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Student Theses

Cosplay Practices in Russia: Conventions as Space and Event

Student: Ryabinina AleKhandra

Supervisor: Natalia Samutina

Faculty: Faculty of Humanities

Educational Programme: Visual Culture (Master)

Year of Graduation: 2019

Cosplay is a participatory practice of recreating an image of different characters from pop culture. Cosplayers use costume, accessories, make-up and acting to achieve similarity to the characters, and cosplay conventions and festivals provide a platform for this performance. We based our study on forty-three in-depth interviews with Russian cosplayers, conducted from January to March 2017. In our study, we will look how the festival space is produced and how fan communities fit into urban space. To describe festival space we use the concepts of intimatopia by Elizabeth Woledge and heterotopia by Michel Foucault. Initially, the word «intimatopia» means a common trope in fan fiction. It is a fantastic space where characters develop sexual and romantic relationships. In this space, social norms (for example, gender standards) fade, and interaction between characters becomes intimate and affective. We use this concept to describe the affective nature of interaction between participants of the cosplay festival. Besides, the connection between intimatopia and fan fiction allows us to emphasize the role of imagination in the perception of the festival. Imagination is the main resource of the fan community: fans create their own narratives and «re-imagine» not only the works of popular culture, but also the real spaces where festivals take place. Heterotopias are «embodied utopias»: transitional spaces that stand opposite to everyday reality and welcome playing and shifting the boundaries of what is acceptable. The concept of heterotopia allows us to emphasize the transgressive nature of cosplay festivals, as well as their localization in space. In this case, cosplay festivals become shelters for marginalized identities and allow them to take their own place in the city.

Выпускные квалификационные работы (ВКР) в НИУ ВШЭ выполняют все студенты в соответствии с университетским Положением и Правилами, определенными каждой образовательной программой.

Аннотации всех ВКР в обязательном порядке публикуются в свободном доступе на корпоративном портале НИУ ВШЭ.

Полный текст ВКР размещается в свободном доступе на портале НИУ ВШЭ только при наличии согласия студента – автора (правообладателя) работы либо, в случае выполнения работы коллективом студентов, при наличии согласия всех соавторов (правообладателей) работы. ВКР после размещения на портале НИУ ВШЭ приобретает статус электронной публикации.

ВКР являются объектами авторских прав, на их использование распространяются ограничения, предусмотренные законодательством Российской Федерации об интеллектуальной собственности.

В случае использования ВКР, в том числе путем цитирования, указание имени автора и источника заимствования обязательно.

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