Fandom in the Modern Era

I’m curious what are your guys’ thoughts on fandom currently. Let me try to explain. So, I’m 33. Not old, but old enough that the nature of fandom has changed. It’s kind of hard to imagine it now, but at the start of my life the ways to access the personal life of a celebrity was through postal mail, good old fashioned stalking (not recommended), big events, or through the press. Now you can interact with them on twitter, through livestreams, listen to them on their own podcasts. Seemingly, the access is greater now than it has ever been.

But a big consequence of that is more access allows for a greater frequency of bad experiences, like harassment. For example, I remember hearing an interview once with Billy Dee Williams after Empire Strikes Back came out where he talked about being yelled at by a lady at an airport because of how Lando had betrayed Han Solo. I’m sure that wasn’t the only instance of something like that happening to him even with just that one performance, let alone other performances and other celebrities. But that weird encounter, or that tirade of postal mail, seems different than, say, the harassment that Laura Bailey, for example, received around her role as Abby. She has expressed how inundated she was with hate on Twitter and it just seemed never ending and overwhelming. As a non-celebrity, it just seems like the frequency and intensity has gone up.

The biggest thing in both instances is what the hell is wrong with people that they would hold an actor accountable for the actions of the characters they are portraying. Or would become some angered about fiction that it would cause an outburst out in the real world. But for this, I’m wondering if you all feel that the nature of fandom given current variables like social media, or really the ease of access to celebrities in general, has changed over the last several years (we’ll say decade to make a clean break) and if so what do you think drives it?

yeah- this is a fascinating and slightly disturbing topic that i often think about as well. fandom- that is, self-sustaining communities of enthusiasts that coalesce around specific entertainment personalities and/or products are nothing new- but you're not wrong to suggest it feels like it's taken on a different tone or character of late.

i think part of that is internet- more than ever it feels easier to find like-minded people, create insular communities, and then project that community's attention in an intense and anonymous manner at the subject of the fandom. corporate entities court these communities to extract both free marketing and disposable income- and entertainers and/or employees attached to these entertainment properties just have a greater contact surface area (twitter, facebook, email, proprietary platforms, youtube, twitch) than ever before. it's just easier to reach people now- for probably worse more than better (IMO).

i will say- the one aspect of fandom that feels very post-2010-to-present (and in my opinion is deeply odious) is the degree of ownership fans feel over the direction of intellectual property. starting with the mass effect 3 ending, following through to star wars and now TLoU2 (just to name a few)- all of these major properties have experienced inexcusable negativity as the result of creative decisions- and all of the abuse- whether it's coordinated harassment of rank-and-file employees, online bullying of actors, or death threats lobbied at anyone attached to the property- all of it serves to make me want to disengage from fan communities writ large and repeat the mantra 'the internet was a mistake.'

i will say corporate entities have a degree of culpability as well when they incorporate 'fan feedback' into part of their production process (i think doing so can give obsessives the wrong idea and confer a notion of collaboration when in fact it's just extraction)- but at the end of the day, overwhelmingly, the bad actors are fans that clearly have underlying issues disguised as enthusiasm for a product.

and just because it's fresh on my mind (and OP alluded to it; rant warning)- that laura bailey harassment is such complete fucking bullshit- anyone involved with the threats should be prosecuted to the highest extent possible. they do not deserve to have good things in their lives if they cannot distinguish reality from fiction. apologies for the rant- but it's sexist abuse, pure and simple- and those engaging in that behavior need to be shut down to prevent them them from projecting whatever damage is overflowing from their lives onto others.

@mellotronrules:

The Laura Bailey harassment is what led me to think about all this. That along with watching what was Michael Jordan’s life in the documentary ‘The Last Dance.’ His life seemed like a nightmare to me, but I wonder if it would have been what it was but even more so now.