(upbeat electronic music)
- Hey guys, I'm Kya, and I'm here at San Diego Comic Con,
and we're gonna talk about cosplay.
We're talking to some people
who have to work a little extra hard
to make their cosplays possible.
In the world of Cosplay,
there's not a lot of canon options for people
who might be a person of color or a woman,
so we want to talk to some people about why they're doing it
and why it's special to them.
I'm here with,
- Mia Genae Watkins.
I'm cosplaying as Miles Morales.
I'm a female version of Miles
from 'Spider-man into the Spiderverse.'
- I'm Jan, and I'm playing Sailor Pluto.
- I'm Jenee and I'm cosplaying as Sailor Saturn.
- Hello, I'm Dora Milaje's grandmother. (laughing)
- Cosplay is just the best thing in the entire world
because it gives you an opportunity to be someone
that you've always wanted to be.
It doesn't even have to be someone you're not.
It's someone you can see yourself in
or you wanna see yourself in.
It's such a strong and powerful thing to do.
- Why did you dress up as Miles?
- I'm in love with the 'Spiderverse' movie.
It meant so much to me as African American nerd,
as a person who grew up with Spider-man,
I love Spider-man.
Anyone can wear the mask.
That philosophy is amazing.
- So you usually have issues finding people
to Cosplay as, as a black woman?
- Yeah, I would say so.
It's awesome because I think when I was little
I would literally look up what black female characters,
whether in anime, I know they're out there,
but Miles is pretty mainstream
and this will be the perfect opportunity to cosplay him
this year, since he blew up a lot in the last year.
I feel pretty awesome dressing up as Miles right now.
(laughing) I feel really cool.
I think with the dreadlocks,
kinda makes it look even cooler. (laughing)
But if we have someone like me cosplaying as Miles
then it's inspiring to whoever else sees me
and who knows where that creativity,
where that inspiration is going to take them.
- Why do you guys pick these Sailor Scouts?
- Because we grew up watching 'Sailor Moon'
and we love the magical girl Anime genre
because it's empowering women and we don't often see
women fighting crime
and beating up the bad guys growing up.
So we really love that, even in adulthood.
- Yep, exactly.
'Sailor Moon' was our childhood.
We loved the show.
It was all about girl power
and that was something we weren't seeing very often.
Even as we're adults now, we appreciate it,
we love that it's been revamped
and it also gives us a great opportunity to cosplay as them.
- Why are you cosplaying as Dora Milaje?
- Because I thought she represented the kind of woman
that I like to see out there as I'm movin' along
on the spectrum and I think she's somebody that channels
a lot of positive energy for young girls,
old girls, and all girls.
- How do you guys feel wearing the Sailor Scout outfits?
- It's like a dream.
When we were smaller we always wanted to cosplay
or dress up as Sailor Scouts in the living room.
We used to say moon prism power!
('Sailor Moon' theme music)
- It's amazing to do it as an adult.
- I love cosplaying because I love seeing movie characters
and I love feeling represented on screen.
I love seeing somebody and feeling like I could've
grown up with them, I could've been them
just because of something as simple as
where he came from and the culture of it.
- What does it mean for you guys to see people of color now
on screen, available for you to dress up as?
- I like the fact that there is positive role models
and they're showing people of color now
in so many dimensions.
When I was coming out of high school,
I wanted to be a fashion designer,
and my counselor told me,
"Oh, little colored girls can't design clothes.
"You should be a music teacher
"because you play the piano so well."
And now, children of color don't have to get that message.
They can be whatever they wanna be.
- I love conventions like this because San Diego Comic Con
and almost any convention lets you be yourself.
There's something for everyone here.
You're accepted no matter where you come from.
Seeing black and brown girls and different types
of cosplay for me is really inspiring.
It's super cool.
Oh cool, you're into this.
So I know what you're into as a fan,
but also, what you like to celebrate, too,
about yourself.
- I just feel so cool.
I think I could kick some butt if I had to.
I don't want to though. (laughing)
I don't wanna mess up my outfit. (laughing)