If I were to make a costume to go out and realistically fight crime, I'd want something that could be taken seriously by adults but still serve as a symbol to children to look up too. The heroes from the documentary I would use as inspiration for my costume would probably be Life and Dark Guardian. I'd wear something that could be considered street clothes, and a simple mask that would just cover the upper half of my face. I'd want to conceal some of my identity, but at the same time not make me come off as menacing or a danger to society. I wouldn't have any martial arts experience or anything like that, because I've never been one to get those experiences.
If I were to be like the real life superheroes I'd want to be a role model for troubled kids in my hometown. I'm sure as with most poverty stricken neighborhoods, there is always some kind of trouble that young people can find themselves in. Gangs, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, and/or some sort of violence. In the neighborhood I grew up in all of those things were present. Gang violence was above all the worst part of my neighborhood; we had guns going off, houses getting broken into and even as far as people getting shot just for looking at someone the wrong way. If it was up to me I'd want to help kids choose an alternative to these sorts of paths and figure out a way to succeed and not turn to gang related violence or other issues.
I think I identify with Dark Guardian the most. He wasn't afraid to run into a park with a megaphone and call out any drug dealer in his neighborhood. Life is another hero I'd identify with as well, because he cares about certain key people in his neighborhood and makes sure that they are okay. They aren't afraid to do it, of course, they still have some fears but it isn't crippling to the point where they won't do anything.
You bring up a good point in that the costume would need to be appealing and taken seriously by both kids and adults. Until recently, I had never really thought about how important or difficult it is to actually create something that would be taken seriously by different age groups and, in come cases, it would also have to make the "good" people feel safe while also intimidating the "bad" people. It's certainly a challenging give and take.
ReplyDeleteI like your area of interest. I think it's so important for kids to have an adult type figure to be able to look up to and have as a role model. One positive symbol of how to act morally and legally for a child can be the difference between the road of a criminal life, and the road of a goal-determined life style.
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