søndag den 18. marts 2012

Thoughts on fans and fandom....

This is going to be a rather long blog about my thoughts about the above mentioned subject.
I just want people to think twice about the words “fandom” and “fans”, because these words sometimes have a negative attitude to them, which I think is a shame. 
However, I do get why, because everyone has seen some really far out scenes with fans going crazy, putting their idol on a pedestal, and moreover, many people do not know when to stop when they get into the “fan-mode”.
For the record, I do not judge any of those people I have met through my musical visits or other fans of something/someone and I really have met some awesome people through our common interests. 
Furthermore, this is not any analysis about myself or others that I already know. I merely just want to increase the knowledge about what might go on into the head of different fans.  
The chapters:
  • Introduction
  • Definition
  • Different approaches
    • Applying the approaches to fandom and fans
  • Celebrity Worship Syndrome (CWS)
  • Conclusion
  • Last comments
Introduction:
Everybody might have some sort of an addiction, something which take them out of their normal controlled “me, myself and I”. It can be difficult to understand for those who are not initiated. Furthermore, it can also be scary to watch someone in this “state” as a bystander and one never know if one should cry or laugh.
It can be many different things, small things and big things. It can be a person, a social occasion or just a regular tangible object. The common thing for all this, is that it might drive your emotions to the edge of your own controllability and it can be hard to control those feelings and its like that they almost slips away from you. Just as if you would try to hold water with you bare hands, eventually it slips away. 
Definition:
So, to be sure we are at the same level when it comes to understanding the word “fan”, I will suggest some examples.
One could suggest that the word fan derives from the word “fanatic”. If one look up this word in the dictionary (Merriam Webster online dictionary) it propose that being fanatic is “marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion”. 
Fans like to gather in fan groups and they are often interested even in the smallest of things concerning their object of interest. The social aspect is often as important to the fan as the thing or the person they admire, because in the fan group they find other people with a common interest.
To summarise, a fan is a person which shows a lot of enthusiasm for something or somebody and they often engage in social activities with other fans.
Different approaches:
Firstly, one could explain it by what there is physical happening to your body, and particularly in your brain. 
When we experience something which is really good, our brain emits endorphins (also known as “happiness hormones”). They reduce pain and can induce euphoria, and a well known example is when one is having an orgasm. Other examples can be to perform sports, eating your favourite food or being in love (Stoppler, 2007)
Also, endorphins is something which is very hard to control and that is why it can be very hard to wean something from somebody, just think of people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol.
Secondly, one can talk about how we as people construct the reality we are living in, e.g. what is a good fan and what is a bad fan? 
Here, I would like to introduce you to what one call “social constructionism”, it is a theory that indicates that everything in between two poles (like good or bad) is constructed through social processes. It is also a theory which question everything, because nothing is actually “real”, but just something which we as a country, society or as a group has constructed (Holliday, Hyde & Kullman, 2006)
Thirdly, one could pay attention to the notion within NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming) which proposes that you have to“recognise that each person’s ‘truth’ is true for them even if it differs from your ‘truth’ – since any person's internal view of reality is just that – a ‘version’ of reality. ('The map is not the territory')”(Connolly, 2000-2012)
This notion suggests that one has to be careful when judging someone, because you would never understand an object or an obsession as an another person understands it. 
Lastly, one could also bring the social aspect into question. The need to gather in fan groups and to be together with other persons who understands your admiration. 
Applying the approaches to fandom:
So, should we blame someone for having a passion for something? Should we blame them for being honest with us and their feelings when they spill their guts to us? Should we be the judges of what is right or wrong?
I have engaged with many different kind of fans and I have seen both the difference on them when they pretend to be cool with the admiration of the thing or person and when the facade cracks and the feelings just rambles out of this fan. 
Firstly, the brains of these fans emits a huge amount of endorphins and they feel a rush of euphoria. This is something which is very difficult to control, and when one is in the middle of it, it feels so awesome. But the problem comes the next days, when these endorphins gets fewer and in the end disappear again leaving one yearning for more.
Secondly, in a fan-group they have their own understandings (social constructions) of what is “okay” to do and and not to do. These understandings can be miles away from e.g. the actors understanding of what is “okay” or the bystanders thoughts about the matter. 
Thirdly, one could suggest that it is important not to judge any fan too quickly or too hard, before you know more about the specific situation or “reality” of this person. 
One has to respect the other person, also if they in your opinion is too “extreme” or if the counterpart just is too “stupid” to understand your admiration with something or someone. 
One should not only tolerate each others differences, but one has to go into dialogue with each other. One has to see the world from another perspective, so one can get new ideas about one owns values and habits and “dialogue does not only call for tolerance, but also mutual respect” (Bauman cited in Jensen, 2005).
Lastly, the social aspect by gathering in groups create a feeling of “togetherness” and it is maybe a way of escaping form the dull and boring everyday life.
Celebrity Worship Syndrome (CWS):
This term is used to describe three different kind of relationships that a fan can have with a celebrity (Jingwen Zhang, 2010):
1. Entertainment-social: This isn't the insane territory yet. You enjoy being in the know about your celebrity and you like to discuss him/her with others who are fellow fans.


2. Intense-personal: You're in the yellow zone. When a tragic event happens to your star, you feel like it hit you personally. You have intense and personal feelings about the celebrity, and you think you might have a "bond" with him/her.
3. Borderline-pathological: Off to Never Land. The famous haunt your brain 24/7, and even if you want it to stop, you can't. You're living for that person now. If you're cut off from knowing about him/her, you might possibly die.
Conclusion:
Personally, I think that fandom is somehow an abstract notion and it is difficult to say what it is, how to behave (and not to behave) and how to think about it. It is not just black and white, or good or bad. There are a lot of grey-zones in between.
But, I really do find the interaction between the fans, the fan and the thing/person they admire and the fans and the bystander quite interesting. There are so many things playing into this matter and so many different opinions on it.
This blog has given some examples on how to see and maybe understand fandom and fans better, and not to be too quickly to judge others just because they might seem as “extreme fans”.
But, on the other hand, one should also be careful not to end up in the so called “Borderline-pathological” level (or might even in the “intense personal”) scale of the CWS, because that is where it might can have a too big effect on your life. 
And lets face it, life is beautiful so better use it to the fullest than going about having an severe case of CWS.

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Last comments:
In addition, just a little side note: If you have any kind of fans, please remember this: “There is a positive intention behind every action” (Connelly 2000-2012).
So even though you might find your fans tiresome and annoying, then remember that they (normally) do not behave like that to annoy you, but they admire your work and they just want some memories of the meeting or whatever the situation is (memories like an autograph, a picture or a little talk). Moreover, if you do find your fans utterly stupid and really annoying, then be nice when you try to get away from them ;) 
But, I acknowledge that necessity knows no law and a situation can get so unpleasant that you have to cut through and you can not be as nice as you would like to and that is okay! 
In my opinion, it also is necessary for a person with fans, to know his own boundaries and how much and what he wants to share with his fans. 
References:
  • Adrian Holliday, Martin Hyde & John Kullman (2006): Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book, Routledge: London & New York, 120-146: Section B: Extension: Representation
  • Iben Jensen (2005): Grundbog i kulturforståelse, p. 9-25
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