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The Meanings of Cosplay for Hong Kong Young People HE In Pursuit of Beauty, Pleasure, and Freedom: The Meanings of Cosplay for Hong Kong Young People HE, Xiao A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of ~\llaster of Philosophy Japanese Studies The Ct-line-se- University of Hong Kong March 2010 Thesis/Assessment Committee Professor NG Wai Ming (Chair) Professor Lynne Nakano (Thesis Supervisor) Professor Anthony Fung (Committee Member) Professor Keith Brown (Exte[nal Examiner) 2 Abstract This is a study of secondary school students in -Hong Kong-who are crazy about cosplay, a popular subculture from Japan which involve-s -dressing up and role-playing as fictional characters, primarily drawn ~ from manga, anime, and games. This subculture involves dramatic and exaggerated makeup and performances. In Hong Kong, one of East Asia's lar:gest centers of importing and consumption of Japanese popular culture, cosplayers and cosplay events have rapidly emerged over the past twenty years and are attracting increasing public attention. This study conside-rs the two questions of: What are the attractions of cosplay, and how does cosplay make tt-lese young peop-le's iives meaningful? This study attempts to answer these two questions by exploring the enjoyment and concerns of the cosplayers' own microcosm, during a time when in reality they are faced with tremendous pressures from their- studies and uncertainties about the future. By taking a closer look at this particular subculture,-vJe can gain a further understanding of now J-apanese popu~r culture is globalized and then localized. 3 諸文描要 角色扮演，一個在日本十分流行的次文化，最近成 7 一班香港年輕人的新寵，特別是中 學生。在動漫展上，這些角色扮演者化土濃妝，穿上動漫畫中人物的服裝，在一片閃光燈中 “擺甫士"儼然成為了動漫迷中的明星。在香港，這一個東南亞最重要的日本流行文化入 口和消費中心之一 ，這些角色扮演者的數量在近十年內迅猛增長，不論是本地報刊亦或是電 視中 ， 角色扮演都成為了一個被人經常提起的年輕人的次文化。- 在角色扮演文化中，日本佔有+分顯赫的地位。角色扮演者公開表示自己對於日本文化 以及日本國的崇拜和熱愛，日本在這一次文化中到處有著怎樣的意義呢?他們不要本地化之 後的日本文化，而追求原原本本的日本文化，這又是出自何原因呢? 這些角色扮演者們利用大量時間，金錢和精力只為做到和他們所扮演的人物相似。即使 被人評論自己的表演甚至受到批評，他們仍然積極準備，在動漫展上落力表演，至 IJ 底角色扮 演有何魅力以令到這些年輕人對這一次文化如此完滿熱情呢 ? 作為一班中學生，這些角色扮演者面臨嚴峻而殘酷的升學考試 ， 面對來自學本交 ， 家長， 甚至社會的壓力，他們如何平衡對角色扮演的興趣與學習的責任?在人生的這一特殊階段， 他們身心正經歷急速變化，在眾 多次文化中他們卻獨選角色扮 ;3年那麼這一次文化對於他們 的 λ正生來說又有何意義 呢 ?本文將透過剖析一群中學女生的角色扮演經歷 ，對角色扮演文化 的認識 ， 以及她們的日常生活等 ， 探討她們為之瘋狂的原因以及角色扮演文化在 她們人生中 的意義。 4 Acknowledgments My deepest heartfelt gratitude goes to my wonderful instructor, Professor Lynne Nakano, who truly inspired me to pursue my research. She never stopped challenging me to do a better job and to think more critically, systematically, and logically. Her words of wisdom and support sustained me throughout my study at Chinese l.Jniversity for the two and a half years and made this experience extremely precious and memorable. r am also indebted to Professor Benjamin NG for his expertise, comments, and constructive criticism at var-ious points of my rese~r:ch. Profes_sor VVang, with her warm smile and encouraging words, gave me great comfort and confidence when I was facing d ifficu Ities. Last but not least a sincere thank you from the -bottom of my heart goes to my mother and father. And I also wanted to say sorry to you. I would never have been able to survive without your financial and spiritual support. I thank you so much and love you so much. 5 Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................_ ........................................... 3 Acknowledgeme-nts .............................................................................................................. 5 Chapter 1 Introduction ............................................................................... -~ - · ....................... 8 1.1 Who are the Co.splayers? ....................................................................................... 13 1.2 Why Cosplay? ........................................................................................................ 15 1.3-Why Hong Kong? .................................................................................................. 17 1.4 Research Questions············ · ··························································~··· ~ ······ - ············ 19 1.5 The Background of Cosplay ·······································································-··········· 21 1.6 Cosplay Events in Hong Kong ................................................................................ 24 1.6.1 Large-scale commercial conventions···············:·········································· 25 1.6.2 Cosplay and dojinshi events held by universities ........................................ 27 1.6.3 Small-scale privately organized photo-taking events .................................. 28 1.7 How to Get the Costumes .............................................................._ ......................... -31 1.8 Literature Review························-····························- ············································· 33 1.8.1 Gl-obalization and Localization ..................................................................... 33 1.8.2 Youth Susculture and Fandom Culutre ... ·-· ················································ ·· 36 1 .9 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 39 1.9.1 In-depth Interview ............................................. ·- ······························ ··········· 39 1.9.2-Participant Observation ................._ ................... 4-··········································· 40 1 .-9-.3 l\1edra-studies ..................................................._ ...... _...................................... 43 1.94 Langua§e ··········································································-- ······· ·· ····· ·· ········· 44 1.10 Outlines of the Chapters ...... ·- ....... .. ... ... · ~- ........................................................... 45 Chapter 2 The Japaneseness for the Cosplavers ........................................................... 48 2.1 Emphasis on Japanese OrigiAality ................................................ ·-· ........................ 48 2.2 Japanese Elements in their Cyberculture ................................................................ 56 2.3 High Reputation for Japan ....................................................................................... 61 2.4 From "Odorless" to "Japanese" ............................................................................... 66 6 2.5 Summary .......................................................................................... ...... ................. 70 Chapter 3 CosplayeT Cyberculture ................................................................................... 73 3.1 Cosplay-ers Q_nline ................................................................................................... 7 4 3.1.1 Public Space ....... ·-· ................................................................................... .... 76 3.1.2 Dark Space ....................... ···························· - ······ · - ·····························~············ 79 3.1.3 Personal Space ............................................................................................. 84 3.2 The Contradiction .................................................................................................... 88 3.3_A Long-lasting Discussion: Effort or Enjoyment ...................................................... 98 3.4 Summary ............................................................................................................... 105 Chapter 4 Pretty Girls. Pretty Boys. and Their Audiences ........................................... 108 4.1 Pretty Girls, Photographers, and the Other Girls .................................................. 109 4.2 Pretty Boys ......................................................................................... .... ................ 116 4.3 Pretty Boys in Love ............................................................................................... 132 4.4 Summary ............................................................................................................... 143 Chapter 5 The Meanings of Cos play .............................................................................. 146 5.1 Mainstream Values and the Education System in Hong Kon-g ............................. 146_ 5.2 Cosplayers as Secondary SchooLStudeRts .......................................................... 150 5.3 The Meanings of Cosplay: Four Cases .............................................................. ... 157 5.3.1 Tej; Story: "I'm going to work in art-and design" .. ..................................... 157 5.3.2 Tsu's Story: "I mustn't let my parents knew that I'-m cosplaying" .............. 166 5.3.3 Story of a Mother: "I w-a"~ t to let her try-anything that inter-ests-her'' ········- 171 5.3.4 Saki's Story: "Cosplay is just an interest after alf' .. .. ·-· .......................... ... .. 175 5 ~ 4 Summary·················································· ···········--····-······················-···················· 179 Chapter6 Conclusion······················ ················································-································ 181 6.1 A Review of the Chapters ...................................................................................... 181 6.2 Comparison with Previous Studies .. ..................................................................... 186 Bibliography .............................................................................. ............... : .......................
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