The Influence Of Fandom On Celebrity Music Fandom As Religion Literature

One aspect that I analyzed in country music was the presence of religion. This is an issue that many sociologists choose to analyze because of its relation to organizations and groups. In country music there is a strong Christian presence and although it didn’t occur considerably in the songs I analyzed, it tends to be the only religion associated with country music. Religion “Plays a key role in developing people’s ideas about right and wrong” (2015; 75). This sole reason can be a major influence in many country lyrics, as well as the culture of country music.

The K-pop fandom community is anImagined nation. It is formed through the consciousness of the members of the K-pop fandom community. As an imagined community, the K-pop fandom is limited. Its transcendence from physical geographical sphere to the virtual sphere creates a limited access for the K-pop fans. The social discourse existing within the K-pop fandom community acts as homogenizing agents that identify and creates the cultural identity of the K-pop fans. This cultural identity is authentic to the members of the K-pop fandom community for it is created from the shared experiences resulting to common significations exclusive to the K-pop fans. The authenticity of the identity categorizes the insider and limits the outsiders. Therefore

Popular music is often one of the best lenses we have through which to view our own cultural orientation. Many of the artistic and experimental shifts in popular music have mirrored changes in our own society. For instance, the emergence of Elvis Presley as a public figure would signal the start of a sexual revolution and the growth in visibility of a rebellious youth culture. Similarly, the folk and psychedelic music of the 1960s was closely entangled with the Civil Rights, anti-war and social protest movements. In this regard, we can view popular music as an artifact through which to better understand the time and place in which it is produced. In light of this, the state of popular music today may suggest troubling things about our society.

In 1995, an actress by the name of Lana Turner was found dead in her Los Angeles mansion. It was not a surprise since she was publically diagnosed with throat cancer only a few years beforehand and was known to be a lifelong smoker. Yet, her death at the age of seventy-four seemed to capture national attention. Even though a majority of the population knew of Lana Turner, not many people knew who Lana Turner was as a person. After reading the poem, appropriately titled "Poem ["Lana Turner has collapsed!"]" by Frank O'Hara, I asked myself just what makes us obsess over celebrities as much as we do.

In Justin Pearson's memoir, From the Graveyard of the arousal Industry, he recounts the events that occured from his early years of adolesence to the latter years of his adulthood telling the story of his unforgiving and candid life. Set in the late 1970s "Punk" rock era, From the Graveyard of the Arousal Industry offers a valuable perspective about the role culture takes in our lives, how we interact with it and how it differs from ideology.

The only thing more powerful in mobilizing symbols, sentiments, and sensibilities than popular culture, is personal and shared experiences. What is so potent about pop culture however, is the ability of its participants to share their personal experiences to audiences than can both empathize and relate to the realities these artists present. This extended period of the civil rights and black power era can arguably be defined as the mobilization of the larger public by popular black figures whose individual charismas and drive inspired collective action. Some of these figures were exclusively political, many of which prominent intellects of race academia and/or known for their discourses that captivated thousands. And then there were figures that used their influence as musicians or writers who, with access beyond those with a conscious interest in politics, could incite people to think and reevaluate their lived realities through song and performance. Nina Simone is perhaps the most politically significant figure of the latter group, as she not only actively participated as a proponent of civil rights efforts, but became a pioneer in black power and feminist ideology.

Madonna has stated her identification as a “queer” supporter, and has publically aligned herself with gay culture and politics. Many of her truest fans are a part of the lesbian, transgender, and gay community. Even amongst her more vocal support and greater understanding of the queer community, Madonna’s use of gay subculture is appropriation because of the place of power and privilege she comes from as a straight, white celebrity. Musical critic Carol Benson states that “Madonna’s individual economic and social power removes her from the conditions and struggles of subaltern groups so that her appropriation of the subcultures and stereotypes, no matter how well intentioned, can never be more than a form of subcultural tourism.” Due to her position of agency, Madonna masks the powerlessness of this subcultural group and benefits from the use of their exotic identity without having to deal with the lived reality of being queer. Additionally, Benson makes a compelling case about the effects of Madonna’s cultural appropriation. Even taking into account all the identities Madonna has worn, her celebrity is ultimately constructed as a

Tommy is a rock musical based on the Who’s 1969 album bearing the same name. The story follows Tommy who is traumatized into catatonia after witnessing his father murder his mother’s lover. Not too long after, Tommy discovers a natural skill for pinball and becomes a media sensation, leading a cult of devotees. The various themes presented through the music demonstrate the consequences of a troubling upbringing, drug culture and the idolization of celebrities. After coming home from the war, Tommy’s father murdered his mother’s lover.

There have been multiple artists’ who have transcended and revolutionized rock n’ roll music in a social and economic phenomena. Throughout the late twentieth century, musicians’ astonished crowds and critics with their lyrical and melodic tunes: which led to a rise of prominence for rock in American culture. Many teens and adults round role models or shining examples that spoke for them, and filled their struggled lives with a sense of hope and relief. With super-stardom comes the inevitable aspects of monumental fame, extensive wealth, and pragmatic pleasures and sensations; on the other side of the spectrum, come the prolonged pressures to have a continuous amount of success and the tolls that touring take on the body. Along with that, comes

Instances like this one where a pop star dies from something they have brought themselves into overshadows any other important news. A prime example is how Whitney Houston's daughter Bobby Kristina Brown who passed away through the same means and received the same attention as Whitney. It is easy to understand why society praises pop stars because they want to live the lavish life of money, riches and no worries. This can also go back to the sense of individuality pop stars have compared to military members. It is very easy for someone in Whitney’s position to be very unique and recognizable compared to Lt. Murphy. These reasons are why the majority of people give more recognitions to Whitney but, it does not make the situation acceptable. Although social influences and un moral urges should not fully dictate our thoughts it seems that they have. The author of the picture with the combination of the attributes of each individual in each frame along with the text it went to show the variation of treatment a pop star gets compared to a member of the

Jessica Hopper, a music critic, as well as an author, shows the positive effect that controversy can have in art. In her excerpt “Rookie » Where the Girls Aren't”, Hopper talks about how emo bands discredit women and make them out to be heartbreakers of men. She says the bands give women no life and make them seem depressing. This controversy of women in regards to emo music has had a positive effect on Hopper. Hopper gained a better appreciation for music where girls are given life. Hopper talks about a Strike Anywhere show she attended where a band performed “Refusal”.

The stage is dark. Thousands of screaming fans wait in agonizing anticipation. Smoke crawls out from the stage, and out struts a confident blonde woman. With the spotlight focused entirely on her, the crowd erupts into deafening applause as she begins her incomparable dance routines. She is an icon. She is Madonna. History has never seen a cultural figure with as much controversy or flair for the dramatic as Madonna, nor will history ever see such a figure. Madonna’s name is recognized by everyone, as is evidenced in a survey taken of fifty people of varying ages (shown below). These facts alone are enough to engrave her name in pop culture history, but the making of an icon does not stop there. Madonna is the quintessential example of an American icon because of her revolutionary changes to both the worlds of music and fashion; her entire life, from her early childhood to her 50th birthday and beyond, has challenged the conventions of society and changed the face of the music industry forever.

One of the main points of discussion is the idea of the “fanatic” itself and how fandom is an accepted mode of obsession in the contemporary world. Much of the discourse on the subject deals with the complex psychology of the word through anthropological and psychoanalytical work on what it means to be a fan – the mixture of reverence for their object of affection, but also the embarrassment of being associated with what some might deem as “crazy” or “superficial.” The definition of “fan” has altered over time, with it becoming increasingly negative. Many fans even shy away from calling themselves that, or separate their fandom identity (often found online) with their real life identity. While much has been written in the beginning of fandom

This approach to fandom is another common stream in the literature, something Sean McCloud (2003) once dubbed “parallelomania.” “Parallelomania” stems from the tendency of Fandom-as-Religion scholars to draw endless parallels between popular culture and religion and fandom and religion (see McCloud 2003). One location where Cavicchi examines this parallel is through “becoming-a-fan” narratives, something not well understood in fandom studies (see Duffett 2013a; Hills 2014; Sandvoss 2005; and also Harrington and Bielby 1995). Cavicchi likens such narratives to a conversion experience “or significant change in one’s attitude and behaviour toward the music and image of Springsteen” (1998, 42). Fans, he claims, “use the idea of conversion in specifically

In ‘Audience analysis’, McQuail (1997) pointed out that there is a relationship between casual audience and media fandom. The spectator is as a product of the media, and there is a blurring line between casual audience and contributed followers.McQuail regarded audience as rational consumers while fans were fanatic; this view parallels Jenson’s theory of dichotomy between reason and emotion (Jenson, 1992:21). Rational aficionados are