I suppose it says something about unemployment or the economy but in many large cities, areas have sprung up where almost anyone who can work up a neat-looking costume can hang around and pose for photos with tourists in exchange for tips. This reportedly goes on a lot in Times Square in New York and on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.
In Los Angeles, the main place is on Hollywood Boulevard near the famed Chinese Theater and the massive Hollywood-Highland entertainment center. Right now if I was broke, I could make myself a Batman costume, go up there every day and charge people five bucks — or whatever the market would bear — to take a selfie or snap with me.
As this article explains, there are those who don't like these street performers. They block traffic (some say) and there are occasional reports of fights or accidents or tourists who are somehow ripped-off for more than a modest tip. There is talk of limiting their presence or requiring permits or something. In Vegas, only a certain number are allowed at a time and they're confined to little painted areas on the street. Since in Vegas everything has to be some sort of gamble, the performers "win" certain assignments of time to certain areas via a lottery.
New York also limits them to certain areas. L.A. is still considering what, if anything, to do about them. At the moment, they are regulated but not limited.
Friday, for reasons too trivial even for this blog, I had to walk amongst them to get to somewhere I had to go. I've seen them while driving by — and it is kinda funny to spot a guy in a Spider-Man costume and someone dressed like a giant Elmo from Sesame Street waiting for a bus together. This was the first time I'd walked through the gantlet.
There wasn't a lot of diversity in costumes Friday. There were maybe twenty costumed folks wandering about and posing and around a third were ladies dressed as Catwoman. At least two were dressed and made-up as Marilyn Monroe in the white outfit she wore in famously in The Seven Year Itch. There was one ambitious homemade Minnie Mouse costume and a large, elaborate Transformer…and a half-dozen Spider-Mans.
Most of the Spider-Men wore store-bought costumes but there was at one guy who'd made his own — and not too well, I'm afraid. It looked good from afar but up close, it was pretty amateurish and unimpressive. In the comic book origin story, young Peter Parker — after being bitten by a radio-active spider and discovering it had given him awesome powers — sewed his own costume. I couldn't help but think that his probably looked about as unprofessional as the one this street performer had made for himself.
There were also a couple of street musicians, a few artists offering to do your caricature for a fee, and one sculptor who was ready to render your likeness in clay — also for a fee. MAD magazine artist Tom Richmond, who I know reads this blog, will no doubt be just thrilled (but unsurprised) to hear the following. All of these artists had samples of their handiwork posted to demonstrate the skill they offered. One of the caricaturists was demonstrating his by displaying a number of Tom Richmond drawings as if he'd done them. Not the first time I've seen Tom ripped-off like that.
If I were asked to vote on whether these folks should be banned, I have no idea how I'd vote. Here's a page where some Yelp! reviewers tell of their experiences and post some photos. The experiences are mostly negative but I suspect what would drive someone to post a Yelp! review would more likely be a negative encounter than a positive one.
There was something rather festive about the scene. A lot of tourists head for Hollywood Boulevard and are usually disappointed. It's not a glamorous place, you don't rub elbows with movie stars and there isn't that much to see or do. Clearly, a lot of people were happy the costumers were there.
One thing that struck me: Everyone was taking photos — of the costumed people, of the footprints in the Chinese Theater courtyard, of the stars embedded in the street, of each other. Years ago when I was up there, you saw a lot of cameras but now everyone had a smartphone out and was snapping like crazy. It was a little difficult to walk down the sidewalk because of all the bodies out there but it was impossible to get through without ruining a photo someone was attempting to take. I couldn't help but get in a number of folks' vacation pictures and videos.
The only unpleasantness I saw was that someone snapped a photo of one of the Catwomen without asking permission or offering a tip. She immediately turned on the photog and said, "That'll be five dollars!" The camera wielder didn't want to pay her the five dollars so he started apologizing and saying "I didn't know" and she berated him saying, "Hey, this is how we make our livings. Do you think we're out here for your pleasure?" I didn't see if he forked over any currency but I did notice children staring at Catwoman's apparent villainy.
As I said, L.A. is apparently deciding what to do about this. I have a hunch how it will end.
I'm thinking that one of these days, the folks over at Disney are going to decide that they're missing an opportunity for some free advertising. They'll hire some kids, dress them up as characters the studio is currently promoting, and send them out to Hollywood Boulevard to pass out discount ticket and pose — free! — with tourists. Other studios will follow suit and once there are folks out there in better costumes, not charging and also giving out freebees, the non-pros will not be able to compete and will vanish.
I don't think I like this ending. Corporate America can take the fun out of anything.