Social Media, Communities, & Networks Conference 2026: Semester 1 & SP1

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2 responses to ““The Acceptance and Uniting My Hero Academia Anime Cosplay Community through Instagram, enabling social media global connectivity” – Myron Evan Anak Flynn”

1. 

   Victoria Li

   30/04/2026

   Hi Myron, great presentation! I also felt relatable to the My Hero Academia community, but I never really know about the cosplayer community of it until I watched your video!

   1) First of all, I really like your point about how Instagram’s features, like comments and sharing, can both build supportive fandom communities but also open the door to racism. So… I’m wondering, do you think these features alone are enough to create a “safe space” for cosplayers who aren’t part of the mainstream? Or do we still need stronger structural changes like moderation, or stricter community guidelines, to actually make that happen?

   2) And you describe the My Hero Academia (MHA) cosplay community as a fandom public built on shared interests and belonging. So how do you reconcile this idea with the exclusion happened to marginalized cosplayers? Does this suggest that fandom publics are inherently inclusive, or can they reproduce real-world inequalities within digital spaces (e.g. social media)?

   3) You also mentioned that imitation public from week 2 reading, can be used to spread anti-racism awareness through trends and collaborations. However, the author from Conceptualizing technological mimesis and imitation publics, Zulli & Zulli (2020, p. 15-16) talks about imitation public also raises the concern that such activism might be performative rather leading to structural change. Do you think this kind of participation by the MHA community leads to meaningful change, or does it risk being performative activism that relies on visibility rather structural impact?

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2. 

   Christie04

   01/05/2026

   Hi Myron! A very interesting topic to talk about in your presentation.
   I like that you particularly choose to discuss the racism issues that the community faces, acknowledging the often overlooked aspect within the cosplay community. Using one of the concepts, I’m curious how you would expand on an alternative approach to create a space for the targeted cosplayers to feel safe in the community?
   Aside from that, the examples that you’ve provided in the presentation are very good as well, it provides a full picture on what the ‘issue’ really is instead of just saying it. Nice work!

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