Reporting from the 2016 NYC Halloween Parade: A Recount
5:00 PM 31 October 2016: On my way to find the entrance to 6th avenue from Canal street. Nervous and excited. Reflecting on the expressions of my dear neighbors and the kiddies I passed on my way to the subway, I can’t keep the grin off my face. After all, not every day do I get to be one of the greatest “supervillains” of all time – the Joker. As I walk, one of my hands protects the camera hanging near my hip. I just remembered why I hate people. There are so many! Why are they so slow? Wait. Where am I? Oh no! Don’t tell me I got lost again?! Alright, all I have to do is ask somebody. Should be easy, right? As I silently walk to the beat of “Munks on a Mission” behind some of my fellow costumed parade-goers (does this count as stalking?), I finally see the entrance. “Thank Batman, I guessed correctly,” – I thought to myself. After all, I never asked where they were heading. As if passing through a barrier, we crossed the last street to get to our destination, and suddenly I was Alice in Wonderland. Boy, is this trippy.
Maybe I should’ve called James earlier. Curse my want to be independent! As I contemplate my options, I see the parade march is about to start. The groups of wandering souls promptly start to pour into Sixth Avenue. Should I follow them? No, I will wait until the over-enthusiastic bunch of monsters moves forward. And then I see him – the yin to my yang – Batman! Instantly, I remember a short exchange between myself and my brother. “Leah, be careful, don’t get lost!” – “Don’t worry, brother dearest, I’ll just find a Batman and stick to him until I find James.” (I should mention for the dear readers, James – is my pen pal of 3 years, and one of the admins of the Facebook group “Behind the Mask,” a group I happen to be a part of). Cackling to myself, grinning wide, I fire up my camera and approach the over-grown bat. Imagine my surprise, when this species-confused-being happens to be James himself! It appears the fates of Halloween have decided no one should be alone on this journey of transformation and fun. Puppets watch over us from the roofs of buildings, and, guided by Spider Twist in spirit, we set off. The 2016 NYC Halloween Parade has officially begun.
Monsters and clowns, popes and anti-popes, vampires and werewolves, witches and princesses, superheroes and villains, famous serial-killers and Pokémon trainers, Jedi and Tetris blocks – the list goes on and on. I try to photograph and talk to as many people as possible. However, as the crowd thins, I am restricted in my actions due to the many participant-observers asking for a picture (tourists, reporters, onlookers from the crowd behind the barrier, etc.). As I pose, and twirl, and laugh, I look around. Why are there mothers with baby strollers in the parade? Why is she wearing cat ears? Does she prize the qualities a cat has? Is she making a statement that she agrees with their beliefs and thoughts on life? Does the kid understand what’s going on around him? Is she just wearing the mentioned cat ears to get into the parade? I can’t decide if that’s bad parenting or good. If she values the event so much, why didn’t she make an effort with the costume? Will the child even remember this event? If not, what’s the point? Very confusing. Now, my costume, or James’, I understand. The amount of planning that went into them, the time and effort. The thought process – why we chose these characters in the first place. The transformation we underwent, or even are still undergoing. Cat ears and a stroller? No, that will remain a mystery to me.
As we continue strolling down the avenue, I take note of the floats in between the infantries of the parade. All are mini worlds of their own covered in abstract designs, while theme specific inhabitants dance on the platform. That’s when I take note of the music. Was it always so loud? Briefly recalling the children in the strollers, I think about their health. Hopefully, the mothers know what they are doing. Club music emits from the large speakers. Primitive in its nature and beat. Suddenly, I am reminded of the drummers on rowing boats. By controlling the rhythmic beating of the drums, they set the pace of the rowing, and by extension, the speed of the boat. However, if this is the effect the DJs were going for, they weren’t very successful. Instead of causing our breathing to even out, the loud repetitive music only caused most ears and heads to pulsate. Thank god, for having the forethought of taking an Advil before leaving the quiet of my apartment. As we continue forward, a familiar song starts to resonate close by. Swiftly, people rush forward to witness the annual ritual dance-like event that was about to take place. The song – Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. The parade seemed to slow down, a charged energy thrummed around us like a spell. I look up. We are near the Italianate Gothic Clock tower of the Jefferson Market Library, and climbing up it – Basil Twist’s Spider. For those curious and/or ignorant readers, Basil Twist is a renowned puppeteer commissioned by the committee each year since 1996. And his 1999 creation, the mascot of the Halloween parade – a giant spider (spanning ten feet), which Basil walks each year through the streets of the west village, up the 149 stairs of this New York landmark, to its perch in the tower. This puppet has become a sort of symbol of the journey the costumed participants take on each year, and a guardian. I hear the transfixing laugh of Vincent Price, and just like that, the parade continues.
“Folklore is oral or custom-related in that it passes by word of mouth and informal demonstration or imitation from one person to another and from one generation to the next.” “Folklore is traditional in two senses in that it is passed on repeatedly in a relatively fixed or standard form, and it circulates among members of a particular group.” – J. Brunvand
We are close to the end now; the finish line is in sight. Most participants are already roaming the streets, others heading to bars and restaurants to complete the night there. As my group crosses the barrier, we head towards 7th avenue, turning left once we reach it. I ask where we are going. James’ explains that most parade-goers after completing their quest enjoy cheap though delicious slices of pizza on the streets of Seventh Avenue from “99 cents Pizza”. There they socialize with the other costume enthusiasts, describing their experience and/or telling stories. As I wait for my friends to finish their meals I interview and photograph the passersby. One of them explains that there exists a superstition about the “danger” of calling a person by his birth name while he is in his costume. Whether the result is bad luck, or his soul getting stolen by demons, the believers tend to follow the general rule: not to do it. However, Brian (the interviewee), states that not a lot of parade-goers follow this rule, or at least they make exceptions for emergencies and such. The night is close to an end. Soon, all my masked comrades will be returning home to de-suit. In the morning, we will go on with our lives, refreshed and still thriving on the positive energy we obtained at the parade. Back to families, responsibilities, jobs, college, etc. Reborn, ready to tackle another year, or at least survive till the next masquerade holiday.
“Halloween remains, at its core, a night of inversion, when social norms are turned upside down, and a temporary freedom of expression reigns supreme.” – N. Rogers
The holiday itself and the NYC Halloween Parade event and sub-culture provides a safe bubble where the pressure valve can be loosened to let society cool off and regenerate. It allows society to delve into the fantasy world where only nature’s law exists. People can dress and take on the characteristics (to some degree) of villains, though in a more peaceful light. For example, dressing up as the Joker allows me to let down my mental walls, act silly and joke around, allows me to regain some relaxed confidence I sometimes lack in day-to-day life. Becoming the Joker allows me to accept my madness, as well as the world’s. James dressing up as a superhero (especially Batman) experiences similar effects. As well as, we get to showcase our work and effort. And if it is indeed YOUR character, a character that seamlessly blends in with you, or one you adapted to suit you and your beliefs about the personage, if you can make it your own – then you will be able to reap a lot of benefits. And that is exactly what me, James and “Behind the Mask” stand for and try to explain to newcomers or random people. After all, the more the merrier. And so, at the beginning of the parade we discard our old selves and by the end of it are reborn anew.
“Perhaps it is like a flash of lightning in the night which, from the beginning of time, gives a dense and black intensity to the night it denies, which lights up the night from the clarity if its manifestation, its harrowing and poised singularity; the flash loses itself in this space it marks with its sovereignty and becomes silent now that it has given a name to obscurity.” – M. Foucault
What is it that makes Halloween and the NYC Halloween Parade so special? Probably the thousands of people dressed up in costumes showcasing their individuality. And yet, who are these people without the holiday, without the event, without the other participants? Nothing? Perhaps not nothing, but rather a duller version than when they are combined or mixed. The duality of their existence is both confusing and amusing. The cosplayers are special each in their own way. Though there are recurring characters, they all differ by at least one variable. And yet, it is when they are in a large group that they hold a greater meaning. This paradox exists alongside the paradox of madness and sanity. As long as you don’t try to find out which one is “the correct one,” the one that makes the most sense or holds more weight, then you won’t go mad. Or rather, you won’t go sane. After all, sanity is the one with the annoying limits.
“Understanding a people’s culture exposes their normalness without reducing their particularity.” “It renders them accessible: setting them in the frame of their own banalities, it dissolves their opacity.” – C. Geertz
The NYC Halloween Parade is an event where many cultures clash and mix. It is the embodiment of the saying “the sky’s the limit.” You know there is a limit, as the atmosphere will end after a certain amount of time passes and a certain distance is crossed, but while you are stuck to the ground by gravity, your imagination can run wild. Though some things change as time passes, some symbols, some characters, some places, beliefs or stories are timeless. Such as: the type of characters people choose, or Spider Twist, or the location, or the idea that the NYC Halloween Parade is a time when you are free to express yourself, when you are free to make political and/or gender statements, when you can try on different masks to find the one(s) that will merge with you. And it is important to remember: the only ones miserable in the madhouse are the ones who want out. Embrace it, Perform, Socialize, Have Fun, Be Free and Feel Safe, Be a Better Version of Yourself, Be a Mother with Cat Ears and a Baby Stroller, Be a Kid, but most importantly – SMILE!
-L.L.L.
P.S. Check out the details for this year’s Halloween Parade here.
Works Referenced:
Brunvand, Jan Harold, “The Study of American Folklore” (1988), Chapters 1-2;
Foucault, Michel, “Introduction (Preface) to Transgression” (Critique, 1963);
Geertz, Clifford, “Thick Description” (The Interpretation of Cultures, 1973);
Rogers, Nicholas, Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night, Cary: Oxford University Press (2002); Abstract;
Photos taken by yours truly – please, do not reproduce without permission.
The Junction Journal 