Stupidity & Drama thy name is fandom

[scottishlass]

Today, I asked myself if the very essence of fandom has changed since the internet started out back in the mid nineties. Fandom back then meant ppl with common interests meeting together, having fun together and sharing their adoration of said interest (series, movie, band or actor/singer). Nowadays, entire fandoms are made up of antis, haters and what not.

Pick one fandom and you will find an equal share of haters in the fandom than admirers. I first noticed that when I came across Korean boy bands and actors ... boy, those Korean fans or non-fans are ruthless. They are crazy stalkers, drama queens and all in all bitches, rejoicing in their self-centeredness as well as their vicious barbs towards artists and fans alike.

Perhaps I'm getting too old for fandom, after all, it is fanGIRL not fanWOMAN but jeesh, the drama, bitches.

Comments

[back2real.livejournal.com]

ahhh! I get what you're saying, though I don't know that I've ever really been in a fandom until I found the JE groups. and even now, I try to distance myself from the craziness, though I know it's hard, and find the haters more amusing than anything else.

where's the love?

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

What happened???

I was really quite taken aback by the drama surrounding "Boys Over Flowers" and some other dramas - I think "East of Eden" produced crazy shipping wars but so far I was lucky not to encounter anything as crazy as some of more benign wars in "Battlestar galactica" fandom.

[jugatsu15.livejournal.com]

I understand what you mean ^___^
That's why I tried to stay with JE, fans are not that scary/crazy compare to Koreans LOL

[kawinslow.livejournal.com]

I don't know about bandom/drama fandom craziness, but I have an ugly story (and heard some rumors) from my first fandom experience. And it dates back to the 90s, chica. Yeah. That one.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Oh I stay away from the craziness as well but sometimes you get embroiled nevertheless even if it is just by connection to certain ppl.

But I think it is so stupid, esp. when I see WHO is getting up to those antics ... they seem to be in dire need of a psychiatrist anyway :s

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

True ... but try out JRock fandom and you will see internationally they are just as crazy as the Koreans. Really!!! I never have seen so many self-centered bitches than in JRock and most of those drama queens are not even Asian. *shudders*

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

I think it is the sign of the times .. nowadays where anyone can be famous on TV or youtube etc. just by being or acting stupid, most ppl are so self-centered that they take almost everything seriously and also involve themselves in things they have no business in. It's all about the drama, baby and not about a certain issue.
Sometimes I think the younger generations have become so self-centered that any shoe you put out for them will fit, no matter what. It's all about me and if Person B says something Person A doesn't like, Persons A, C and E stalk them on the net and make snarky comments to anything that Person B will ever say. It's ridiculous.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Oh you mean the megalomanic whose name I have avoided speaking for a very long time and only mentioned when said person died?

[back2real.livejournal.com]

I just wonder, do these people have NOTHING better to do with their time? they really want to waste all this energy on negative emotions? and about someone they don't even know? I guess so?

[kawinslow.livejournal.com]

That would be the one.

And when someone made a comment that she never said a bad word about anyone, I had to sit on my hands so as not to reply otherwise. "Must not speak ill of the dead. Must not speak ill of the dead. MUST not speak ill of the dead." was my mantra for a while.

[enders-girrrl.livejournal.com]

I wonder if there's a direct relationship between craziness of fans and the mean age of their Idols...? Are the fans more rabid when the Idols are younger? I'm sure the older groups like SMAP or Tokio had their share of diehards in their heyday (lol, what am I saying? it's not like those dudes are washed-up and jobless now T___T), but I haven't really encountered SMAP devotees with the same cyber-craziness as I've seen in other fandoms. (Or maybe I'm just not looking hard enough. X__x) Is it because young Idols have predominantly young fans, who eventually grow up and mellow and get jobs and start families and have less time (and energy) to devote to their respective fandoms?

(Although I must say that the viciousness and stupidity of some of these fans can be wildly entertaining... XD )