Yesterday in class, we had a discussion about Fandom. To sum it up, fandom is the community that surrounds a tv show/movie/book and so forth. Fanfiction writers, artists and poets are all members of this fandom. These communities often consist of message boards, livejournal communities, and, of course, people. Before class we were given photo's of fans that were dressed up as their favorite celebrity idols and discuss why they were dressed the way they were. As each of my group members was giving their opinion, I was questioning myself as to when this "fandom" goes too far. For some people, healthy admiration of a favorite star or television show can turn into a sick obsession - resulting to extreme measures such as plastic surgery or even stalking. It's no huge secret that America is obsessed with fame, and you do not need to read internet sites or magazines to be aware of this either. But what happens when Fans take it to far? Over the passed few days I have been looking at different groups of fans and the extreme measures they go to look like their idol. Some of the people I have come across have gone to extreme measures and have spent a large amount of money on plastic surgery. One person, A 37-year-old woman, was inspired by J-Lo's gigantic booty, paid $7,000 for "gluteal augmentation" which is a fancy name for receiving butt implants. Likewise, one 20-year-old man paid $8,500 for a nose job and a new chin dimple to make him look like his idol, John Travolta. The fact that fans are using plastic surgery to show their commitment to their idol can be a very scary thing to think about. Artists, for example, try to relay a message out to their fans to "Be who you are" - but it seems as though fans misinterpret that phrase and hear "Be me." It seems as though individuals who are associated with these Fandoms are losing their self-identity and literally becoming their idol.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPYfWnnlLZk This link can show one fan who goes to the extreme to look like Michael Jackson
That is really freaky, I've met people who are inspired by their idols but never anyone who attempted to duplicate them. Yet I have had instances when people refuse to acknowledge something negative about their idols which I think is ridiculous because there is nothing wrong with them being imperfect, they are merely fellow humans you know?
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