Skip to main content

Fangirl Culture. Can Fans care too much?






 Fangirling. 
We're all guilty of it. The on-line jungle that is social networking has made it excessively easy to do so. Twitter can send you notifications every time your favourite star spiels on in 140 or less characters. Tumblr is a platform for 'fandoms', where the novel of choice is 'fan fiction' and the hot gossip is who's the latest 'shipped' sweethearts. Instagram plays host to countless 'fan accounts', which immortalises celebrities through an array of photographic shrines.
Then there's the stars themselves. One of the most distinctive methods of evaluating a star's popularity is how many 'followers' or 'likes' they have. Justin Bieber has more twitter followers than there are people in Canada. Lady Gaga has 4 million more twitter followers than Obama (mind you - Barack  never made an appearance in a skimpy meat number).The United Nations scrapes a minuscule 1.7 million followers, whilst Harry Styles (one fifth of the world's largest franchise, One Direction) has 24.3 million followers. 
The colossal quantity of influence these boys have is awe-worthy. In five years these former X-Factor contestants have earned Simon Cowell more money than he could spend on high-waist trousers and dull as dishwater grey t-shirts. 1D entered the scene when sexy was ritualised as an attribute of the average pop star. Psycho and Columbia records marketed these boys perfectly, coupling there happy-go-lucky attitude and generic ear worm pop with a colour coordinated wardrobe that matched their range of back to school merchandise.  The Telegraph's Neil McCormick labelled the boys as:"clean cut, wholesome, whiter-than-white, middle class parent friendly pop", later stating that they were 'safe sex for dangerous times' in the music industry. 
However, in recent weeks, the fearsome force that is the  army have been reduced to tears - or worse. When heart throb Zayn Malik announced his resignation from the band, a wildfire of worrying hash-tags emerged. 
#cutforzayn was perhaps the most alarming of the bunch. Harrowing displays of self harm from young fans flooded the internet. Multiple images of lacerations spelling 'Zayn', 'prey for Zayn' or 'cut for Zayn' 
 Childline has a designated section for mourning 'fangirls', sending out messages to not 'undermine how distressing Zayn news could be for fans'. Has 'fangirling' gone too far?
Indulge in and appreciate music. It's necessary for stars to become 'mainstream' acts or for the more bespoke alternative acts to survive and make ends meet. The fangirl culture drives the music industry forward. There is more money in merchandise and live performances than album sales, due to the transformation of the convenient (massacre) that is streaming. They provide bands with a constant form of attention, thus allowing them to remain loved or fashionable (even if it is ironic indie culture format). We've all worn a band merch shirt to make a point - don't deny it...
However, by physically harming yourself, you are not promoting any positive outcomes to arise. It's ludicrously dangerous. Furthermore, how do you think Zayn would feel about you hurting yourself. If he is as mentally ill as the papers claim, this is the last thing the lad needs. He's only 22, most people have no clue what they want to do with their lives at that point. The majority of teens today will be up to our eyeballs in debt, contemplating a gap year in Thailand or getting a 'make-ends-meet' job at Wagamamas  by the time they reach 22. Give the kid a break. Respect his privacy.
Have your fandoms (my personal favourite is Van McCann), just don't let them define you. Be your own person, let them influence you, just twist them to fit aspects of yourself. You can wear all black and listen to One Direction or wear pink and listen to SlipKnot. It's your choice.




http://stargazingfromnowhere.com/2014/03/15/understanding-the-fangirl-phenomenon/

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2015-03-25/childline-dont-undermine-how-distressing-zayn-news-could-be-for-fans/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Direction


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopmusic/9111003/The-Wanted-and-One-Direction-why-British-boybands-are-conquering-America.html

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Track of the Week - Sarajevo - The K's

Merseyside natives The K's kicked off 2018 by announcing that they had been signed to Republic Music Management. With a handful of sold-out headline shows already under their belt, their tongue-and-cheek indie tunes are earning them a loyal fan base and plenty of buzz. Their debut single 'Sarajevo' is an infectiously catchy and utterly charming track. The vocals are akin to a more in-tune Jamie T, giving their witty lyrics a warm ambiance.  The upbeat melody gives a nod to early 2000s indie, but the ferocious riffs and hearty bass lines give it plenty of originality.  The track has already achieved half a million streams on Spotify and it's a sure bet that there's bigger and better things on the horizon for The K's. FOLLOW SOUNDS OF AN ECCENTRIC FACEBOOK TWITTER INSTAGRAM
Post a Comment
Read more

ReBalance - Is Positive Discrimination towards Women in Music the way Forward?

The organisers of Reading and Leeds Festival, FestivalRepublic, have faced criticism in recent years for their male dominated line-ups. Melvin Benn, the managing director of Festival Republic,   told the Guardian that the reason behind theirmale-centric line ups was because "they sell tickets... if there was a female act in the rock genre that sold the same amount of tickets as any of the headline acts... I'd book them". However Benn recently announced that Festival Republic is launching a new initiative in 2018 that positively discriminates towards female artists. The Leeds based 'ReBalance' project will run for three years and each month will provide a female musician, solo artist or female fronted band with a week in a recording studio, with all the expenses, travel and accommodation paid for by Festival Republic. However, is positive discrimination the best way to showcase female talent and create a more equal music industry? On one hand ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Middlesbrough Pub Bans Female Fronted Bands

Middlesbrough pub and rock music venue; Doctor Brown's ; has caused outrage after implementing a ban on female fronted bands, stating their customers believe that women can't sing rock music well. The story gained national attention after The Northern Echo published a damning article on the situation.  Consequently, residents and musicians have started to boycott the venue. I contacted Doctor Brown's to hear their side of the story. Had the situation been blown out of proportion on social media, or were outdated, sexist attitudes being called out? Paula Rees, the pub's manager cited that the Northern Echo had lied and "twisted her words" and she was eager to talk to me to "set the record straight". She said that was more than happy to talk, asking me to ring up later when the pub was a little quieter. Rees also confessed that she wasn't a "big rock fan" and was just going with what her customers wanted, stating that they had...
Post a Comment
Read more