She Usually Calls me Daddy but Tonight She Calls me ‘Culturally Offensive’
As the month of October heads out, we come to a close on a holiday that is a seasonal trademark of the month: Halloween. Halloween is the chilliest and spookiest holiday of the year, celebrated across the world to ward away spirits as the veil between the dead and the living becomes as thin as it will ever be within the calendar year. We give out candy to little children who come to our doors. We put pumpkins outside to ward away the demons of the night. We put on costumes that hide our faces and scare away the ghosts that have come to haunt us on this hallows eve.
Spooky for All the Wrong Reasons
Unfortunately, Halloween has become much less about being fun and more so about the controversy that follows it year after year. When celebrators put on ‘spooky’ costumes that are less scary and more offensive others. Costumes such as Native American Chieftain, Holocaust Survivor, Sexy Nun/Priest, and Immigrant Refugee are just a few of the many costumes that have been dubbed as offensive to others and most of them justifiably so.
The origin of the Halloween costume is meant to be a scary disguise to ward off demons and devils which has turned into a night where you can be anyone but yourself. However, it’s become an unavoidable truth that someone else’s identity simply is not a costume. The phrase ‘walk a mile in my shoes’ is not meant to be taken literally on Halloween.
History of Halloween and Costumes
Halloween is internationally celebrated every calendar year on October 31. The tradition of Halloween originated from the ancient Celtic Festival of Samhain, in which people would light bonfires and ward off the ghosts that would pass over from the afterlife as the veil separating the living and the dead became almost non-existent.
Back then, October 31st marked the end of Summer and the Harvest Season, which was heavily associated with the death and cold of winter. This was the night in which the boundaries between the lands of the living and the dead became blurred, and both sides would intermingle.
Therefore allowing ghosts, demons, and other otherworldly creature cross over to wreak havoc and any other unfinished business they might have. In order to avoid being recognized by these otherworldly creatures, people would wear masks if they left their homes after dark so that the creatures might mistaken them for their own kind and leave them be.
In fact, most Halloween traditions are centered around ancient tricks and practices used to ward away the spirits of the night on Halloween. Such as candy and jack-ó-lanterns: with candy being left outside as a treat to appease ghosts and dissuade them from entering their house, while the pumpkins were meant to ward them away.
Evolution of the Costume
As time continues on, Halloween costumes have evolved from spooky disguises to hide from ghosts, to creative masks and temporary identities for one night of the year. It’s become an integral Halloween tradition and mandatory for getting into the Halloween spirit.
However as the rise of sexier, funnier Halloween costumes arise for the purpose of fun over function, so does the variety of costumes that people will dress themselves up as. This variety comes without boundaries and sense of moral awareness. Many controversial costumes have risen into popularity such as Native Americans, Generic Stereotypes, Religious Costumes, and Political Satires just to name a few. These costumes are considered controversial because they represent real people and very serious, situations, that are being made light of on the night of Halloween for the sake of a single laugh.
It’s an issue because someone’s identity, religion, or tragedy is not your Halloween costume. It is not okay to step into their skin for a well made disguise when there are real people and real situations you’re thoughtlessly wearing. Costumes are disguises, jokes, and spooky creatures you can be for the night. These costumes make light of the everyday realities of others. They make jokes out of real life people and real life tragedies, which is exactly what makes them so controversial.
The Right Halloween Costume
Many people argue that it’s difficult to come up with a ‘politically’ or ‘culturally’ correct costume for Halloween. They struggle to find costumes to celebrate the annual festival of spookiness that are original and not connected to real life. Then it creates sour tones when they’re restricted in choices and suddenly can’t figure out the best costume for the season.
However, the basic guidelines are easy- just follow the tradition of the holiday. It’s always safe to dress up as the fake, the fantasy, and the completely unreal. It’s a night that welcomes the unrealistic, the unfathomable, and the completely unrecognizable. Costumes of fictional and cartoon characters, fake creatures, iconic monsters, and animals are always welcome on Halloween night. It’s a night to depart from reality and bring the monsters and madness to life. It’s not a night to make fun of reality or the past- despite who it belongs to.
Halloween in its own essence is fantastical, and magical, and almost completely otherworldly. It’s a night to bring back the dead, the demons, and the monsters from below. So why waste the night on a bad joke? When you can take a step into the Netherworld instead?
