Mindy+Weisberger

Cosplay作為一種小眾文化，并不總能得到大眾的理解?？粗鴆osplay玩家身著奇裝異服，扮成電影、動(dòng)漫中的各色人物招搖過市，很多人都會(huì)覺得訝異，同時(shí)心中生出疑問：為何有人要這樣做？你如果以為他們只是想吸引眼球，那可真就誤會(huì)人家了。因?yàn)楦鄷r(shí)候，他們都是想通過不一樣的外形和面孔來表達(dá)隱藏的自我。

With Halloween just around the corner， everyone seems to have costumes on their minds. People who typically wear jeans and T-shirts are suddenly eyeing1） colorful spandex2）， capes， wigs and corsets3）， and are opening their wallets to acquire an outfit that will present them to the world as someone—or something—theyre not.

But for people who cosplay—dress in costumes to role-play characters from movies， TV shows， books， comics and video games—the challenge of transformation is one they happily accept at various times year-round.

Cosplayers can invest considerable time， money and effort into crafting or commissioning4） head-to-toe presentations that are one-of-a-kind. Some creations include enormous accessories， facial or body prosthetics5）， working electronics or complex mechanical parts. Other costumes limit how well the wearers can see or move， making it difficult for them to sit， or navigate a room， without help.

But what inspires cosplayers to reinvent themselves so elaborately？ Cosplayers and psychologists who study the phenomenon reveal the individual and community features that make dressing up so enticing and rewarding.

For the Love of Costumes

From Oct. 6 to 9， hundreds of cosplayers attended New York Comic Con6） 2016， costumed as superheroes and supervillains， Jedi7） and Sith8）， Ghostbusters9）， Starfleet10） officers， Hogwarts11） students and teachers， and many， many other characters.

“Cosplay makes me happy，” Edgar Roldan， a cosplayer and NYCC attendee， told Live Science12） recently. Roldan—who wore a furry， blue suit and an oversize head to represent Happy13） from Fairy Tale—said the most satisfying part of cosplay was “just being you—being whatever and whoever you want.”

Other NYCC cosplayers said cosplay allowed them to explore their own creativity， particularly when much of their costume was handmade. Joe Bokanoski and Mike Labarge told Live Science that they assembled their costumes—post-apocalyptic14） interpretations of DC Comics15） Captain America and his nemesis16）， Red Skull17）—by scouring flea markets and junkyards.

Their outfits were bulky and cumbersome. But despite the discomfort， they were enthusiastic about wearing them and seeing the appreciative reactions they provoked. “Its worth it just to put some smiles on peoples faces，” Bokanoski said.endprint

Inhabiting18） a Character

When a cosplayer selects a particular costume， they are often tapping into19） a specific character—or combination of characters—because something about that role speaks to them personally， according to Robin S. Rosenberg， a clinical psychologist at the University of California， San Francisco.

Rosenberg， who has written extensively about how people interpret and embrace fictional characters， particularly superheroes， told Live Science that she became interested in studying cosplay after seeing cosplayers in convention centers where she was delivering talks.

“We know from psychology that we all play different roles through the day and week，” Rosenberg said. “Different aspects of me—‘psychologist ‘wife ‘mother—come to the fore in different contexts. I became curious about people who truly inhabit a role， and whats coming to the fore when you wear a costume.”

Certain costumes offer some people a way of working through personal difficulties， Rosenberg said. Batman， for example， can be an especially meaningful cosplay choice for someone coping with trauma. The dark superhero faced devastating trauma when he was a child—witnessing the brutal murder of his parents—which he overcame to become a hero.

“When people are dressed as Batman， many talk about having [experienced] their own traumatic experiences，” Rosenberg said. “He survived and found meaning and purpose from his experience， and that is inspiring to them.”

Rosenberg noted that Wonder Woman is another enduring and popular choice that resonates with many women， partly because she holds her own in the male-dominated world of costumed comics superheroes. For those cosplayers， dressing as Wonder Woman is a way of celebrating and embracing her power， Rosenberg said.

Cosplay is a type of performance； putting on a costume broadcasts a visible and public statement about the dresser uppers allegiance20） to a character or fandom， and it frequently moves strangers to approach the character for conversation and photos. So it surprised Rosenberg to discover from her conversations with cosplayers that many identified as introverts.

“When they wore a costume， they became much more socially outgoing，” Rosenberg said. She explained that， sometimes， wearing a costume allows a person to tap into confidence they didnt know they had， and helps them overcome shyness in real life.

“When you do any kind of costuming—but particularly cosplay—on the one hand， it gives you permission to step outside yourself，” Rosenberg said. “But on the other hand， it can summon something in you that doesnt usually come out.”endprint

Building a Community

Costume play not only imbues powers upon individuals but also fosters a sense of community， according to Michael Nguyen， a cosplayer and costuming columnist for the Star Trek news website Trekmovie.com. Star Trek was Nguyens gateway to cosplay， he told Live Science. And through creating and wearing Star Trek costumes， he discovered a rich and widespread network of people who shared his interest in the characters and in the world they inhabited.

“Theyre physicians， attorneys， in Ph.D. programs—just people who enjoy expressing themselves， and what they hope the future to be.” And cosplayers come from all walks of life， he added.

“Costuming is more fun if you do it with other people，” Nguyen told Live Science. “You create your own look， but you also feel like part of a universe when you surround yourself with people who enjoy it as much as you do.”

Cosplayers at NYCC agreed. A woman dressed as She-Ra： Princess of Power21） from the TV show Masters of the Universe told Live Science that “the acceptance” was the best part of doing cosplay.

“It doesnt matter who you are or what you look like，” she said. “Its a community—its like a big family. Once a year， I come and I see people I havent seen but once a year， and its just great.”

Another woman costumed as a Hogwarts student from the Harry Potter books and movies described participating in a “flashmob22）” at NYCC， where 75 attendees in Potterverse cosplay came together for a photo—and for one group member to propose to his girlfriend.

“Its wearing your interests on your body，” she said. “Its a really great way to bridge the gap and find the common ground.”

Cosplay

隨著萬圣節(jié)的臨近，大家似乎都在琢磨穿什么服裝。一向穿牛仔褲和T恤衫的人突然開始考慮五顏六色的氨綸面料的衣服、斗篷、假發(fā)以及緊身胸衣，他們會(huì)掏腰包購買一套服裝，以另一副面孔或某一樣?xùn)|西的樣子示人。

但是對(duì)于玩cosplay的人而言，他們?cè)谝荒曛械母鱾€(gè)時(shí)間都樂意接受變形的挑戰(zhàn)。他們穿著道具服裝，扮演電影、電視節(jié)目、書籍、漫畫及電子游戲中的各色人物。

Cosplay玩家們會(huì)投入大量的時(shí)間、金錢和精力，精心制作或委托他人制作從頭到腳獨(dú)一無二的全套行頭。有些行頭創(chuàng)意十足，包括龐大的配飾、面部或身體假體、運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)的電子道具或復(fù)雜的機(jī)械部件。還有一些行頭會(huì)使穿戴者的視力或行動(dòng)受限，要是沒人幫忙，他們很難坐下或是在室內(nèi)行走。

可是，是什么激勵(lì)著cosplay玩家，讓他們?nèi)绱司牡刂厮茏晕夷?？這些玩家和研究該現(xiàn)象的心理學(xué)家揭示了一些使扮裝如此誘人、如此令人充實(shí)的個(gè)體和群體特征。

出于對(duì)扮裝的熱愛

從10月6日至9日，數(shù)以百計(jì)的cosplay玩家參加了2016年美國紐約國際動(dòng)漫展（編注：英文原文發(fā)表于2016年11月），他們紛紛扮成超級(jí)英雄或超級(jí)壞蛋，其中包括絕地武士、西斯、超能敢死隊(duì)、星際艦隊(duì)的軍官、霍格沃茨魔法學(xué)校的師生以及許許多多其他人物。

“扮裝使我快樂?！眳⒓覰YCC的cosplay玩家埃德加·羅爾丹最近這樣告訴直播科學(xué)欄目。羅爾丹身著一件毛茸茸的藍(lán)色套裝，外加一個(gè)超大號(hào)的頭套，扮成了《妖精的尾巴》中的哈比。他說cosplay最讓人滿足之處在于“只做你自己——想成為什么就成為什么，想成為誰就成為誰”。

其他參加NYCC的cosplay玩家說，cosplay能讓他們拓展自己的創(chuàng)造力，尤其在手工制作大部分服裝的情況下。喬·博卡諾斯基和邁克·拉巴奇告訴直播科學(xué)欄目，他們?cè)谔槭袌?chǎng)和垃圾場(chǎng)搜尋材料，組裝他們的服裝——再現(xiàn)了DC漫畫公司的美國隊(duì)長(zhǎng)及其勁敵紅骷髏的后世界末日形象。endprint

他們的行頭龐大又笨重。但是盡管不舒服，他們?nèi)匀缓芟矚g穿，熱衷于看到自己引發(fā)他人的贊賞反應(yīng)?！澳芙o人們帶來一些笑容，就是值得的?！辈┛ㄖZ斯基說。

融入角色

來自舊金山加利福尼亞大學(xué)的臨床心理學(xué)家羅賓·S·羅森堡認(rèn)為，cosplay玩家選擇某件特定的服裝時(shí)，他們往往會(huì)利用某個(gè)特定的角色——或者角色組合——因?yàn)榻巧哪承┨刭|(zhì)引起了他們的共鳴。

羅森堡曾寫過大量作品，描述人們?nèi)绾卫斫獠⒔邮芴摂M人物，尤其是超級(jí)英雄。她告訴直播科學(xué)欄目，她在會(huì)議中心發(fā)表演講時(shí)看到了cosplay玩家，之后便有了研究cosplay的興趣。

“心理學(xué)告訴我們，我們所有人一天到晚都在扮演不同的角色，”羅森堡說，“‘心理學(xué)家‘妻子‘母親——我的不同方面在不同情景呈現(xiàn)。我對(duì)那些真正進(jìn)入角色的人很好奇，對(duì)人扮裝后呈現(xiàn)出的樣子也很好奇?！?/p>

“某些服裝給一些人提供了克服個(gè)人困難的方法?！绷_森堡說。比如對(duì)于受到創(chuàng)傷的人來說，蝙蝠俠是一種具有特別意義的扮裝選擇。這位超級(jí)黑暗英雄小時(shí)候遭受了非常嚴(yán)重的創(chuàng)傷——目睹雙親被殘忍殺害——他克服了創(chuàng)傷，成了英雄。

“許多人扮成蝙蝠俠時(shí)，會(huì)談?wù)撍麄冏约簱碛衃經(jīng)歷過]的創(chuàng)傷經(jīng)歷，”羅森堡說，“蝙蝠俠從創(chuàng)傷中走出來，并從這一經(jīng)歷中找到了意義和目的，這令他們感到鼓舞。”

羅森堡指出，神奇女俠是另一個(gè)經(jīng)久不衰、頗受歡迎的選擇，引起了許多女性的共鳴。部分原因在于，在cosplay玩家模仿的動(dòng)漫超級(jí)英雄的世界里，男性占了主導(dǎo)，但神奇女俠堅(jiān)持了自我。對(duì)于那些cosplay玩家來說，扮成神奇女俠是對(duì)其力量的一種頌揚(yáng)和認(rèn)同，羅森堡說。

Cosplay是一種表演；穿上服裝就公開表達(dá)了扮裝者對(duì)某個(gè)角色或崇拜對(duì)象的熱愛，這時(shí)常促使陌生人接近這個(gè)角色，與之交談或合影。因此，羅森堡從其與cosplay玩家的交談中驚奇地發(fā)現(xiàn)，許多玩家都自認(rèn)為是內(nèi)向者。

“穿上服裝后，他們變得更外向、更善于社交?！绷_森堡說。她解釋道，有時(shí)穿著扮裝會(huì)讓人找到他們以前不知道的自信，并幫助他們克服現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中的羞怯。

“你穿道具服裝時(shí)，不管是哪種服裝，尤其玩cosplay時(shí)，一方面你可以走出自我，”羅森堡說，“但另一方面，這能激發(fā)出你身上通常表現(xiàn)不出來的東西?！?/p>

構(gòu)建團(tuán)體

邁克爾·阮既是一位cosplay玩家，又是《星際迷航》新聞網(wǎng)站Trekmovie.com的服裝設(shè)計(jì)專欄作家。他認(rèn)為，扮裝不僅賦予個(gè)人力量，而且培養(yǎng)團(tuán)隊(duì)意識(shí)。他告訴直播科學(xué)欄目，《星際迷航》開啟了他走向cosplay的大門。通過創(chuàng)作、穿著星際迷航服裝，他發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)豐富且廣泛存在的人際網(wǎng)絡(luò)，里面的人和他一樣對(duì)這部電影中的人物及其所處的世界充滿興趣。

“這些人中有醫(yī)生，有律師，有的在攻讀博士學(xué)位，都是些喜歡表達(dá)自我的人，喜歡告訴別人他們希望未來變成什么樣?！彼a(bǔ)充說，cosplay的玩家來自各行各業(yè)。

“如果你和其他人一起扮裝，會(huì)更有意思?！比罡嬖V直播科學(xué)欄目，“你創(chuàng)造自己的外表，但是當(dāng)你置身于和你一樣樂在其中的人群時(shí)，你會(huì)覺得自己是某個(gè)宇宙的一部分?！?/p>

參加NYCC的cosplay玩家們一致認(rèn)同。一位扮成電視節(jié)目《宇宙的巨人》中的希瑞公主的女士告訴直播科學(xué)欄目，“接納”是cosplay最棒的部分。

“你是誰或者你外表怎樣都無關(guān)緊要，”她說，“這是一個(gè)團(tuán)體——就像一個(gè)大家庭一樣。一年一次，我來到這里，見到每年只見一次的人，感覺好極了。”

另一位女士扮裝成了《哈利·波特》系列書籍和電影中霍格沃茨魔法學(xué)校的學(xué)生。她描述了自己加入NYCC一個(gè)快閃族的經(jīng)歷。在這個(gè)快閃族里，有75人扮裝成《哈利·波特》相關(guān)的各個(gè)角色，他們聚到一起拍照——為了幫助其中一位成員向女友求婚。

“這是把你的興趣穿在身上，”她說，“這真是一個(gè)縮小差距、尋找共同點(diǎn)的好方法?！眅ndprint