How Ben Cooper Changed Halloween Forever

*The author (far left) in his Chewbacca costume.*

When I was 7 years old, I was Chewbacca for Halloween. The body of the costume was made out of a sheet of plastic, the kind that went “whoosh, whoosh” when you walked. It looked like a garbage bag. On it was a picture of Chewie’s head with “Star Wars” emblazoned above it, in case you didn’t recognize the Wookiee and what movie he was from. The mask—a thin, brittle piece of plastic—had two eyehole cutouts, two small nose-holes and a slight mouth slit for easy breathing. Only, it wasn’t easy to breathe when wearing that mask.

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Only, it wasn’t easy to breathe when wearing that mask. And I had a hard time fitting it over my thick, plastic-framed glasses because the thin white elastic that held it in place would break every other time I put it on. And once I did, my glasses would steam up from the massive amount of sweat my body was producing from the costume. And don’t get me started about the lack of sleeves. Chewbacca didn’t have to wear a flannel shirt to keep his arms warm in cold weather. But I did.

I hated that costume. But it was a cheap and easy way for me to become my favorite Wookiee. It was a Ben Cooper…. read more >