The historical background, purpose and significance of cosplay

In the tradition of human history, Cosplay has been mainly used to interpret myths and legends, folk anecdotes, holiday stories, literary and artistic works, philosophical theories, ancestor worship plots, exciting plots, side interpretations of wishes, spiritual fantasies, etc. , and use corresponding

COSPLAY

costumes, props and plots to vividly present the characters and content to be performed.

For example, there are the costumes of Greek priests, and then the group of troubadours who were active in the 8th century BC in the two great Greek epics "Iliad" and "Odyssey" pretended to be other people's costumes. Role. The former led to become a prophet and seer for later generations, successfully deducing the existence of the apostle of God, while the latter is like the originator of today's stage drama, performing several heroic deeds superbly.

The nomadic Gypsies in Europe can also be said to be the earliest cross-dressing performers. Whenever they passed through a place, in order to survive, they obtained bread and water by performing myths and legends, folk anecdotes, singing and singing, among which various costumes and props for performances were naturally essential equipment.

At character costume parties, Halloween parades, New Year parades, National Day parades or special ceremonies held anytime and anywhere, many people dress up as characters from holiday stories or various mascots, with strong costumes Culture is reflected.

The ancestors of ancient Eastern China also had a long history of dress-up culture. The dragon dance ceremony with a thousand-year tradition can be said to be one of the most representative activities. The dragon dance often had two meanings at that time. One was to pray for God to send nectar to the farmland, and the other was to pray for abundant harvests and good fortune. Before this activity is carried out, a number of young men with strong physiques and majestic postures must first be selected and asked to wear yellow and red festive costumes (sometimes there are even rusty patterns on the clothes when performing for the palace nobles). The choreographers will form one or more dragon dance teams to perform various square patterns, accompanied by the sound of drums and gongs. Around the 17th century (that is, the late Ming Dynasty and early Qing Dynasty), lion dance, phoenix dance, and dragon dance evolved from dragon dance. These activities are closely related to the use of costumes to dress up certain characters.

Chinese Tibetan operas involving Tibetan folk mythological heroes, Buddhist rituals in Indian Buddhism that transcend dead souls to the Pure Land, and Japanese Shinto temple activities that worship mountain spirits and artifacts. Costumes, props, and performances are all important in these activities. Component elements.

It’s hard to say what COSPLAY has brought to the world. After all, everything has two sides. From the perspective of outsiders, COSPLAY is an activity that wastes people and money, is uneconomical, and is meaningless. I remember that there was a real incident in Taiwan where a false report was caused by the media’s lack of understanding of COSPLAY. So for those COSPLAYER, what exactly did they get?

The influence of COSPLAY

In fact, as the author mentioned in the previous article, the real COSPLAY is not just about dressing up the appearance, but more importantly, the exchange of souls. Just imagine, in an urban society with such fierce competition, everyone will be under all kinds of pressure and confusion due to their own difficulties in work or study. If you can put aside these at this time and COS create another self, wouldn't it be a great liberation from your own mental pressure? Relax your mind and soothe yourself by switching roles, so don’t position COSPLAY only in or appear in the roles of ACG. Everyone actually plays a different role in society, right? Originally, every human being in real life must have his or her own troubles. Whether you are a poor beggar today or a rich man with millions of dollars, you all have your own troubles. The so-called ACG characters have nothing to worry about in the real world (three-dimensional) where cosplayers exist. By cosplaying into ACG characters, cosplayers can also get spiritual relief, temporary escape from reality, and a sense of comfort. a temporary change in thinking. Even though the ACG festival has passed, you still have to face reality, but the joy and relief of escaping the pain of reality that you felt at that time can make you more positive, confident and expectant.

Dream, I don’t know how many people have such a gorgeous word in their hearts. Thinking about the countless dreams I had when I was a child, some have come true now, while others are still so far out of reach. But then I thought about it, isn’t this what COSPLAY can do? Go to COS to play your childhood dream. Although this does not change the reality, your body and mind will get a moment of relief and satisfaction. Go cosplay, maybe you can live younger by trying this way.