I figured something out a month or two ago: Princess Leia does not get to live a happy life.
Popular culture has always defined the term “princess” as a helpless or hapless royal heroine, a damsel in distress, a fashion model. And pop culture dictates that a princess must go on to live “happily ever after,” either by marrying a more or less royal Prince Charming or by asserting her female independence. The term “Princess” looks superficial on Leia, but she lives up to her title in so many ways.
It can look like Cosplay came out of nowhere. But science-fiction and fantasy have been popular genres for generations now-one could argue that they’ve been around as long as literature itself. Costuming has been around since the first scifi conventions in the 1930s and 40s, when people would dress up to fit into the genre they liked to consume, not necessarily to reflect certain characters. By the 1970s there were formalized costume contests and standards for costuming. The term “cosplay” itself was invented by a Japanese news reporter who visited an American convention in 1970 as a shortened form of the terms “costume play”.
The cool thing about science fiction and fantasy is that it allows us to examine what makes us human. Because more often than not, the genre features a protagonist or group of protagonists with capabilities beyond those of ordinary humans. And sometimes we watch how extraordinary humans cope with still living an ordinary life, or learning to adjust to a different one.
Summer of 2015, Jake asked for people to come co-write for The Geeky Mormon. I posted my first article in July. So it’s been more than a year—more like a year and two months. But better late to get around to an anniversary-type post than never. This isn’t really to brag on my achievements but to look back on what else I’ve been doing with my life in addition to The Geeky Mormon as well as some of the changes that have happened, some I may have mentioned in writing, others not so much.
Dear Mom: If you are reading this, I want this book for Christmas, and I also think you should read this book because I think you would love it. I think the boys and Mary Lynne would love it, too.
To my general readers: I haven’t read that many Star Wars books. I never touched the former EU/Legends material. So I couldn’t tell you fairly how it compares. But this is one of the best books I have ever read, period. And I think it needs to be read. And my fellow Star Wars geeks on Far Far Away Radio agree. Bloodline by Claudia Gray is that good. My review here contains a lot of what you would consider spoilers but Bloodline is not that fun to talk about without them. I have a lot of feelings for this book.
Utah has gained a reputation in recent years as a haven for geeks of all fandoms and degrees of interest. The rising popularity of Salt Lake Comic Con and the golden age of Geek on the internet has fueled the creativity and talents of many locals into pursuing cosplay. For this reason, it is no surprise that so many people are moving to the vibrant and diverse state of Utah to set up a home. It also helps that there are some fantastic real estate opportunities in Utah too. Just check out these New Homes for Sale in Ogden Valley for example. Anyway, as a member of this vibrant cosplay community, I would like to give my readers a glimpse into what we do and introduce them to some of my fellow cosplayers. Some of us are part of major costuming organizations like the 501st Legion, others are part of smaller local charity groups. Some of us invest considerable time and money into making elaborate, screen-accurate costumes. Others can’t bring as many physical resources, but we make up for it with lots of heart and dedication. Some of us live outside of the Salt Lake-Ogden-Provo area, but thankfully the internet makes it easy to keep in touch on a daily basis and we can share ideas and post photos of our work.
You should never underestimate the power of cosplay in groups. I’ve been a part of a charity group for a while, but for this Comic Con I planned to do something a little different. Livewire was my favorite villain in Season 1 of Supergirl. Since her outfit didn’t look too hard to imitate, I decided to cosplay her. Then a few months ago, one of my Facebook friends decided to put together a DC Villains/Arkham group for comic con. I decided to volunteer Livewire.
We’ve have a few months to marinate. The hype and overreactions are over. We’ve had a little while to step back and evaluate Captain America: Civil War. The spoilers are out. So what comes next? It concluded the Captain America trilogy, but the story of Steve Rogers–the man who carried the mantle of Captain America–is far from over. Some of the ideas I will be sharing are things I heard at two Captain America panels at Salt Lake Comic Con FanX back in March.
It’s a wonderful time to be a geek right now. Lots of wonderful movies are coming out. In the last few weeks we’ve gotten a handful of awesome trailers from Star Wars Celebration Europe and San Diego Comic Con International. These are the ones for the things I’m most excited for.
Han Solo leads Rey, Finn, and BB-8 through the front doors of the castle and into the main hall. Weird music plays in the background as they wander through a maze of bizarre alien patrons eating and drinking and talking. Off to one side, a very short, female creature wearing large goggles is lifting a tray when she stops suddenly. She turns around and shouts,
“HAAAAAAN SOLO!”
Silence falls. All of the cantina patrons turn in the direction that the hostess is facing.
The old smuggler shrugs and gives an awkward smile. He had been hoping to get in and out without attracting attention. Well, Maz is that “one friend” of his.
“Hello, Maz.”