I am light as feather, I am stiff as a board
No one loves driving to downtown Los Angeles. We left the South Bay to drive 20 minutes up the Harbor Freeway north bound to the City of Angels. The 20 minute drive became a fight for parking. Thankfully, because Geki, my driver and assistant in this con trip, was familiar with the area, we ended up parking at LA Live – right across the street from West Hall. It’s a bit of a walk, but manageable – even in red high heels.
Disney Villain squad
As the Rebecca Welton of Cosplay Wrestling Federation, I had to check our performers in and was making sure that everyone was able to secure their weekend badge. Badge pick up went smooth; no hassles – easy in and out.
Sailor Mars – the girlboss sailor senshi
I decided to wander around the con before our debut at LACC. This was the first time my cosplay performing group would be live in front of an audience at a comic con. I went to the Back to the Future panel; it was a re-broadcast of the Friday panel. From afar, it looked like they were on the main stage in the dealers hall. But the closer I went, I noticed it was a re-broadcast. Even then, so many BTTF fans gathered by the Hot Topic stage to hear stories from Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson, Christopher Lloyd, and Tom Wilson. Even if the actors were on stage, the vibes of being around BTTF felt like a church congregation. And boy howdy! Did LACC have a ton of BTTF fans present.
Back to the Future panel re-broadcast
Coca-Cola bottles that I only use to curl my hair
Speaking of the 80s, I attended the 80s Kids Unite: 1982 panel. This was hosted by the folks behind the documentary, 1982 Greatest Geek Year Ever and Making Megaforce. Nostalgia panels are always fun – the panel mainly focused on reflecting on all incarnations of Tron. We also talked about the box office hit of 1982, E.T. and how it made everyone on the panel feel from the sweeping John Williams score, Spielberg’s spite of Ghandi winning best picture, and initial reactions if we thought E.T. was scary or an adorable alien. The panel also covered cult classic, Megaforce…because the good guys always win, even in the 80s.
Was 1982 the best geek year ever?
I know my age and I act like it
Before Cosplay Wrestling, I attended the From Barbie to The Little Mermaid: How Hollywood Nostalgia is Reimagining Feminism panel. The topic alone seemed fascinating and what could inspire some discourse. I was very much intrigued by the subject matter as millennial and gen x nostalgia is repurposed for newer generations to enjoy with modern sensibilities. The panel covered the live action The Little Mermaid and Barbie movie. The panel spent a moment defining feminism and reframing to term to womanism – this took up quite some time before we dived into the content. We looked at Disney Plus and IMBD plot descriptors of live action The Little Mermaid and the speech from Barbie. While this was an insightful panel, I felt some themes went a bit too far. For example, the implication that Disney princes and male mains are creepers and one particular comment that accused the prince from Snow White as a necrophiliac.
What can Barbie teach us?
I know my place, I know my place, and this is it
And then came Cosplay Wrestling Federation! I’m very glad that we were able to make this happen. This all started with confirming to our panel approval email in London’s oldest cafe in the V&A museum. This was our first stint at a comic con. Most of our shows have been at anime conventions. I entered in as our girlboss, Sailor Mars who had to deal with a sausage fest of competitors. We were in the running for the coveted Supernova belt held by Mr. Satan. At the end of the day, Soldier took home the title. We had a lot of fans from our anime shows in the audience. About 75% of our audience was new to CWF. We had families who were familiar with the wrestling world and knew the chants and got the rambunctious vibe. We’re so glad that LACC opened up to us – thank you Rory for taking a chance on our motley show!
FInal Battle: Mr. Satan vs. Soldier
Dragonball Squad
All the time I’m grateful all the time
Saturday came to an end. This was only day two. It’s no doubt that Saturday is the most popular day of LACC given the fight to find parking, crowds, and programming content. Onto day three…
They’re not the clergy….
Written by Cosplay Ancestor Eri
IG: @cosplayancestoreri
Twitter: @dameaznable
TikTok: @cosplayancestoreri