Heroes of Cosplay is bad, and Syfy should feel bad
(Formerly on a different site)
Maybe you heard about this show Syfy has started showing called Heroes of Cosplay. If you do cosplay, or enjoy the works of cosplayers, then odds are this show isn’t for you. If you have no clue what cosplay is, this show still isn’t for you. Actually, this show is really for no one, and you shouldn’t be giving Syfy the ad revenue. What, praytell, is Heroes of Cosplay you ask? On the surface, it’s a documentary/reality TV show, following several cosplayers and the “famous” Yaya Han, as they work through costumes, go to conventions, enter competitions, and try to earn fame and glory for themselves. I know, that doesn’t sound too bad, right? Within the first 15 minutes, I was already disgusted by what I was seeing. None of the cosplayers shown “cosplay for fun”, instead cosplaying mostly to enter contests, earn money, and further their own fame/brand name. Many of them had significant others who helped them out to the point of being sweatshop workers (Jinyo doing all the embroidery comes heavily to mind). The show stated that many cosplayers spend months of work and thousands of dollars to enter competitions with money on the line.
I don’t know what you think, but that couldn’t be less true 90% of the time if it tried.
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