Pop costumes: Our popular culture expert unpacks Halloween trends

Edmond Chang knows about costumes. An associate professor of English, Chang studies pop culture media, video game studies and live-action role-playing (LARP). In the latest episode of our “Ask the Experts” podcast, we asked Chang to leverage his expertise for a special Halloween episode. 

Listen now to hear our conversation about the evolution of costume-focused subcultures, what Chang expects to see from revelers this year, and some ideas for easy get-ups you and your friends can throw together at the last minute.

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Chang points out that the internet and streaming age have caused a fragmentation of popular culture, which has trickled down to influence costume trends.

“I think there's so much content out there in the universe that one of the things that we're missing is shared things that we all have read, watched, listened to,” he says.

But we do still have some things in common: certain pop culture phenomena (Chang cites the Canadian hockey show “Heated Rivalry”), celebrity tributes (Catherine O’Hara, Tim Curry and Dolly Parton come to mind), and reliable classics.

“I was just talking to a guy at the gym this morning, and one of their children is dressing up as Ghostface from ‘Scream,’” Chang says.

When pressed, Chang indulged us in some speculation about what we might see out there this Halloween. He says Marvel characters are always reliable, and that certain movies, including “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” “K-Pop Demon Hunters” and “Wicked” are likely to be represented.

Chang himself has yet to settle on a costume, but he has some guidelines.

“I'm one of those people that, like, I need my costume to not be bulky or annoying,” he says. “And I'd like to be able to sit down…”

Chang’s research areas include cosplay, drag and LARP, all subcultures with a long history of elaborate costumery. He describes their do-it-yourself origins and some of the ways popularity has changed them.

“Now those domains are often really huge business,” he says, with everything from “wonky” replicas to pricey duplicates on the market.

But Chang still appreciates when people make their own costumes.

“I love the earnestness of like, ‘I have two sequins to rub together to my name and I'm going to do the best I can,’” he says.

Chang says he is the last person to “yuck your yum,” but he draws the line at people who try to pass off their daily look as a costume. (Pay attention, trick-or-treaters!)

“If we want to lean into it,” he says, “[the point] is to do something that you wouldn't normally do.”

As a Halloween treat, we sent senior music production major Alex Karan, our podcast producer, across campus to find out how his fellow Bobcats are planning to dress on October 31.

As if to prove Chang's point about the vanishing mono-culture, there are some recognizable names in this segment (Supergirl, Madonna), but there are also some extremely niche choices. Bobcat individuality at its finest.

Listen now to hear how OHIO’s students will be making themselves over this Halloween.