Urban poachers: Cosplay, playful cultures and the appropriation of urban space. (1st September 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Crawford, Garry; Hancock, David
• Is Part Of: Journal of fandom studies. Volume 6:Number 3(2018)
• Page Start: 301
• Page End: 318
• Publication Date: 2018-09-01
• Subjects: Fans (Persons) -- Periodicals; Subculture -- Periodicals; Popular culture -- Psychological aspects -- Periodicals; 306.1
• DOI: 10.1386/jfs.6.3.301_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2046-6692

Abstract

This article considers cosplayers' use and transformation of urban space. Cosplay provides an important subcultural embodiment of contemporary popular culture, through which we can learn a great deal about contemporary forms of fandom, participatory culture and (mostly notably here) urban appropriation. This article draws on data gathered from a four-year ethnographic study, which includes the use of art as a method, but here specifically looks at a small cosplay community that regularly meets in a park in Manchester. The article argues that a useful way of understanding cosplay is to consider the relationship between play and culture. In particular, the article sets out a consideration of how cosplayers transform social spaces through the use of process of synecdoche and asyndeton, which link together and edit out parts of the built environment – or what we term 'urban poaching'.