It's that time again. About a half-month and some change left to go before one of my favorite events of the year: Dragon*Con. If you've never heard of or been to Dragon*Con, it's arguably the biggest geekery convention in the world. The closest thing to geek heaven there is. I only say "closest thing" because it's during Labor Day weekend, so it's still hot as fish grease outside in Atlanta, and, unless you can afford to pay for a room in a host hotel solo and are lucky enough to book one, you probably won't get to relax much.
Anyway, this yearly geekified staycation tradition began for me in 2012. After several years of always seeing cosplayers on my lunch break on Labor Day Friday (my job is right above Peachtree Center food court and MARTA station) and hearing my co-workers talk about it (they're all fellow geeks, many of whom attend or work at Dragon*Con), I finally decided to see it for myself.
I already had a good base for a costume since I'd gone as Snake Eyes for Halloween a few times, so I just upgraded that and went on Saturday that year. It would be pretty accurate to say I had a geek-gasm that day. I was hooked, and went again the next year, but again with the same costume and only on Saturday, due to procrastination and budget restraints.
Last year, however, I decided to step my game up. I finally added two more costumes to my arsenal. I also bought a full weekend pass, using one costume per day Friday through Sunday. On Saturday, I decided to wear one of my two new costumes, which was a mash-up of Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu and Jules Winnfield. The costume was well received, but as I was walking around, I suddenly realized: people can actually see my face!!!
Let me elaborate on why that was such a big deal for me. I'm a big introvert at heart. And, while I appreciate getting respect and recognition, I actually dislike being the center of attention (dancing and teaching salsa has definitelyforced me to deal with helped me with that). When I cosplayed as Snake Eyes the previous two years, I always had a mask on. No one could see my face. The same was true for the costume I wore for Friday, a mash-up of Jango Fett and Django: Unchained. Even though everyone loved my Jules Windu, I still missed being masked.
In my 1st semester of college, my psychology professor made mention of a term called "an artificial audience", in which an insecure person automatically assumes that everyone around them is constantly judging and criticizing them on-sight. Even before he explained the meaning of this concept, I knew that it described me perfectly. When I was in High School, I always dreaded walking through the halways where all the popular kids hung out. I always feared that someone would call me out and make fun of me, but it never happened. Little did I know at the time, all the other kids were so busy worrying about themselves that they didn't have time to focus on me, which is really the case in life in general.
Hearing this from my professor helped me grow to the point where the fear of having "all eyes on me" no longer paralyzes me (and helped me realize that I had nothing to fear in the first place), but it's still something I have to suppress. I was no longer hindered by an "artificial audience" in normal life and in the salsa scene, but cosplay was a new realm for me. I didn't realize it at the time, but having a mask on aided that suppression. I felt a sense of invisibility, but not in a Frodo Baggins kinda way. I felt like people saw my character, but didn't see me. I figured, even if the worst happened and my cosplay bombed, I, Myron, was still okay.
Of course, all this stuff is going on in my head. Even as this epiphany happened, it didn't rock me so much that it showed on the outside. I realized I was fine without the mask, but I also realized how much more comfortable I felt with it. On Sunday, when I was wearing Snake Eyes again, I was chatting with a new cosplay friend of mine about this topic. She agreed that wearing a mask is more freeing, but not necessarily for the sake of being anonymous. She expressed that having a mask allows you to fully become the character you're cosplaying as; to be seen as that character. You go from being a guy/girl dressed up as that character, to actually being that character. I can definitely agree with that. When I put my Snake Eyes costume on, I'm not just dressed up as Snake Eyes, I am Snake Eyes.
So yeah, that's what putting on a mask does for me. Not only to I get to really become the character I'm cosplaying as, but it also helps me dispel my ungrounded fear of everyone watching and criticizing me. But what about you guys? Are you like me and have a preference either way, or is it not even that big of a deal for you? I'd love to know how my fellow cosplayers feel about it, so sound off in the comments!
I already had a good base for a costume since I'd gone as Snake Eyes for Halloween a few times, so I just upgraded that and went on Saturday that year. It would be pretty accurate to say I had a geek-gasm that day. I was hooked, and went again the next year, but again with the same costume and only on Saturday, due to procrastination and budget restraints.
Last year, however, I decided to step my game up. I finally added two more costumes to my arsenal. I also bought a full weekend pass, using one costume per day Friday through Sunday. On Saturday, I decided to wear one of my two new costumes, which was a mash-up of Samuel L. Jackson's Mace Windu and Jules Winnfield. The costume was well received, but as I was walking around, I suddenly realized: people can actually see my face!!!
Let me elaborate on why that was such a big deal for me. I'm a big introvert at heart. And, while I appreciate getting respect and recognition, I actually dislike being the center of attention (dancing and teaching salsa has definitely
In my 1st semester of college, my psychology professor made mention of a term called "an artificial audience", in which an insecure person automatically assumes that everyone around them is constantly judging and criticizing them on-sight. Even before he explained the meaning of this concept, I knew that it described me perfectly. When I was in High School, I always dreaded walking through the halways where all the popular kids hung out. I always feared that someone would call me out and make fun of me, but it never happened. Little did I know at the time, all the other kids were so busy worrying about themselves that they didn't have time to focus on me, which is really the case in life in general.
Hearing this from my professor helped me grow to the point where the fear of having "all eyes on me" no longer paralyzes me (and helped me realize that I had nothing to fear in the first place), but it's still something I have to suppress. I was no longer hindered by an "artificial audience" in normal life and in the salsa scene, but cosplay was a new realm for me. I didn't realize it at the time, but having a mask on aided that suppression. I felt a sense of invisibility, but not in a Frodo Baggins kinda way. I felt like people saw my character, but didn't see me. I figured, even if the worst happened and my cosplay bombed, I, Myron, was still okay.
Of course, all this stuff is going on in my head. Even as this epiphany happened, it didn't rock me so much that it showed on the outside. I realized I was fine without the mask, but I also realized how much more comfortable I felt with it. On Sunday, when I was wearing Snake Eyes again, I was chatting with a new cosplay friend of mine about this topic. She agreed that wearing a mask is more freeing, but not necessarily for the sake of being anonymous. She expressed that having a mask allows you to fully become the character you're cosplaying as; to be seen as that character. You go from being a guy/girl dressed up as that character, to actually being that character. I can definitely agree with that. When I put my Snake Eyes costume on, I'm not just dressed up as Snake Eyes, I am Snake Eyes.
So yeah, that's what putting on a mask does for me. Not only to I get to really become the character I'm cosplaying as, but it also helps me dispel my ungrounded fear of everyone watching and criticizing me. But what about you guys? Are you like me and have a preference either way, or is it not even that big of a deal for you? I'd love to know how my fellow cosplayers feel about it, so sound off in the comments!
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