Part 1
The absolute first time I went to a con I was confronted with the Truth about Cosplay. Before I can talk about that, I must tell you that the first con, the first major con I went to was Dragon Con. Yep. In 1994. I went with a cosplayer named Brian. Brian was a stagemakup man who actually had created his own Klingon Suit. He himelf had a Romulan suit which was quite amazing, and the first con, I went to was Dragon Con. Dragon Con, at that time, was so tiny, i walked through two rooms, and a dealers room, and except for the Klingons I saw no other Cosplay.
What I remember in 1994 was that Geek Friendly was not a concept. I also remember that most Science Fiction was particluarly unwell made. This is not to say that it was poor --it was not, it was far from Mainstream. Babylon 5 came on at Midnight. Deep Space Nine came on at midnight. It didn't help that there was a woman doing Jury Duty in her Star Fleet uniform, and it didn't help there was a particularly funny but ultimately creepy documentary called Trekies made in the 90's.
In fact, to mention the idea that you liked Star Trek was in fact laughed at. It was. I think we can trace the evolution of modern day fan mania through a couple of places. The advent of powerful video game systems was first. The perfected use of green screen technology was a second example. The eventual perfection of successful Super Hero movies, and the wide acceptance and use of Cable television.
These were the beginnings of how i remembered it. As I remember the understanding of "Nerd Culture" and the eventual blending and successful media understanding of it all, cements at the time of three things. More movies were made with successful green screen and good writing. The introduction of human nerd heroes before the public and finally the successful visualization of the nerd as a symbol of success rather than a creep.
I am a nerd. I am such a nerd that I identified with Louis Skolnick and Gilbert Lowe.
The reason I identify with them, is that I was like them.
I didn't have a pocket protector but one of my friends in college was literally the personification of who they were. I wore clothing similar to them but I also partook with joy the things that made me feel good, something denied by many other college students. I didn't accept the term nerd until 2009, when it became less toxic in its utterance. When it was combined with Chic from David Tennant's "Nerd Chic" 10th Doctor. When it made its way onto the small screen and was loved. And now, as we live in a world inundated with Acceptable Fandom, and loved Nerds, i see it as the future. It is no longer dark and edgy and angst filled. The future is very bright and there are some potholes ahead, but I've never been more proud to be a nerd. And since, it has taken me several years to stand up and say this proudly I'm going to point out that bullying, the kind of bullying that plagued this world and occasionally plagues it still is paramount foremost in my mind.
It rears its ugly head from time to time. It takes many many forms, but the most recent forms I've seen still live in the deluded mind of a "lot" of Cosplayers. With the help of some new friends and my own Organization DFW Cosplay Gallifrey, I'm going to tackle the bullying issue. I'm going to become an advocate for a new movement, in Fandom, which is to put an end to some things I've seen surfacing in the cosplay world. These things must be addressed and battled, and I'm going to address them one on one. Most recently, some of my closest friends, believe that i should not address them, but at the most recent All-Con, I'm proud to say that my own group, DFW Cosplay Gallifrey held a panel, and I was the first to speak on such matters. I am unafraid to mention the word drama, and to proudly say to other cosplayers, if you can't "talk" about what bothers you or deal with the "feels" then "Grow the F&^$ up." The mere mention of the word drama should not be the excuse for you to "puss out" and run like a baby. Some of my friends will probably text me, or say to me, I shouldn't mention it, but no. No more. Turning your head to the issue or pretending it doesn't exist is the same thing every other cosplayer, has done for a long time--it is the pure unadulterated face of cowardice pure and simple.
Lastly the term "Elitist and Elitism," the dreaded words that send cosplayers crying and bitching to their friends--those words are going to become my personal quest, to rid Cosplayers of their stigma and to make them honest about them. The only reason that Cosplayers hate the word Elitism, is because they manufacture a fake, faux humility when it comes to their work and those cosplayers who act this way deny the spectacle and art that is cosplay for an illusion of humility. Those that have issues wioth only themselves are the first to sprout this word, always in anger, and jealousy and as a punishment that is unfounded, unfair and cowardly. I will explore these issues and I will try to banish them one by one.
Until then, may you love your fandom, nurture it with your god-given talent and make in the words of Neil Gaimen "the best art possible." #LYF Love Your Fandom
