the stature of the white men and their black face characters. The white actors appear to be sophisticated and well kept while their black counterparts appear to be loud and rambunctious. Physical appearances were not the only aspects that were mocked by the shows, they also mocked the way African Americans spoke. Blacks in the shows were often staged to appear illiterate and their dialogue significantly contrasted with that of their fellow white castmates. Lines such as “I believe dis is de place…” or “I’s gwyne to tell you. ” (5), demonstrated the fact a stereotype that was perpetuated
56). Despite the origin of the word cosplay, cosplay is largely thought of as directly inspired by Japanese popular culture (Okabe, 2012). Many of the conventions that these cosplayers attend, also known as ‘Cons’ for short, began popping up in many cities in the United States in the 1990s (Pollak, 2006). Currently, conventions are held in around 30 states in the United States (Leng, 2013, p.90). As popularity for these conventions grow, more and more people have started to participate in the act of cosplay (Leng, 2013, p.90). With the emergence of cosplay trends such as gender-bending, cross-playing, and mashups it is interesting to look into how traditional expressions of gender roles and identity are undermined in the cosplay community. In this paper, I plan to investigate the relationship between gender roles, gender identity and gender expression through participation in
Blackness has more face value than just the amount of melanin in one's skin. The culmination of my people's songs, dances, hairstyles, clothes, slang, etc created a force that extends far beyond the domain of the favorable reception that it actually receives. Blackness, it seems, is a cultural phenomenon. It's "trendy." It's "cool." Cultural appropriation will never sit right with me. When I see Eurocentric models strutting down high fashion runways with cornrows in their hair, I grow more disheartened with society. Black hairstyles, like dreadlocks or cornrows, on the heads of Black people lead to no jobs and prejudiced stereotyping. Black hairstyles on the heads of white people lead to New York, Paris, and Milan Fashion Week. Why is my Blackness acceptable only for people who are not Black? Miley Cyrus dances provocatively and plunges the world into the era of dancing sexually, freely and carelessly. Nicki Minaj performs in a similar fashion and is condemned for her actions. Kylie Jenner receives lip fillers to achieve fuller, poutier lips; takes the world by storm. An internet trend is even created to mimic her borderline exasperating
...th can be seen walking around in some of the most bizarre looking clothing. I once saw a young girl wearing a swan dress not unlike the one worn by Bjork. I have seen some of the worst “fashion faux-pas,” with severely conflicting colors, completely mismatching styles of the top, bottom, and shoes, makeup seemingly done by a five-year-old. As one might like to hope that these styles were mistakenly created by the individual, it is clear that they are intended, whether for shock value or for personal satisfaction. It seems as though in places such as Harajuku, the more “unique,” the better. While Miyake seemed to have far reaching consequences for Japanese identity on the international level, Kawakubo’s constant questioning of societal norms helped foster individual deviations, thereby creating a new identity which, ironically enough, is not limited to or by itself.
There are two different categories of make-up artists. The first category is cosmetic or fashion artists. Cosmetic or fashion artists usually work at make-up counters or prepare models for photo shoots. Their main focus is to make the client look their best. Fashion artists have to work with designers to create a certain look whereas cosmetic artists work with the client to get their ...
A conventional face represents an idealised self-portrait. In ‘Transfiguration’, Olivier de Sagazan builds an existential performance based on layers of clay that he paints onto his face and body to transform, disfigure and take apart his own figure from the physical world that constraints his emotions and passions. Jolting viewers out of ordinary patterns of thinking. Sagazan’s face test his viewers perceptions of the totemic face, the grotesque face, the face in performance, the violent face—all the while creating a dialogue between past, present, and what’s yet to come.
For a lot of people physical appearance is an intricate part of a person’s sense of identity and a connection to their roots or even their personal religion. Appearance can also play a big role in the workplace. We will take a look into how companies can regulate appearance through dress codes, height/weight restrictions, and hair based on what is deemed “appropriate” and can this be successfully done without discriminating.
Like it or not, a person is judged by their appearance and the way they carry themselves. Appearance is directly related to a person’s character because some details of personal affectations tell much about one’s identity. Every person’s identity depends on their family and their race. As a book can never be judged by its cover, in the same way, a person cannot be judged by their appearance, identity, or ethnicity. There are 197 countries in this world, but every country’s traditions and beliefs are different from each other. Ethnicity, race, and sex play a large part in forming traditions and beliefs, which is why they are so different around the world. A person’s identity is based on their family, culture and personal interests, which are all the factors that tend to shape how people are seen in a community. When an individual is judged based on their appearance instead of their character, they often suffer rejection. Everyone in this world has a different identity and is different from each other. Cultures and traditions differentiate people and help