Re-creation, re-enactment, LARP and Cosplay...

[ForgeCorvus]

While I'm sure we agree that these are all just facets of the same basic concept (I want to be someone else for a bit), they're not the same pastime.
So, where do you think one stops and another starts?

[Manveruon]

**EDITED to include the Instagram stories as plain text instead of images - hopefully it’s less intrusive this way!**

This is a big, big question - and it’s a subject I have put a LOT of thought into over the years. I have come close to posting my thoughts publicly many times, but in the end I have never brought myself to put it all down in writing, because I’ve always known it would be a long, complicated, essay - and moreover, likely somewhat divisive. In fact, I caused a pretty big kerfuffle a while back over in the Middle-earth Rangers Facebook group by trying to express my feelings about using the terms “reenactment” and “living history” in a Middle-earth context. (the short version is: several people got very angry and were extremely vocal about how they thought it was wrong, harmful, unethical, etc. to use this term in this context.) In the end, I finally wrote up a fairly extensive series of posts which I shared to the Misty Mountain Rangers Instagram page Stories, and I am going to include screenshots of them here, because I think I articulated my thoughts relatively well.

All that being said, the following are MY *PERSONAL* definitions of the things you’ve listed, and of course you are free to agree or disagree as you please without offending me. Obviously, there is a fair deal of overlap here, and the lines get very blurry at the edges (kind of like - okay, we all know what a sword is… but can we define what ISN’T a sword? That’s harder) - but hopefully these can be relatively helpful categories for some. Here we go:

COSTUMING: the act of creating and/or wearing costumes for specific purposes. In the broadest sense, literally ALL clothing is costume.
COSTUMING SUB-CATEGORIES:
- Historical Costuming: Recreating/wearing, to varying degrees of specificity and accuracy, clothing that was worn in the past. Generally, I would say historical costuming is done primarily for the enjoyment of the creator/wearer, and not for the sake of performance of any kind, but it can be performative in the context of living history, or even theater, and still fall into the context of historical costuming.
- Theatrical Costumng: Creating/wearing costumes for the specific purpose of performance in theatrical productions (broadly I would put film, television, and other performative costuming into this category as well).
- Halloween/Masquerade/Fancy-dress costuming: Making/wearing costumes for special events and holidays. Many times this costuming can also fit into and be reused/repurposed from other costuming categories. Generally, this costuming is done solely for the enjoyment of the creator/wearer, and not for performance.
- Haute Couture/High Fashion: Clothing/costume designed specifically as an artistic expression of high fashion.
- Cosplay: Any costuming that seeks to replicate, interpret, and/or depict characters/concepts from pop culture. This category is, perhaps, the most contentious of all, because the definition has changed DRASTICALLY since its first use. Originally it referred almost exclusively to costumes based on anime, manga, and Japanese pop culture, but it has broadened over the last few decades to encompass almost every genre of film, television, comic books, literature, etc. Nonetheless, many people still consider cosplay a pejorative term, or insist that it only applies to anime (I firmly disagree). Cosplay can be performative, or simply for the enjoyment of the creator/wearer.
Impersonation: The act of dressing as and portraying a specific person or character that already exists as accurately as possible (including voice, mannerisms, etc.), with the intention of performing for an audience that is either willingly suspending their disbelief, or in some cases genuinely under the impression that the performer IS the person being impersonated.

LARP: The act of role-playing as characters, usually (but not always) in the context of a game with a specific story and/or set of rules. LARP is generally participatory rather than performative (which is to say, it’s not a play being performed for an audience, but the players are actively participating in the story - with the possible exception of NPCs).
What We Do (TM) is honestly really, really close to LARP in many respects. In fact, a lot of historical reenactment is often almost synonymous with LARP as well, if you think about it - and some LARPs (particularly in Europe, it seems) are very concerned with real-world historical authenticity, such that they could nearly be considered historical reenactments in their own right. There is a LOT of crossover there. More broadly, the term LARP could be applied to include all manner of activities wherein people are actively playing roles for their own enjoyment - like murder mystery parties, lightsaber fighting leagues, etc. etc. etc.

REENACTMENT/RE-CREATION/LIVING-HISTORY: Okay, so I confess that I personally don’t really draw much of a distinction between these terms - but I know a lot of other people do, so maybe it’s best to let others chime in here. Personally, I see all of these as the act of re-creating the everyday lives, customs, and clothing of people and cultures from any historical period. This is pretty broad, in my opinion, and could encompass anything from the very specific re-creation of a historical battle, with as many people as possible portraying actual documented people from history, with a pre-determined outcome based on the actual outcome of the historical battle (sometimes even re-created on the exact site where the battle took place), to things like the SCA, where people can participate at any level they wish, creating original personas often only very loosely based on cultures from historical periods around the world.

And then, you have…. What We Do (TM).

To get at the heart of this, here is the full text from the Instagram posts I mentioned above:

If you have followed our page for any length of time, you may have seen us using the term "Middle-earth reenactment," or "Middle-earth living history." These terms can be confusing, so we would like to explain them a little better for those who might be curious SO WHAT IS "MIDDLE-EARTH REENACTMENT," ANYWAY?

First of all, it should be stated that we did not invent this term. We have merely borrowed it from the folks at the @Middle-earthReenactmentSociety (who we admire and seek to to emulate in many ways, but are not officially affiliated with). Part of their mission statement reads:
“The Middle-earth Reenactment Society is dedicated to the furthering of J.R.R. Tolkien Cultural Studies, within the framework of ‘historical’ reenactment…. The organization title in itself refers to Tolkien’s own claim that [Middle-earth] is supposed to be an alternate history in our own timeline, and that we are currently in approximately the seventh age of Arda.”

…Which is to say, "Middle-earth reenactment" refers to the act of using the same, or similar, methods and approach to researching and re-creating the fictional world of Middle-earth as a person might use in pursuit of an actual historical time period. In other words, we take a "reenactment"
approach to fantasy, treating it AS IF it were real, and attempting to re-create it as faithfully as possible, given the available evidence.

So now that we have a basic definition, let's talk about what Middle-earth reenactment is NOT...
First of all, Middle-earth reenactment is NOT COSPLAY!
Or perhaps it would be better to say that it's not JUST cosplay. Yes, we do create costumes inspired by a prominent piece of popular media (and yes, that's technically cosplay), but we ALSO create functional trekking/camping kits, practice bushcraft, woodworking, beekeeping, calligraphy, music linguistics, and all kinds of other skills! The costumes are a big part of it, to be sure, but there is so much more to this hobby than JUST costumes!

Secondly, Middle-earth reenactment is NOT LARP! LARP requires some kind of game or story element, whereas Middle-earth reenactment does not. We simply create functional kits, and sometimes personas, so we can go out into the wilderness or other spaces that might reasonably stand in for the various locales of Middle-earth in order to experience what it really might have been like to live in that fantastical time and place. That being said, there is no reason LARP elements could NOT be incorporated into a Middle-earth reenactment setting - they're just not required.

Lastly, Middle-earth reenactment is NOT historical reenactment! This should probably go without saying, but yes, we know that Middle-earth was not a real place or time period, and was in fact imagined by J.R.R. Tolkien as a setting for his many epic stories and invented languages. We in NO WAY claim to be reenacting or re-creating real peoples, cultures, or events from the actual history of our non-fictitious world.

HOWEVER! Just like the scientists in Jurassic Park used frog DNA to fill in the gaps of their dinosaurs' genetic sequence, we sometimes have to fill the gaps left by Professor Tolkien with other sources - and when doing so, we often fall back on historical examples - usually clothing and other material items from the Early and High Middle Ages in Europe, but sometimes also from later time periods, like the 18th and 19th centuries (most especially, but not exclusively, for hobbits of the Shire). Tolkien himself supported this in several ways, particularly in letters describing certain cultures as being akin to the Anglo-Saxons, or other similar historical European peoples. Other gaps are sometimes filled with what has often been described as "experimental archaeology" - in other words, trying things to see what works, and rolling with the most practical solution - and yet others are simply filled with what we think "feels" right. In any event, many of the people who participate in this hobby are ALSO historical reenactors, and much of their kit tends to cross over and pull double-duty for both pursuits.

…So as you can see, Middle-earth reenactment is NOT quite cosplay, NOT quite LARP, and NOT quite historical reenactment/living history - but in a way, it's sort of ALL of those things! And more! So while words like "reenactment" and "living history" may not technically describe exactly What We Do, they DO paint a pretty good picture of the way we do it (or try to).

[A Mayer]

Damn Manveruon! It would take me a month to put together that many words. Well laid out and informative.
Some time ago I looked up what recreation and re-enactment each meant. It’s my understanding that re-enactment is more specific with accurately portraying events, such as a Revolutionary war battle. Re-creation is more general as when someone wants to accurately re-create an English longbow archer, the clothing, gear,lifestyle, etc. Not specifically replaying actual events. Just what I found. I am in no way saying this is the absolute way it is.

Below is the “About” post from my Facebook Group, The Rangers of Eriador. It is very close to my opening statement on my original meranger.com from years ago.

ABOUT THIS PAGE
This site is for and about the “Historical” Re-creation of Tolkien’s Middle Earth and more specifically, the Rangers of the North in the Third Age; the Dunedain. It’s a place to discuss the clothing, gear, weapons and the job of the Rangers. And more importantly, our Ranger equipment, our skills, lessons learned during our “Rangering” adventures.
It is fantasy, so it should be fun.
Tolkien created Middle Earth with more than enough “Accurate History” to recreate the Rangers, as well as many other factions of Middle Earth. His descriptions of the people and their civilizations, the land, the creatures, are intricate and extremely detailed with his vision of this world. It’s well mapped with very few discrepancies. His distances match up and are easily cross referenced within all the books.
Middle Earth is founded in our history. Therefore, nothing needs to be make-believe.
I want to stress true Ranger re-creation/living. Meaning, your abilities are your real abilities.
Building one’s basic skills is part of the fun. One thing that drives me is the pressure to be at a skill level that enables me to function as a Ranger.
I will never discourage other types of groups, their goals, and their members. The way I approach this is not for everyone. This isn’t LARP, nor Cosplay. There are groups for that, and I think it’s great and I get as much enjoyment out of interacting with those members as I do those who are more focused on the realistic interpretation of the Rangers of the North.

[Manveruon]

Thanks Andy! And I must say, that’s all extremely well articulated as well! The difference you describe between “reenactment” and “re-creation” also completely makes sense to me in that context - thanks for the clarification there!

[Barandir]

Thank you guys for sharing these! I feel like if I share my thoughts it would just be redundant at this point, as your posts already sun it up way better than I could myself.

[caedmon]

This post is one attempt I made at it (I think Manveruon is much more complete).

viewtopic.php?p=54647&hilit=Larp#p54647


Here's the meat:

Single Event Costume Participation
---
Generally Middle Earth participants are copying someone else' interpretation (Peter Jackson, RoP, etc.) and the standards are fairly low.
Garments are a costume, often poorly made, and out of inferior materials

Examples are things like Tolkien Weddings, Halloween parties, making costumes for your TTPRG etc.

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Cosplay
--
These can be single events, but more work generally goes into it, the purpose is usually for accolades.
Generally Middle Earth participants are copying someone else' interpretation.
Garments are a costume, quality varies from poorly made to exquisite, materials are chose for looks not accuracy.
Examples like this would be conventions, photo-shoots, or being a patron at a Ren Faire.
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Soft-LARP
--
Here the purpose is a lived storyline or battle environment. Often they are multi-era/universe events where the vastly unlike groups mix.
Garments are a costume, quality varies, and materials are chose for looks not accuracy.
This includes groups like Dagorhir, Amtgard, Ren Fairs, and even sections of the SCA.
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Hard-LARP
--
Here the purpose is a lived storyline or battle environment. These are single-era/universe events where participants are supposed to logically fit in the environment.
Garments are a costume, often well made, materials are chose for looks not but plausible materials are often used.
This includes groups like Fell & Fair, or some of the European LoTR groups.
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Soft Reenactment
--
Generally a solitary or small group pursuit. Participants create an impression based on role or culture in Middle Earth.
Garments are clothes, quality construction is encouraged, and plausible materials are encouraged.
Emphasis on plausible real life skills.
This group is to be in this Category.
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Hard Reenactment
--
Generally a solitary or small group pursuit. Participants create an impression based on role or culture in Middle Earth.
Garments are clothes, Made to the level that they would be in-world, plausible materials are required.
Emphasis on plausible real life skills.
This includes the Middle Earth Reenactment Society.

[Manveruon]

Well this is interesting - check out what was posted to the Tolkien Cosplayers Facebook group today by someone with Tolkien Days in Germany! Think they’ve been haunting the forums here, or just a coincidence?

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