Why do so many people idolise celebrities? I don’t understand this. Look at the singers and artistes. Some are nice, some aren’t. But why do people want to have their autographs or steal their underwear?
What is the psycological basis of fandom?
Team X is “your” team; their victories are “your” victories. They lose, you’re bummed.
Sooner or later, identification turns into a sense of ownership, entitlement. I’m thinking here of early fans of some destined-to-be-famous band eventually turning on them, claiming they’ve “sold out,” whether or not that is actually the case. Same thing with Star Wars/Star Trek/Buffy/whatever fans…eventually, many (but certainly not all) begin to feel the object of their obsession owes them.
Or the relationship between admirer and the admired can blossom, in which case, like a loyal Star Wars geek, you learn every bit of minutia there is to learn about that subject. Or you bid on the panties of a celeb. Or if you’re a groupie, you let your favorite rock star use you like an object. In other words, you strengthen the ties between yourself and your beloved.
It’s easy for celebs, TV shows, or whatever else to become the main source of happiness for an individual (or the collection of trinkets from that celeb, TV show, or whatever to become an individual’s main source of accomplishment, or the feeling that accompanies it). Individual life - that is, the stuff that happens directly to you in your daily life (not counting the important stuff going on elsewhere in the world here) - is pretty dull.
Not that this is a huge problem, just saying.
Vorae wrote:
“I’m thinking here of early fans of some destined-to-be-famous band eventually turning on them, claiming they’ve ‘sold out,’ whether or not that is actually the case.”
Like Yogi Berra said: “No one goes to that restaurant anymore. It’s too crowded.”
How can I become a fandom mechanic?
Trinopus
(P.S. This is my first stupid, irrelevant, pointless post that poses as a weak attempt at humor. I promise not to do it often!)
Just remember that “fan” is short for “Fanatic”.