Fans: The Most Active and Creative Group Within Media Audiences

One does not necessarily have to cluck in disapproval to admit that entertainment is all the things its detractors say it is: fun, effortless, sensational, mindless, formulaic, predictable, and subversive. In fact, one might argue that those are the very reasons so many people love it. At the same time, it is not hard to see why cultural aristocrats in the nineteenth century and intellectuals in the twentieth hated entertainment and why they predicted, as one typical nineteenth century critic railed, that its eventual effect would be to over turn all morality, to poison the springs of domestic happiness, to dissolve the ties of our social order, and to involved our country in ruin." said Neal Gabler, the author of Life in the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality. I agree with this quote, that entertainment is mind numbing and lessen the values of our society. Back in the nineteenth century, entertainment was something that actually stimulated their minds,

Many people are blind-sighted and tricked into being sucked into the world of celebrities and reality tv. This occurrence is known as celebrity worship syndrome and it can have many detrimental effects. Research has found that celebrity worship syndrome and an addiction to celebrities “has likewise been conceptualized as a search for a solid identity and social role ... and compulsive and obsessional elements are noted at advanced stages of addiction ... Thus, while absorption can partially account for the vividness of delusions related to dissociative experience ... the progression along our hierarchy of celebrity worship might reflect increases in the thresholds of the need and capacity of psychological absorption” (Rockwell). The absorption-addiction model that Rockwell references describes the parasocial relationship of a celebrity and a fan. Typically, due to deficits in a person’s life, a fan will become absorbed into a celebrity's following in order to escape their current life and they eventually become addicted. If an obsession with a celebrity is left unchecked it has the possibility to spiral into thoughts or behaviors that can be harmful to the fan and

Hollywood is a very powerful modern day institution, where a star's image can characterize, shape and circulate societal myths and ideologies. The construction of a star's image as a commodity of their societal myths and ideologies has the extraordinary power to exert messages so that even the smallest details become significant yet not overtly obvious. How a star's image is produced and then consumed can justify a society's relationship with that image and therefore aid in explaining the social construction of what society deems as their 'reality'. A star's image is created through a range of representations churned out by Hollywood. Capitalism from the commercialization of these images has made Hollywood the dominant force it is

When reflecting on my experiences and knowledge of popular culture, I arrived with a number of remarkable questions and concerns:

Neal Gabler’s 1998 book, Life the Movie: How Entertainment Conquered Reality, brings up controversial questions about the necessity or unnecessary want of entertainment. Scholars may claim that entertainment breaks family bonds, undermines community, and decreases people’s integrity. Certainly, entertainment in the 21st century in the form of movies, video games, and social media are more widespread than ever. However, not all forms of enjoyment are obscene; sports, television shows, and fan conventions can promote social involvement, reduce stress, and improve collaboration skills.

the wild antics of the die hard fans. In my essay I will try and attempt to describe as

In the novel, Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline fandom is depicted constantly throughout the Oasis. Through James Hallidays contest, each individual (Guther or Sixer) attempts to learn Hallidays past characteristics and preferences in order to be like him and learn the location of keys and gates to win the contest. In the contest those who find the keys first like Parizal, Art3mis, Aech, Daib, and Shob receive massive fame, endorsements, and gain popularity as well as fan mail, and even mentions in news broadcasts. As Wade begins to gain popularity he describes how some fans are, during Morrow's birthday Wade illustrates his popularity by saying "As I walked towards the entrance, the crowd bombarded me with a mix of insults, autograph requests, death threats, and tearful dedications of underlying love."(pg 186) The novel depicts fans of the Oasis as somewhat obsessive, yet this virtual reality is extremely popular and the fans who play are extremely dedicated so much so that they rather play then be in reality. In the book those who are dedicated and true fans like Wade and his friends find the keys which lead to victory, wealth, and empowerment.

The particular author of this article chose to use the argument that a form of entertainment can change someone's viewpoints and their morals. The author also suggests that any content doing so should be done away with if negative. This author should look at other forms of entertainment that have negative connotations even if they are popular and would be fought for. Critics cannot choose what to fight for and against just because it has something included in it that they don't like. Their morals should be kept the same throughout all their judgements and not changed just because things are included that they don't particularly

The line between television and the Internet seems to be growing more and more blurred as networks and producers learn to adapt to using online media to grow and capture new audiences. A recent article, “Chris Hardwick, King of the Nerds Is Expanding His Empire” by Lorne Manly in the New York Times features a profile of entertainer Chris Hardwick, who is described as the “model of an entertainment brand for a multiscreen generation” (Manly, par. 5). As a fan of both Chris Hardwick and of geek culture, I found this article to be a fascinating profile of how savvy use of media can allow performers to reach a much wider audience than television alone.

“Be brave enough to live life creatively. The creative place where no one else has ever been,” in the words of Actor Alan Alda. And that is what why many creative people flock to the seemingly popular subreddit inside Reddit.com, known as FanTheories to to share theories, interpretations and speculation related all types of creative works and to experience a creative place most are unable to say they have been. I too am one of these people who became an active member of this discourse community as it represents my high interest in creative works and combines it with critical thinking and postulating to explore new ideas and bring new life into aging media. However, there is much more to FanTheories than just sharing ideas and hypotheticals

In the article, entitled “The Impact Celebrities Have on Our Lives,” Deborah King establishes the reasons why being overly obsessed with celebrities can lead to bad habits. To begin with, King points out that everyone is too obsessed with celebrities. The article indicates that the younger the audience, the more likely they will try to be like them and want what they have. Furthermore, King writes that even though there are positive celebrities out there, people seem to be more obsessed with the celebrities that make bad influences on people. In addition, she emphasizes that even though there are celebrities that seem like good role models for their audience, they have a private life that no one seems to know about. As a result, King concludes

Being a celebrity has now become a culture. Even though those who are a part of society may not get to meet those who are famous or infamous there is still a need to be entertained. In the past this entertainment came from men and women who achieved something great, now it comes from them being involved in entertainment such as reality television programs, and those who are just simply famous. The author, Marcus S. Levy, questions the enigma why society is entertained by those who entertain us. The possibility entertainment is an addiction for people the same way drugs or alcohol is. Levy shares his thoughts on how society is entertained by the entertainers and the shift of whom are considered to be entertainers of today. This source is biased

Darrin Brown, Sharon Lauricella, Aziz Douai and Arshia Zaidi composed a study focusing on the uses and grats of the aforementioned genre as a means of better understanding the relationship between television and its audiences (Brown, Lauricella, Douai, Zaidi, 2000). Blumber and Katz’s theory on uses and gratifications suggest that audience’s choose to watch certain programs as it satisfies a particular need; in other words, people use a program to gratify or please themselves (Who Watches Crime Dramas and Why?, 2012). They identified four main uses and grats: entertainment and diversion, where there is an idea of escapism; surveillance and information, where people have an urge to become more knowledgeable in a particular area; personal identity, where there is a comparison between the characters and audience members; and finally, personal companionship, where audience’s become involved with characters as if they were real (Who Watches Crime Dramas and Why?, 2012). The uses and Gratification theory assumes that audiences use mass media as an outlet for satisfying certain needs and desires (Brown, et. al, 2000). According to another group of scholars, the gratification individuals get when using such media are both social and psychological in nature (Brown, et. al, 2000). In

What do you think of when you hear the word entertainment? Do you ever wonder why it’s the way it is? Have you wondered what forces, ideas, and people have molded and shaped it over time? How does entertainment affect culture and a society? These are questions that might have many different answers of varying explanations and magnitudes. For centuries, people have looked to a multitude of different things to do as a way to escape their normal lives and to have fun. So then came various forms of entertainment. Although it may not seem so at first glance, taking a more critical look at the similarities that our society shares with the Brave New World’s society may yield some shocking discoveries.

One of the benefits of popular culture is entertainment. First, people are entertained by attending public events. For example, people attend sporting events. For example, fans can attends sporting events such football, basketball, and baseball games to watch their favorite team play. Also, several fans benefit by watching their team play on TV. Secondly, people attend other public events such as concerts of famous celebrities. Thirdly, individuals can be entertained by watching movies. In her essay Shih talks about how movies can be entertaining (389). For example, in action movies such as Mission Impossible there several Hollywood stunts that entertains the people who are watching the movie. Also, in mystery films the main goal is to keep people guessing on what is going to happen like in the movie cube. Next, entertainment benefits society through electronics. For example, people are entertained by downloading apps that allow them to listen to music, play games, and watch movies some examples of these examples of apps that people that are downloadable includes apps such as Candy Crush, Spotify, and Crackle. Furthermore, entertainment is a benefit to society because it relieves stress. For example, if a person isn’t having a great day they can click on a website similar to YouTube and watch funny video such as “ghetto chef” series by a YouTube channel called DashieXP. Also, stress is relieved by watching movies on a site such as Netflix, which features different types of categories such as tv shows, comedy, horror, and action.