Thursday, December 17, 2009
A Fan
It seems that I have always lacked something in order to understand the fan phenomenon. How should we define a fan, anyhow? Does the fact that there are certain musicians, writers, actors, movie directors and other creative groups or people whose activity interests me more than some of the others' and I have seen, read or listened more than one piece of work they have produced make me instantly a fan of theirs? Or should I collect some objects related to their production or create actively some new content based on their work in order to be a fan? In case the answer to the last question is "yes", I am definitely not a fan of anything or anyone and for what it's worth I don't feel myself like being a fan of something either. For me, being a fan associates unfortunately mostly with the strange cases of affection like the ongoing one where tens of thousands or more teenage girls and their mums just cannot stop dreaming of Robert Pattinson (leading actor of Twilight Saga that I have been unable to watch for its mawkishness). It may be that I misunderstand something completely about fanship, but fan practices have always seem a bit sad and desperate to me: why want to resemble to a pop-star or fictional character and not just be you? Why imitate or slightly contribute to other people's creation if you could put this spare energy to better use and create something original and your own? To each his own: maybe being a fan just is not for everyone.
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Hi Ave,
ReplyDeletePersonally, I don't consider myself a fan of anything in the way you put it here but maybe you use a too narrow definition of being a fan? You could also argue that you're a fan of scholars who think fandom is immature?
I never understood those people collecting every single bit of something they are fan of surrounding their whole existents around a star/band/ whatever. I mean, to admire someone/something or having an idol using it as inspiration is fine but copying another person or want to be like their favorite star shows a huge lack of personality and I actually pity those people. The other day I came across an interview with a girl who looked almost exactly like Lindsay Lohan saying more than once that she and her are the same person, how much she admires her and she wants to be and meet her… blablabla going on and on. In that case my first thought was WHY?!?! Lohan has been only famous for her party, alcohol and drug use lately so how can anyone find that appealing. Of course she has been constantly on the new but only for negative reasons so isn’t it rather worrying and more than a pity that girls still want to imitate her in lack of own ideas and personality. Perhaps we also should distinguish between fandom and obsession?
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment JL! Unfortunately I need to disagree about using the too narrow definition. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, for example defines fan as: 1. an enthusiastic devotee (as of a sport or a performing art) usually as a spectator 2. an ardent admirer or enthusiast (as of a celebrity or a pursuit) . In the example that you brought it would be enough to say that "I agree" with the scholars you mentioned (even that I can't think of any particular one at the current moment :), there doesn't have to be any admiration or enthusiasm here from my side, it's just sharing an opinion. And being a fan seems to be a bit more that just having the similar ideas, liking the same things etc.
ReplyDeleteTo Mel: Yes, there definitely should be a line drawed between a fandom and an obsession, but unfortunately we're just back in the beginning here - how exactly to define the fan and the fandom. I think it's clear from the different posts here that people use these terms pretty openly. I'm not saying it's a bad thing but it may mean that we're talking of different phenomenas using the same words.
ReplyDeleteI think I am in the middle of this discussion now, because I am the fan PJ Harvey as you know and I never feel like myself as a stupid screaming person in front of PJ Harvey. I am trying to collect, listen, watch everything about her and I also agree that maybe I am obsessive about her.However, I dont agree that I am a fan as dictionaries define. I explore new things through PJ and also I feel her as a part of my identity. As Ave said about why people do not become just themselves; I think, I became myself with all things I watched, listen, read and some of those thing helped me more so PJ is one of those ones.She is compeletely the part of what I am. I am not trying to be in the group of fan of PJ, I have never been on her concert, but the thing I feel is that she makes music that I want to hear and also she helps me to create, to think, to see more. I dont know her personally so I am the fan of her art, not her personality.so I think important point is how should we define fan or fandom? I am not using those dictionary's definitions to describe the relationship between me and PJ. I am using my own words to decribe.
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