Hartford

Cosplayers Battle AI, Studio Villains

by Jamil Ragland | Jul 24, 2023 3:50 pm

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Posted to: Pop Culture

Am I going to take pictures of struck cosplay?

I pondered the question as I waited in the line that snaked through the Hartford Marriott’s parking lot for ConnectiCon 2023, this year’s installment of what’s billed as a ​“multi-genre convention dedicated to a celebration of pop culture — everything from anime, to science fiction, comic books, and card games.” 

I’d already seen some impressive costumes and couldn’t wait to get into the main area of the convention center. This was the first time my son Gabe and I had attended ConnectiCon since it was canceled during the pandemic. Now we were attending in the middle of a writers’ and actors’ strike that has brought the entire entertainment industry to a halt.

We love the cosplay and the merchandise as much as anyone else, but in our hearts we’re gamers. We made a beeline for the gaming area, a sprawling room dedicated to electronic and tabletop gaming in all its forms. They had everything, from the Commodore 64 hooked up to an old-style CRT television to rows of sleek, brand new Playstation 5s. In the background, a giant projector showed a livestream of a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament. We watched for a moment, then focused. We were there for the Guilty Gear tournament.

As the tournament marched on, we had time to talk to many of the cosplayers and get their pictures as they walked by. I’d decided to not take any pictures of struck characters. Even though I’m not a member of either guild that’s on strike right now, I understand why they’re on strike. On the surface it looks like millionaire actors fighting billionaire CEOs, but what’s at stake is the future ability for human performers to make money in Hollywood studio productions, and perhaps any kind of large-scale entertainment endeavor. 

That question hangs like the Sword of Damocles over all of creative media right now. ​“Artificial Intelligence” is as much a threat to mangakas, voice actors and comic book writers as it is to unionized performers. Eventually ​“AI” will be able to program the videogames my son and I enjoy. This strike is the opening salvo in a battle over the place of humans in creating art. It’s a technological twist on the theme of my last piece: if machines are making the art, is it art at all? What is art?

I have to think about all that as a writer, so no struck pictures. Besides, there was plenty of great cosplay from other sources, such as Barbarian Link from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

Gabriel won one set in the tournament and lost one, and was ready to go shopping. We crossed over into the merchandise area, where there was a maze of brightly colored booths, anime posters, mecha model sets, novelty flasks, swords, Japanese snacks, giant plush dolls, and every other niche fan product imaginable. Here the strike question took a new form. Is buying an unlicensed product inspired by struck material scabbing? After hours of gaming and eating and walking I didn’t want to add thinking to the list. I bought the $10 plastic Shrek Buddha. 

Before we were ready to go, I looked through my camera roll to make sure I’d gotten some good pictures. Right at the very end, I saw them: two pictures of struck characters. In the moment I’d been so blown away by their creativity that the urge to capture them was all I could think of. It was moment that highlighted the clash between passion and business. These fans want characters that they love and stories that resonate with them. Sooner or later, machines will be able to do that. Will it make a difference that the actors and writers behind them aren’t real people? What about when the machines replace me, and the ​“AI’ is both the performer and the critic?

Well, that’ll give me some extra time to work on my cosplay for next year. Which I say I’m doing every year, but next year I will for real. Mark my words. 

Next year’s event: July 18 – 21, 2024. Not too early to register! 

Where I’m headed next: Carmine’s in East Hartford for Wednesday night’s live music.

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