fans bleed too

The view that fans are ‘inadequate’ or ‘other’ has the negative consequence of making them lesser people.

It implicates that they are weak human beings latching on to the successes and interesting lives of celebrities as crutches to make their mundane lives bearable.

This is an unreasonable and simplistic opinion, derived from descriptions and exploits of a small fringe of deranged fanatics (i.e. Mark Chapman, Charles Manson).

Talent and skill may not always be the foundation of fandom, but personal and shared experiences inspired through the celebrity of a popular figure do not make a fan ‘inadequate’.

Rather, they become routes for fans’ personal development when they identify and belong, then experiment and learn from their fan activities.

part of another paper for my popular music class, which turned out to be more a study of modern society than Jimi Hendrix.