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Posted in: Movies, TV | Tagged: cosplay heroes, syfy, tv
Heroes Of Cosplay – "Female Sexuality Is A Big Part Of Comic-Book Art"
Endymion Mageto, our Senior Cosplay Correspondent writes;
Rather than joining in the first week frenzy over SyFy's new show Heroes Of Cosplay, I decided to wait till the second episode before sharing my thoughts on the show. Since the pilot episode only introduced half the cast, I figured I could provide a more comprehensive review of the show by waiting an additional week.
Since its announcement, the show has come under harsh scrutiny from cosplayers for a variety of reasons. These range from the decision to cast only popular attractive female cosplayers to focusing on only the competitive aspects of the hobby. Surprisingly some of these criticisms are actual problems and not just nerd dissatisfaction. The basic premise is that each week the show documents cosplayers as they take costumes from inception to their presentation at a convention. The objective is to illustrate the many personal, social, and technical struggles that cosplayers face when preparing a costume.
Cosplay Heroes excels at displaying a fair and honest overview of cosplayers and their activity. Each of the cast members represent the various trials cosplayers must overcome in preparing a costume from acquiring the right materials to time management. It even accurately captures the subtle passive aggressiveness that is common between fellow cosplayers. Additionally, it provides an avenue in which newer cosplayers can learn some of the methods that more established cosplayers use when making their costumes. The cast not only mentions what materials they use but also gives brief demonstrations of the use of those materials.
While the show gets some aspects right, there are far more things wrong. The main problem is an uncertain sense of identity – does it wants to be a craftsmanship competition like Project Runway or voyeuristic like the Jersey Shore? By attempting to do both styles, the show fails to fully leverage the best aspects of either.
The most glaring problem is the lack of a strong cohesive concept. Since SyFy already has a popular costume and special effects show (Face Off), the producers decided to make Heroes Of Cosplay more of a hybrid reality TV show. of the two types of reality TV formats rather than a traditional contest (where each week cast members are given a specific challenge and the losing member is voted off the show.) Instead the contestants just show up at various conventions and enter the costume contest. So regardless of whether contestants win or lose they are still able to be a part of next week's episode. Since there is no penalty for failure, it becomes harder to have an emotional investment in the cast because nothing is at stake if they succeed or not. As a result Heroes Of Cosplay does not feel like it is building towards anything important.
Yaya Han is a great television personality, but the show wastes her talents by trying to force her into a hard-ass judge archetype in the mold of Simon Cowell or Gordon Ramsey. The producers want viewers to see Yaya as brutally honest and unreserved, but they belabor the point so much that every five minutes one of the one of the cast members has to remind the audience how tough she can be. Paradoxically though, after all this editorializing you never see her giving the contestants any direct criticism on their costumes, let alone any of the tough love that audiences enjoy. In fact at the end of the episode one contestant even says "I wonder what Yaya did not like about my costume."
One final point: It is both curious and odd that the show felt the need to include only one male cast member compared to eight females. He is such an afterthought that he is rarely seen and never has any scenes with the other cast members. This choice implicitly supports the popular yet unspoken concept that cosplay is only a legitimate activity for women. This opinion was voiced by the show's executive producer who said "Male characters tend to be simpler – lots of body armor and weaponry and spandex and capes… They're usually nowhere near as interesting and intricate, or sexy and cool, as the costumes worn by the women. And, let's face it, female sexuality is a big part of comic-book art and a big element in the Con world."
Ironically, the costume that Yaya and the other judges choose for best in show on both episodes were male cosplayers.
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