Elitism, wtf?!

[zerosama]

I'm pleased with the amount of kind people this year. I only ran into a couple "elitists" (god I hate that)

Anyway, I love Code Geass, yet I only saw 2 Lelouches... But to each one, I yelled "ALL HAIL BRITTANIA!" And none of them did anything back! D: How mean! I responded to EVERY SINGLE death note remark as Misa. And that's a lot. ;-;

Did anyone else have any elitism experiences? or does Lelouch just hate me?! XD

[Eilonnwy]

It is not elitism to not respond to someone yelling something at you, whether it was in the spirit of the cosplay or not. Some people don't respond well to those things and it's not due to elitism, it's because they may be shy or uncomfortable with it. Also some people, including myself, aren't particularly fond of people screaming things out. It's obnoxious.

When I am in cosplay I may not respond to people because maybe I am busy doing something and on my way something but usually it's because I don't like to do it. If you responded to people yelling at you, that's fine, but don't expect people to do it in return.

[zerosama]

It's just... his character though. Ignoring that is like, L not eating candy. And I didn't YELL, I kinda exaggerated.

idk. I just felt that ignoring someone is mean in general. It's a given that people ARE going to talk to you, take pictures, and shout out stuff. If you can't handle that, then Anime Boston is NOT the place for you. I mean, what about little kids? I sure hope no one ignored them.

and for being busy, I was in the dating game and the masquerade. I had a lot of running around to do, but I at LEAST waved or acknowledged people

[The Hag]

Just because someone is in a costume doesn't mean that they are in character. There could be any number of non-elitist reasons why they didn't respond. I wouldn't take it personally. (:

[Eilonnwy]

You cannot expect someone to react the way you expect them to. Just because a lot of people at these conventions are bouncy and happy to respond to everyone, that doesn't mean it's required and does not mean it is elitist or rude to feel uncomfortable by being shouted at and choose to ignore it.

People cosplay for their own enjoyment, not yours. You have no right to force them to do anything you think is correct behavior. You need to respect their wishes if they chose not to take part in the behavior that makes them uncomfortable. It doesn't matter that it's an Anime Convention. Outside the convention YOUR behavior would seem rude and just because you are in a con does not make it the other way around.

[Saki_b]

Just putting this out there, but maybe they didn't hear you? A couple of people shouted to me as well, and I didn't hear them solely because of how loud it was at the convention, and maybe they weren't paying attention or thought you were shouting to someone else?

I'm never in character. I cosplay for the costuming experience. I'm not a very good actor, and I think cosplay isn't all about being in character. When I'm in cosplay chess, I'm in character, but at the con? I find it rather annoying when there's a trillion Misa-Misa's and every single one has to be super loud and "cute" and has to hug everything she sees. I know it's a convention, but there's also boundaries.

[Mystic Blossom]

I'm glad you had a good time and that you enjoyed being in character. But I have to reiterate what everyone else is saying. It's not rude not to respond to a total stranger yelling at you. Yes, as cosplayers we can expect the people we hang out with to be a bit different from the general population, but that doesn't obligate anyone to do anything you want them to.

Honestly, I think your attitude is a bit elitist. You're basically saying that people who attend anime conventions should do so for certain reasons and should act a certain way. Yes, you were busy and managed to be social. Good for you. Other people aren't you and other people have different priorities.

[Meph]

[quote=ZeroSama]I'm pleased with the amount of kind people this year. I only ran into a couple "elitists" (god I hate that)

Anyway, I love Code Geass, yet I only saw 2 Lelouches... But to each one, I yelled "ALL HAIL BRITTANIA!" And none of them did anything back! D: How mean! I responded to EVERY SINGLE death note remark as Misa. And that's a lot. ;-;

Did anyone else have any elitism experiences? or does Lelouch just hate me?! XD[/quote]

some people thought I was ignoring them when i was Neku x_x but I wasn't! I couldn't hear them. SO it could be that they couldn't hear, especially if they were lelouch with the helmet. And sometimes, they're not used to the character's name. Not everyone hears a character's name and thinks "oh that's me!"

when I was Ishida, I didn't automatically think "oh they're shouting for me!" I just kept walking cause that's not my name. So really, it's not elitism. If you're not used to being that character or used to cons, you might not be in the mindset of "that character is me". Same as when I was Naota. I expected to hear that name. But a LOT of people called me Ta-Kun. So I "ignored" people until I got it in my head that they'd be saying that to me.

so don't think it's elitism. It's a LOT of things. And with so many people and characters and things going on, it's easy to just simply not hear someone >>

[Deany Kong]

With 15-Thousand people in one building, sometimes it's hard to hear people, or notice when they're talking to you.

If I had a nickle for every time I didn't notice someone yelling at my Mudkip, I would've been able to pay off my hotel just by going to the con!

... I even had someone poking the little guy for about 40 seconds before I noticed he was there.

[Meph]

yeah. someone shoved a dollar bill in my collar when I was Ishida x_x I didn't notice for like, 20 minutes *felt stupid after* sometimes there's just so much happening you don't notice xD;;

[kiarrens]

My 2-cents. Sometimes, responding to each and every comment directed at you in-character gets 1. annoying as hell and 2. can play havoc with your vocal chords. If I responded to EVERY short joke when I am Ed with a rant, I'd lose my voice a half hour into the con. It's actually gotten to the point that the short jokes just annoy me (when you hear one every 5 minutes for 5 years in cosplay it gets REAL old), and hence I generally tend to ignore people when they do it now. I cosplay Edward, and I love it, but I prefer the more serious side to his character.

So don't take it personally. It's not that they were being elitist.... there are many, many reasons they might have ignored you.

[TwinEnigma]

I agree. Responding to everyone and every comment to you is tiring mentally and physically. It's gotten to the point that every time I hear "Believe it" (mostly from this one guy in particular), I feel like punching something. The first time, it was okay. Shouting it in my face every time you see me? Not so much.

I pretty much just try to keep an eye out for people trying to flag me down for photos or my friends. Beyond that, there's just too much going on! And if my glasses are off, well... good luck getting me to see you unless you're right in front of me!

[Mutantfish]

I'm one of the people who ignore the yelling. I had two semi-fangirls throughout the con that kept yelling to me every time I passed them. I completely ignored them. Maybe even glared once. Which would have been in character anyway.

Also, one time I couldn't hear someone asking for a picture and she yanked me out of line instead. Sometimes it's just too loud to hear people.

[troublemaiker]

one thing that i've noticed about cons, is a lot of people have certain social disorders. its very common and this crowd usually seems to draw them in. Im not saying its a bad thing, i too have a social anxiety disorder that gets triggered when i feel "trapped".
so when im in a rush to get somewhere as Roy, and then are suddenly forced to go along the walls due to lots of people moving slower then me and then being rushed by envys and eds all yelling at me, i tend to get an angry face and say excuse me and leave.

i agree with what everyone else is saying, but some people also have certain reactions to triggers, and one of those triggers may be people in your face yelling at you. :/

when iwant to maybe interact with someone in character i always go up and calmly say a line that the character would say to provoke the other. if they play along, great! if not, then you just smile and say "see ya around" and move on.

[Syagria]

It is not elitist for a cosplayer not to behave "in character" (or rather, in YOUR opinion of what "in character" means) when interacting with anyone else, most especially if that interaction stems from someone screaming and yelling. The screaming and yelling is completely unnecessary and, frankly, rude. It's rude to expect people to react the way you want them to. Some of the cosplayers you might be yelling at might actually be mature adults - or even mature teens - who don't see the need to be screaming all the time.

I was holding a lot of very still poses for one of my costumes this weekend, and naturally, this caused a group of obnoxious teenagers to harrass me in an attempt to get me to lose my concentration. I ignored them and in short order, they went away - perhaps that was the tactic in use here: "Ignore the person screaming at me, and she'll lose interest and walk away." Some people are sensitive to shrill or high-pitched noises - maybe they didn't hear you, or maybe you were giving them a headache.

[Vanguard]

well, if someone is being obnoxious simply for the sake of being so, I'd say it's perfectly acceptable to yell at them.

case in point: a Navi wannabe who was yelling "Hey! Listen!" for twenty minutes straight on the first day, I eventually replied saying "Hey! Shut up!" no one thought I was being elitist for doing so, in fact most laughed about it.

Truth be told, I don't think I ran into any elitists this year, just the occasional annoying person or two.

[President Aria]

So because someone didn't play along with your interpretation of how their character should be, you think they're elitists? How stupid. Elitist might be if you asked for a picture and they told you to shove it, but just because they didn't perform for your whim does not make someone elitist.

Any time someone asked me for a picture, I was more than happy to stop and pose for one. It only takes a moment, and I've done my fair share of the picture taking before. But if someone just shouted out "Hey! It's Tasuki!", well, does it make me elitist just because I give a quick wave and didn't break out a "rekka shinen" for em? Of course not. As has been said, it would be rather elitist of you to think that one should act in character just for you.

[cosmonaut]

Okay, I agree that the way the other person reacted wasn't elitist. I definately agree with that.

However, I think after every single person in this thread saying so and stating their opinions about it (some more agitated than others, i think ), the person who started the topic might be feeling a little crappy.

...
so yeah.
i think they get the idea. XD

[Vu]

[quote=ZeroSama]And none of them did anything back! D: How mean! I responded to EVERY SINGLE death note remark as Misa. And that's a lot. ;-;

Did anyone else have any elitism experiences? or does Lelouch just hate me?! XD[/quote]
Maybe they just didn't hear you. Or weren't paying attention. They weren't in the mood. They were occupied with something else. There are lots of things that could have happened. It's a simple misinterpretation and misunderstanding that could have happened to anyone else.

With that, I will now close this topic, as it is not very constructive. Thanks!