All of us know what it is like to be the fan. We know what it is like to admire someone’s creative work–whether that work is a song, an album, a video, a live performance, an acting performance, a piece of art, a piece of fashion, etc. I also definitely get how it feels to be around someone you admire. Let’s face it. There is something odd, when you think about it, about how someone’s JOB is such that lots of people know it and like him/her because of it. We all have jobs, careers but it isn’t like the media pays any attention to people who deliver packages or people who fix plumbing. It just doesn’t happen. Careers in the creative arts, on the other hand, can get people’s attention beyond those immediately around them. We could discuss why that is but that isn’t the focus of the blog. I have to acknowledge that it is weird, in a logical sense, that people would become well-known or famous for their CAREERS. Obviously, in some way, we (collectively, as a society) place people in the world of fame because we must think that who they are or what they do is extraordinary, special, better than the rest of us. This is why we follow them or why we want to meet them, right? I do get that, but I also wonder what it is like to be them. I know what it is like to be a fan, to be someone who wants to meet someone famous, but what is it like to be someone who people want to meet or more?
On one hand, I can imagine that it must be completely amazing to be someone who people want to meet, be around, and more. It must be a non-stop ego stroke, right? All of these people want to meet you, take your picture, get your autograph, etc. because they feel you are special, someone extraordinary. This must make you feel very special and I could see where you could and would believe that you are exactly that, something, perhaps, better than others, better than everyday people. I could see where you would just think you are so cool and that you can do no wrong. It might even lead to you believing that you deserve all of the attention and maybe you do. It sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Clearly, a lot of people try really hard to get to this spot of fame and many once they get there want to stay. It must be very addicting. I get this. We all like praise and to be told that we do something well. We all do. I know, for example, I always do when it comes to this blog, my political work or even my job. Then, I imagine that fame is like this times like a million. Yet, is there a dark side to all of this attention? We all realize that there can be a dark side to media attention, lack of privacy, etc. What about with the fans, though?
The fan interactions I’m thinking of can be everything from official events like a CD signing or meet and greet to unofficial events like seeing someone in the streets or at an airport. There is also the online interactions through the use of twitter and Facebook. Whenever we have asked questions about fan interactions with the band, whether in person or on line, we frequently get a comment about how they are grown men and can handle themselves, which I have no doubt of. That really isn’t my question. Then, we hear, If they don’t like what a fan is doing, they could say something. That’s true, but I also realize that there is a danger to doing that. They wouldn’t want to alienate any fans, would they? After all, that is how they sell albums and concert tickets. They must also realize that fans talk among themselves so making one or two fans angry could lead to a lot more being angry. Another frequent comment we hear when it comes to fan interactions with celebrities is that dealing with fans is part of their job or that fans put them where they are so they owe the fans to interact with them. I struggle more with this one. Is fan interaction part of the job? Is it? In the case of Duran, I’m sure that they would describe themselves as musicians. This means that write and perform songs. Fan interaction, I suppose, comes in with success. To be a successful musician, one must sell a lot of albums and concert tickets. Then, fan interaction becomes a part, right? I guess. Do some people become rock stars or actors or whatever for the fame? I’m sure. Do all? What if they are uncomfortable interacting with strangers? (I would be.) Does that hurt their career? Should it? As for stars owing fans, I’m even more uncomfortable with this. Isn’t their jobs to make music, to act, to write, to whatever and the audience’s job is to buy those products? We buy the music. We buy the movie ticket or watch the TV show. We buy the book. We aren’t buying the actual person(s), person’s time or attention, right? I will also frequently hear a comment that goes something like this, “I treat them how I treat everyone.” Do we really? If I treated the members of Duran Duran the way I do everyone else, I wouldn’t save pictures of them, for example, unless I was in them. I wouldn’t try to find out everything about what they are working on or worked on. Sure, yes, I find out quite a bit about what my close friends and family are up to but not to the same degree. Let me give you an example. My sister-in-law is a historian. She worked on some project about kitchens in the 1950s. Did I buy the book connected to this project? I didn’t. Kitchens and food preparation isn’t something I’m interested in. I offered her support and congrats but that’s it. I didn’t buy it immediately as I did with John’s autobiography. My point here isn’t to criticize anyone, including myself. I just think the nature of celebrities and fame doesn’t allow us to truly treat them as we would anyone else. I think we can always strive for that, but we are humans and, for whatever reason, these particular people, these particular stars caught our attention. They cause us to get excited. These people cause us to react more emotionally. If they didn’t, we wouldn’t be fans. To be a fan means to have a passion for someone or something. Emotion must be a part of it.
The real question then becomes how do we respond, knowing all this? We know that people we are a fan of will cause us to feel a lot. We will get excited over the idea of meeting them or interacting with them. Yet, we also know, logically, that they are just people. They are just people who made a career in the creative arts or something else that could get a vast amount of media and public attention. What is right and fair for them and what is right and fair for us? Do we try to overrule our emotion and desire to meet and interact with them? Do we acknowledge the truly strange aspect to the fan/famous person interaction? Do we change how we approach them? These are questions I am no where ready to answer.
-A
Fan interaction and celebritis: what is fair for us to do, and what is fair for them to do?
Wow… it's like teaching a parent how to be a good parent.
Loving a music hero is a human and natural thing,which I think is out of control and it's something too personal to give rules.
My view is, at least, basically to try to establish a mutual respectuous and constructive long time relationship between us.
Communication is the main resource, the trouble is how to run it.
Well, I don't disagree that loving a music hero (or otherwise) is human and natural, I do wonder why we should have a constructive long time relationship between star and fan. I understand why WE, the fans, would want that but what is really fair to ask the celebrity.
-A