// March 28th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Uncategorized
I don’t understand them, to be honest. Getting all worked up because some new piece of merchandise has been released, or crying hysterically because the object of your fandom has got themselves a girlfriend/boyfriend. People getting hordes of fans are human. They shit, piss, burp and fart like the rest of us. I once read an interview by a band (I forget who), and one of the female members was recounting a story where they had been asked to sign something for a fan as they were getting tampons in a supermarket. Surely no one needs to be followed as they’re doing the shopping?
I’ll admit that I get excited when something new I like gets released, and will attend concerts and book signings, etc, if the person I want to meet is in my area, but that’s as far as my fandom goes. I also try to keep a realistic sense of things – why would I stand for hours in the rain to meet someone who won’t remember or care who I am in the crowds of people? I would love to meet some of the people I admire, but I also know that my life won’t be over if I never get the chance to meet them. It’s not their fault that they’re responsible for something I like, and it’s sheer luck that they’re able to make a living out of it. They don’t need screaming people in their face wherever they go because of it.
Thankfully, fandom is also a very fickle thing. Last year, one of my friends drove me crazy with her obsession with a certain actor. This year, she completely ditched that obsession for another person who she didn’t even care about until a movie made him more famous than he was before. When I asked her what happened with her previous obsession, she told me that she never really liked that person much anyway, and then proceeded to chew my ear off about what her latest object of desire had been up to.
…The many hours that I had to listen to her talk about how amazing the previous actor was and how she’d be a fan forever disagree.
I guess obsessive fans see the object of their fandom as a supplement to a real boyfriend/girlfriend, and some people I know even prioritise them over their actual boyfriends/girlfriends/friends, which is when it starts to get a little worrying.
I was talking to someone on Twitter about fangirliness, and they told me, “I always feel these uncontrollable rushes of love for people, and sometimes I act rashly,” and I can see how admiration for a person can quickly cross into obsessiveness, but that still doesn’t stop me from cringing inwardly every time someone screams, “, I’m your No. 1 fan!!!!1111″
