Cosplay Is a Business and It Is Suffering角色扮演行业正在遭受冲击

贝丝·埃尔德金 李倩

The novel coronavirus pandemic has become an international crisis. In the world of fandom， pop culture conventions are being canceled and special appearances have been called off. The business of bringing characters to life is suffering and there seems to be no end in sight.

For millions of fans， cosplay is an opportunity to dress up as your favorite character and share your fandom with others. But for some， it is a full-time job—or， at the very least， a side hustle. Its not an easy career path. Cosplayers can spend 100 hours or more creating specialty costumes that cost upwards of $1，000 for the materials alone （not including the cost of labor， which could easily triple the price）. In exchange， some cosplayers who appear at events will negotiate appearance fees—which vary from a couple hundred to several thousand dollars—as well as flights， accommodations， and per diems. High-profile cosplayers sometimes do paid autograph sessions or request sales guarantees， which ensure the convention covers any merchandise shortfalls. But no one anticipated a shortfall like this.

For fans， this means missing out on panels， celebrity sightings， social events， and spending time with friends they may not otherwise see. But for professional cosplayers—some of whom make a living or at least a supportive second income from cosplay—this also means losing appearance fees， sponsorship deals， and the opportunity to sell merchandise to fans.

With organizers waiting a long time to cancel， either by accident or design， cosplayers are left struggling to figure out how to recoup the sudden income losses. Everyone I talked to said they understand why these conventions are being canceled， but it doesnt make things any easier.

The whole situation has left a lot of cosplayers in a bind. Since many of them count as independent contractors1， that means they dont qualify for state unemployment benefits. The CARES Act， which provides federal benefits for people whose jobs have been impacted by covid-19， has been extended to freelancers， but reports have shown its hard to access those benefits because the system isnt designed for the gig economy. In the meantime， sales of merchandise and other fandom goods have tanked. Some cosplayers are working more on Twitch and YouTube， or have turned to Patreon or Ko-fi to solicit support from fans.

The effects on cosplay as a hobby and industry itself isnt the only way the novel coronavirus has impacted their lives. Some have lost their day jobs—like New York-based cosplayer Jay Justice， who works as an independent writing consultant and editor. She told me contracts have dried up in recent weeks and its unclear when theyll bounce back.

Theres also the general toll that social distancing is taking on all of us. Its hard to feel motivated， especially when it comes to taking on creative projects， when so much is happening in the world. And when its your job to create beautiful things， or be around people and entertain them with your cosplay， adjusting to life without that can be draining for both your mental health and your wallet.

“In reality， theres no way to avoid depression and anxiety. In stressful situations， its very difficult to create content. And when you are the product; when the product is you， smiling， being happy. Presenting something. Talking to the audience about their lives. I have not been able to get into the mindset to do that in weeks，” Justice said. There are some unexpected impacts， too. Nashville-based non-profit Cosplay Collective is a group of volunteers who dress up to visit people in hospitals， like children with terminal diseases. Considering just how many people are stuck in hospitals right now—as well as the front line staffers working overtime to keep them safe—it feels like the groups work is more important than ever. But， of course， at a time when these cosplayers could be of help the most， they cant be there.

Cosplay Collective co-founder Dee Volpe said the nonprofit group has been experimenting with new ideas to help children and others in hospitals during this time. This includes holding virtual princess and superhero parties for kids， like one they recently did with Dreams and Wishes of Tennessee， as well as neighborhood drive-bys and walk-arounds in costumes.

But its just a stop-gap because no one knows whats waiting on the other side. In the meantime， there are attempts to recreate normalcy. Some conventions like San Diego Comic-Con have announced theyll do events online. This could mean more opportunities for cos-players to recoup some of the audience and revenue that was lost when this all started. However， as Justice pointed out， online cons arent remotely the same thing and they present new challenges. Cosplayers may have to deal with new rights issues—for example， if a con tries to claim ownership of a cosplayers images because they were shared on their streaming channel. Theres also the issue of compensation. Some cons could try to undercut cosplayers simply because they wont be there in person.

“There are companies that would be willing to compensate you for work that you would do at conventions， that will ghost you if you talk about compensation for doing the same content online，” Justice said. “People who read this may think that its easy and cosplayers just get money thrown at them. Im like， no， you have to constantly negotiate your own value， 100 percent.”

Its a challenging time for everyone， and cosplayers are just one of the many communities that have been impacted by the con scene cancellations. For-profit convention organizers employ hundreds of con staffers and volunteers at their events， pump money into their local economies， and give vendors and creators a chance to showcase their goods. San Diego Comic-Con， which is categor-ized as a nonprofit， has almost 1，000 employees and brings over $150 million worth of economic impact into the city. Almost all of that will be lost now.

But the unique challenge with cos-players is that they make a living by being seen. Its one thing to glance at an image of a costume online. Its another to see it in person or get a close-up look at the craftsmanship and detail that went into making that fictional character come to life. Every cosplayer I talked to said they were hopeful that conventions and cos-play can survive this ordeal， though none of them knew how or how long it would take. To be fair， most officials dont either. But many of them seem willing to wait because its what they love.            ■

新冠疫情已演化为一场国际危机。在“粉圈”中，流行文化展会纷纷取消，特别演出也被叫停。这个赋予角色以生命的行业正遭受冲击，眼下似无尽头。

于无数粉丝而言，角色扮演可使其装扮成至爱角色并与他人分享所爱。而对有些人来说，这却是全职工作，或者至少是副业。这并非一条轻松的职业道路。角色扮演者有时会花费100小时乃至更长时间来制作特色服饰，仅材料成本就高达1000美元（还不包括很可能三倍于此的人工成本）。为求回报，部分参展角色扮演者会与主办方协商出场费——从两三百美元至几千美元不等，以及机票费、住宿费、每日津贴。知名角色扮演者有时会举办付费签名会或要求主办方包销，以确保展会能弥补销售亏损。但如今这般入不敷出的情况却是他们始料未及的。

对于粉丝而言，展会的取消意味着他们将错失同好交流会、名人见面会、社交活动，无法与只在展会才得以见面的好友相聚。但对于职业角色扮演者而言（他们有人以角色扮演谋生，或至少借此赚取外快补贴开支），这还意味着他们失去了出场费、赞助以及向粉丝销售商品的机会。

由于展会主办方有意或无意地延后发布展会取消的公告，角色扮演者在面临这突如其来的收入损失时，不得不苦思弥补之道。和我交谈过的每个人都对展会的取消表示理解，但这也于事无补。

当前形势使得众多角色扮演者陷入困境。他们中的许多人都算是独立合同人，这就意味着他们无法获得州失业救助。为就业受疫情影响人群提供联邦救助的《冠状病毒援助、救济和经济安全法》虽已覆盖自由职业者，但调查报告显示，零工经济从业者并非主要施助对象，因此很难获取相关救助。与此同时，相关商品和其他周边产品的销量也大幅下滑。現在，部分角色扮演者的工作多在Twitch和优兔上进行，或者通过Patreon或Ko-fi平台寻求粉丝的支持。

新型冠状病毒对角色扮演者生活的影响绝不止于兴趣和行业本身。有些人失去了自己的全职工作，例如纽约的角色扮演者杰伊·贾斯蒂斯，她是一名自由职业者，从事写作顾问和编辑工作。她告诉笔者，最近几周都没有接到活儿，也不清楚何时会恢复常态。

还有保持社交距离对所有人的普遍影响。在此多事之秋，人们难有动力，在开展创意工作时更是如此。当你的工作是创造美的事物，或通过角色扮演陪伴和取悦他人时，适应不再拥有这些的生活会让人遭受精神与物质的双重打击。

贾斯蒂斯说：“实际上，抑郁和焦虑无法避免。高压环境使人难以开展内容创作。你就是产品本身，你要展现欢笑，要保持快乐，要呈现什么，并和观众谈论他们的生活。我好几星期都没能进入状态。”此外，还有一些意想不到的影响。位于纳什维尔的非营利组织“角色扮演团”由一群志愿者组成，他们装扮自己，去医院探望病人，如患有绝症的儿童。鉴于现在住院的人如此之多，又有众多一线医护人员加班加点地工作以保障他们的安全，该组织的工作比以往任何时候都更为重要。然而，在这些角色扮演者可以提供最大帮助之时，他们却不能出现在那里。

角色扮演团的联合创始人迪伊·沃尔普说，该非营利组织一直在尝试新想法，以在此危机期间帮助医院里的儿童与其他病人。比如为孩子们举办公主和超级英雄的虚拟派对（他们近期帮“田纳西的梦想与希望”组织办了一场），以及着盛装在住宅小区里驾车或步行巡游。

但这只是权宜之计，因为没人知道接下来会发生什么。与此同时，人们也在试图重建常态。圣迭戈动漫展等展会宣布将于线上举办活动。这或许意味着，角色扮演者有更多机会挽回一部分疫情所致的观众流失与收入损失。然而，正如贾斯蒂斯指出的，线上展会与现场展会截然不同，它们带来了新的挑战。角色扮演者可能不得不应付新的版权问题，例如，展会可能会对角色扮演者的照片主张所有权，因为照片要在其流媒体频道上共享。这还涉及补偿金的问题。有些展会可能会因为角色扮演者不能身临现场而企图少付报酬。

“有些公司愿为你在展会上的工作给予报酬，但若你对内容相同的线上工作提及报酬，他们就人间蒸发了。”贾斯蒂斯说，“读到此文的人或许认为角色扮演者的钱来得很容易。我认为不是这样的，得不折不扣地为自身价值而不断议价才行。”

对每个人来说，这都是一个艰难时期，而角色扮演者只是因现场展会取消而受影响的众多群体之一。营利性展会主办方在办展期间雇用数百名工作人员和志愿者，为当地经济带来收入，并为供应商和创作者提供展示产品的机会。属于非营利性展会的圣迭戈动漫展拥有近千名员工，为这座城市创造了超过1.5亿美元的经济效益。现在这些几乎都将化作泡影。

然而角色扮演者所面临的独特挑战在于，他们要靠被人观赏来谋生。在网上看服装图片是一回事，而亲眼目睹或近距观看使虚构人物栩栩如生的工艺和细节则是另一番体验。每位与我交谈过的角色扮演者都表示相信漫展和角色扮演都能挺过这场磨难，但没人知道要如何渡过，需要多少时间。坦白地讲，就连大多数官员也不知道。但许多角色扮演者似愿等待，因为这就是他们所爱。  □

（译者单位：华中科技大学）