Media Dependency Theory and the Cosplay Culture

The cosplay community and otaku fan culture in America is still considered a relatively new subculture. Japanese anime has only been in the states for about 40 years. The massive social following and created subculture has only been known of in the last 15 years. One theory that ties into my Capstone project is the Media Dependency Theory.

Media Dependency Theory according to communicationtheory.org “An internal link between media, audience and large social system. The audience learning from the real life is limited, so they can use media to get more information to fulfil their needs. An extensive use of media generates dependent relation in audience and also Media can able to creating dependence relationship with target audiences to achieve their goals by using their media power.”

There are three degrees of Media Dependency Theory:

• ·         Individual: An individual will become more dependent on media, if the medium satisfies their needs. An example of this would be an individual who identifies themselves as part of the otaku subculture but does not share that subculture with another person who is physically in their life. They would then turn to the internet for connectivity with the community or education of culture. It is also the internet that is the source of their media fix.

• ·         Social Stability: According to communicationtheory.org “The individual will reconsider their beliefs, practice and behaviors when strong social change, conflicts, riot or election which will force to re-evaluate and make new decisions. During this time the dependency is dramatically increased, because there is a strong need for information, support and advice.” This would occur when the individual has a large enough supporting group of other individuals with the common interest. The group would feed off of other individuals and the social norms within the anime to create their own social norms that are similar to those in the anime. This is typically where cosplay comes into play. The individual seeks for another way to immerse themselves, attending conventions and cosplaying is one way. Because they are comforted by their social group they also now feel the confidence to express such social norms that would otherwise be unacceptable in our culture. The individual re-evaluates how they behave and speak to suit those within the group. Because the individual gets sucked into the subculture they also tend to become more emerged and look for more information on the culture.

• ·         Active Audience: The individual decides the amount of media they depend on. They can come to the decision through factors such as economic conditions, society, and culture. If their need is fulfilled elsewhere then their dependency will decrease. If an individual only received their anime fix through one source, that being the internet, then they join an anime club they may feel fulfilled and chose not to expand into the subculture anymore. If their primary culture conflicts too much with the subculture they feel they should identify with them they will not immerse themselves into the subculture as much as other individuals. They best example of this is the difference between those who enjoy anime and those who live by it or wear it on their sleeve.

The American Otaku subculture gains all of their knowledge from the same source, Anime and manga. There are different genres and with each genre comes a new subculture and set of social norms. Although there may not be two or more people in the sub culture or otaku community physically living within a common area they can still participate online and at conventions. Over all there are similar messages and tropes being transmitted through the anime that has created the giant community.