In the world of arts and entertainment, one question has been arising lately: regarding artists, when is fan behavior too extreme? Actors and musicians are deeply admired by many people and fans but when does this admiration become too much?
Fans have existed for as long as there have been entertainers around. The definition of a fan is after all, “someone who is a supporter of something.” Usually when an artist becomes big, they gain fans, though some have fans when they first start out. Typical fan behavior is attending concerts (if a musician), going to fan meetings, watching movies the person stars in (if they happen to be an actor), and even joining fan sites for the particular person/group.
These actions are looked at as generally harmless and normal; in fact, they are considered positive. After all, an artist is nothing without their fans. However, some actions that fans partake in can be considered harmful, creepy, and even stalkerish. The question is how much is too much?
Some people can argue that a fan becomes obsessive when the star they like begins to overtake their everyday life. An admiration becomes an obsession, leaving the fan with unhealthy thoughts and fantasies about the star/group they love. These thoughts can usually be viewed on posts and updates on social networking websites.
“Have you seen Twitter? Oh God, it’s scary. Keep to yourself. Don’t be a stalker,” said sophomore Julie Gottfried.
Actions like carrying a million pictures of the group/person on their phone, claiming they are going to marry the person, or saving audio files of the person’s voice are typically frowned upon in society. It can be considered abnormal and crossing the line between reality and fantasy.
“If you draw this illusion that you will actually meet the celebrity and you guys will fall in love with each other, then you’re crazy. It’s fine but there’s a certain point where you need to stop,” said junior Kadin Daigle.
Bridging off of the fantasy some fans have for stars, fans have even begun to create stories called fan-fiction. These stories typically feature the star/group the fan likes in different plots that the fan creates for entertainment. Stars can find this obtrusive into their personal lives as a fictional version of themselves is being created by people they don’t know.
Fans have even begun to stalk stars. Finding stars whereabouts and creating creepy fancams, or videos following stars, of stars trying to live everyday lives are found all over YouTube. Many hear about fans breaking into stars hotel rooms, threatening the partners of stars, and many other odd behaviors.
The main question is-can all of this be considered wrong? Obviously stalking stars and taking terrifying video cams of them is not okay. Stars deserve personal space as well.
Can it really be said though that small things like star screensavers, fan-fiction, and delusions are wrong? They are weird—however, isn’t it true that when a person becomes famous, they know they are putting their image and life out in the open? A thing like odd fan behavior is knowledge that stars have before getting big. Is it fair to blame fans for something that isn’t hurting anyone? It’s a lot like a doctor complaining they don’t like blood. What did they think the job entailed?
Bottom line, fan behavior can be odd as long as it doesn’t negatively affect the star/group the behavior is about. It’s only fair to let fans be fans.