Friday, April 4, 2014

Disabilities in Cosplay


                                                 Disabilities in Cosplay

 Cosplay Taboo 1

          
There are no rules in the cosplay community that says you can only dress like a character that looks similar to you. If that was the case cosplay would never exist in the first place. The amazing thing about anime and science fiction is there is no limitation on character looks in art. This is something we can all clearly see with the introduction of characters that didn't really fit the norm of what the media wanted to display as the everyday men and women. 




Like how before super heroes could not be women. Now we have hawk girl, wonder women, storm and she hulk.


Or the main lead couldn't be black, and now we have blade, spawn, static shock, and even yoruichi. 


And even characters with physical and mental Impairments, like Iron Man, Daredevil, Mr. Magoo, and even the three blind mice.

 I have provided a website link at the bottom that provides a very nice list of characters that have disabilities in comics and anime.

 But if you watch or read any of the shows you will that the disabilities that they have, actually improve their great abilities and made them into, well most into greater people. I say most because some characters in animation use their physical impairment as an excuse to turn evil.

Like every minority group suffers from discrimination at one time, the way the media represented characters within art and animation with physical and mental impairments was at one point terrible. In a report by Colin Barnes he mentions the way people gathered certain ideas and views about people with certain conditions based on the way the media portrayed them. 
“This study focuses on stereotype portrayals of disabled people in the media and provides a number of important recommendations which will contribute to their demise. Although the misrepresentation of disability in charity advertising is of particular concern this report deals with the media as a whole: notably books, films, television, radio and the press.” 
An excellent report that not only pointed out ideas that are very hurtful to people with the disabilities, but also talks about how the media is still following this standard and further teaching people to stereotype people with disabilities. These stereotypes unfortunately has found its way into the kingdom of cosplay.



References:


Psychologytoday.com.

Generic Love

In-text: (Psychologytoday.com, 2014)
Bibliography: Psychologytoday.com. 2014. Generic Love. [online] Available at: http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-99th-monkey/201004/generic-love [Accessed: 4 Apr 2014]

Marvel Movies.

Ororo Munroe

In-text: (Marvel Movies, 2014)
Bibliography: Marvel Movies. 2014. Ororo Munroe. [online] Available at: http://marvel-movies.wikia.com/wiki/Ororo_Munroe [Accessed: 4 Apr 2014]

Comicvine.com.

Mr. Magoo (Character) - Comic Vine

In-text: (Comicvine.com, 2014)
Bibliography: Comicvine.com. 2014. Mr. Magoo (Character) - Comic Vine. [online] Available at: http://www.comicvine.com/mr-magoo/4005-60983/ [Accessed: 4 Apr 2014]

Barnes, Collins.

In-text: (Barnes, Collins, 2014)
Bibliography: Anonymous. 2014. [online] Available at: http://disability-studies.leeds.ac.uk/files/library/Barnes-disabling-imagery.pdf [Accessed: 4 Apr 2014]

  

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