Big White, A-shares, and Party B, the social trauma behind those costumes is very clear. They are presented in an entertaining and creative way, and people need to be happy.
It can be said that “Shanghai Halloween” is a special existence. It has no religious color, and is even unrelated to the “West”. It truly belongs to Shanghai.
Although there are official media using the rhetoric of “looking at things from an equal perspective is cultural confidence” to explain, in fact, no one is accusing “Western festivals”.
Many people realize that the parades and cosplay of these two days are completely new behaviors, just under the guise of “Halloween”.
Some cosplay is meaningful. Some people dress up as Lu Xun, holding a sign that says “Studying medicine cannot save the Chinese people”; and this scene in the header of this article, what exactly do they want to express?
You can say this is “critical realism”, or you can understand it as a mockery from the depths of history, but it is still a form of “entertainment”. While onlookers admire and cheer, they may also think for a few seconds, and this thought will also pass in a flash.
If such cosplay is considered aggressive, this aggression is directed at oneself rather than the outside world. After seeing it, the police can only “maintain order” and will not take further measures.
But I still believe that there are some serious things in the carnival and entertainment: this city and its young people need to get rid of their burdens and achieve some kind of redemption – Halloween is a “self-healing”.
The trauma left on Shanghai last year may be much deeper than imagined. A public account of Jiefang Daily published an article calling for tolerance towards the Halloween parade, “Shanghai is known for its governance capabilities, believe in Shanghai.” After last year’s epidemic, such words seem extremely pale.
The same is true for individuals. Have the young people living in Shanghai really come out of the shock?
I met a friend from Shanghai in Chengdu some time ago. She sold her house in Shanghai after the epidemic and chose to rent. This is a state of being able to “leave at any time”, and also a “critical state”.
Later, she found that the buyer put the house up for rent, and she rented it back. This story is very metaphorical: it seems to have returned to the original state, but there are fundamental changes.
Those young people who are reveling in the streets may also have such thoughts. Cosplay is a chance for a brief escape, and when the day breaks, they still have to go to work.
Such an “escape” will actually allow you to see your own situation more clearly and see if the wound has healed.
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