Relishing real world Halloween costumes

After spending the weeks leading up to Halloween researching horrific racist and sexist costumes, and commiserating with other Asian American activists, it is a pleasure to attend the University of Michigan Halloween Concert and see that all is still well in the real world. Those online commercial costume Web sites may be glitzy and gross, but they are for the uninspired minority.

The children and I sit in the mezzanine of Hill Auditorium in front of about three or four rows of giant bumblebees. The closest one is a big stout bumblebee with a beard, long black arms folded across his yellow-striped chest, stern expression on his face, sparkly silver antennae dangling in the air in time with the music.

Five-year-old Little Brother is so excited to watch the musicians walk on to stage. First to emerge from the darkness is Tetrus! Then the Scooby Gang! Secret Service clears a path for President Barack Obama (who looks so cool playing timpani). We see Dorothy and friends, a banana, a unicorn, a marionette, Cleopatra and Marc Antony. The kids especially like Tinkerbell’s ugly sister, “Tinkersmell.” I love the Valkyrie who walks in singing, “Kill da wabbit, kill da wabbit.” The good cheer that infects the audience during the encore, “Ghostbusters,” complete with “Go Blue!” is hard to shake, even after Little Brother asks days later, “What are Ghostbusters, anyhow?”

On Tuesday, we go to Skelementary, the annual Halloween Party at the U-M School of Education where future teachers sponsor a haunted house too scary for us, plus educational games and activities in a safe, warm, well-lighted room. The kids are delighted to see both friends and student teachers that they know.

On Friday, we go to the downtown Library for the annual Halloween Party, followed by trick-or-treating down Main Street. There is such a collection of tiny little fairies, ladybugs, princesses, pumpkins, dinosaurs, and more bumblebees. I enjoy trick-or-treating from reference desk to reference desk because I always recall back when they used to only give out bookmarks and stickers in accordance with the culture of the library (Yes, I confess, ours is the lame house that gives out Halloween-themed pencils and erasers…second only in lameness to The Dentist’s house that gives out toothbrushes.)

So by Saturday morning, as I stand in the lobby of the Dearborn Hyatt Regency holding a six-foot battle axe at the annual Youmacon anime and manga convention, “normal” and “real” have become relative terms.

The children hang out with the Hetalia Axis Powers fandom, cosplaying this satirical manga and anime series in which nations are personified and World War II history and politics are depicted allegorically as social and romantic relationships. Ethnic stereotypes are a big part of the characters (i.e. Italy loves pasta, England is a terrible cook, America always wants to be the hero, France is a romantic), but these kids take on these roles in such good spirit. A high school girl dressed up as Prussia tells about writing a history paper about American imperialism and accidentally referring to America as “Alfred,” America’s character’s name.

Little Brother, dressed as chibi Hong Kong, grows tired of the hundreds of teenage girls squealing and snapping photographs whenever he walks by, “Awwwww, how cuuuuute!” and breaks away to talk to the Pokemon and Digimon he spots—and Domo too. He has long conversations with these characters, and warm hugs, because he already knows them, takes them as real.

This is the magic, the danger, and the hope of costumes—we can become our masquerade.

Frances Kai-Hwa Wang is a second-generation Chinese American from California who now divides her time between Ann Arbor and the Big Island of Hawaii. She is editor of IMDiversity.com Asian American Village, lead multicultural contributor for AnnArbor.com, and a contributor for New America Media's Ethnoblog. She is a popular speaker on Asian Pacific American and multicultural issues. Check out her website at franceskaihwawang.com, her blog at franceskaihwawang.blogspot.com, and she can be reached at fkwang888@gmail.com.