Elections Mean Full Slate of Halloween Options

Expect candidates, office holders and even issues to appear on Halloween weekend parties and on Halloween night, according to University of Cincinnati pop culture researcher Rebecca Borah, associate professor of English.

“The rubber masks will portray President Obama, and representation of a president in an election year is very typical of Halloween costumes.

But this is the first year I’ve ever seen masks that go so far as to represent the Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi). If mask choices are all the way down to Speaker of the House, that’s a significant sign of how dominant a theme election politics is

,” said Borah.

She added that adult Halloween party goers will also use fairly standard costumes as political commentary: “You’ll see the standard witch’s hat and cape, with people saying, ‘I’m Christine O’Donnell (Tea Party candidate in Delaware), I’m Sarah Palin, or I’m Nancy Pelosi.’” Or find an old Elvis Presley wig and call yourself former Illinois Gov. Rob Blagojevich.

Regional political issues should also play out in Halloween costumes where they’re on the ballot. For instance, the California vote on whether to legalize marijuana will likely be strongly represented in that state. “It’d be fairly easy to wrap yourself in a sheet or gauze bandage to represent a joint,” she stated.

Expect to see mortgages, foreclosures, bankers and the TARP bailout among the costume choices people creatively devise. Suggested Borah:

• It’s easy enough to wrap yourself in a lightweight plastic tarp and get a child’s plastic pail. Suddenly, you’re the TARP bailout.

• Get a small box and fill it with a few of your possessions, as though you’re moving from your home. Clip a change-of-address card to the box or your collar, and you’re a foreclosure.

• Tape some kind of mortgage document on your back, and you’re a mortgage-backed security.

In other Halloween developments this year, Borah listed

• Topical costumes, such as revelers dressing up as Chilean miners (hardhat and a Chilean flag), and anything related to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Smear on some chocolate pudding and call it sludge.

• Products: “We’re seeing representations of products as Halloween costumes – a bag of M&Ms, a Crayola crayon. These are pre-made, commercial costumes for sale. Great for marketing but fairly unusual for adult costumes.”

• Smaller candy treats doled out: The mini-bars of chocolate vs. half-sized bars will be the norm.

• Expect to see more “recycled” costumes among families with children: Families with multiple children – or extended families – will have younger children wearing costumes made or bought for older siblings or relatives. Said Borah, “I’m hearing families say that the costumes made for a past Halloween for an older child will serve now for a younger one, especially if the costume is gender neutral.”