Happy Halloween, everyone. It's long been my favorite holiday -- it's a license to be goofy. I worry, tho, that as I get older, cultural constraints are making it less fun than it ought to be.
I went to a costume party here in DC on Saturday, and I noticed what seemed like a striking number of high-concept designs. To recognize the costumes, one needed both an acute awareness of current events and a rigorous ability to think creatively. For example, I saw people dressed as John Roberts' kids, Intelligent Design, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Leak, Valerie Plame, Judith Filler (an intentional misspelling of Judith Miller, which I didn't get -- something to do with the misspelling of Plame in her notes?), the Runaway Bride and the Real Estate Bubble. In hindsight, I should have gone as "Official A."
Contrast that with the party I went to in LA last year, where the costumes demanded somewhat less in the way of cognitive gymnastics: 'Ho, O.G. Pimp, 'Ho, Perfect 10 Pimp, 'Ho, sexy cat, sexy bride (think Madonna at the 1984 Video Music Awards), Don Johnson (circa 1984 Miami Vice) and Ali G. This year I suspect there were some folks dressed as Ari from Entourage.
Mind you the demographics of the party were quite similar. Lots of lawyers. But the cultural norms and expectations differ. In DC, it's about the importance of being clever while displaying Beltway insider knowledge. In LA, it's about being a hipster (men) or showing off your bod (women) -- while signaling an awareness of (often retro) pop culture references.
Which makes it understandable why so many folks, especially self-aware law profs, opt out of costumes. There's just so much darn pressure to be smart/clever/hipster/sexy/cool. We should start a movement for dorky, low-concept costumes to take the pressure off. Next year, I'm going as a pirate.
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1. Posted by David Zaring on October 31, 2005 @ 12:31 | Permalink
You are a sociological observer of the first rank. But I still say one can bow to the holiday by wearing the official colors of Halloween. Say - and I speak from personal experience - by sporting a sweater knit choc-full of jack-o-lanterns. That's Halloweeny, and yet not very DC or LA. And available on a wide range of home shopping television stations.
2. Posted by Dan Markel on October 31, 2005 @ 12:32 | Permalink
Vic, I agree. I was at an English dep't party and of course a woman went as a vagina with a tampon inside her. Her partner went as another vagina. Everyone else was dressed up as the devil. Thankfully, Wendi stole a good and low concept idea: go as Frida Kahlo, and draw a monobrow across your face and a flower in your hair. I wore a shirt from Havana, which sufficed (in my low-rent mind) to prove my bona fides as Diego.
3. Posted by Kaimi on October 31, 2005 @ 12:39 | Permalink
Since I don't live in D.C. or L.A., I'm going to be The Solar System this year.
4. Posted by StanTheMan on October 31, 2005 @ 15:04 | Permalink
Of course, by dressing up as a pirate, you're also donning "traditional pastafarian regalia."
5. Posted by Fun Costumes on February 28, 2008 @ 19:54 | Permalink
I love Halloween. It is probably my favorite holiday, and it lands on a Friday this year....so party on!
6. Posted by Toddler Halloween Costumes 2011 on June 6, 2011 @ 21:20 | Permalink
Oh my, this is oh-so-true. The weight that surrounds a silly Halloween costume choice is pretty ridiculous! Love your comparison of the two parties.
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