Star " collapsed house " has become a hotly discussed and watched event in the digital era. In the past or two years, we have witnessed idols praised by fans falling from the altar for various reasons and even becoming "legal celebrities" with bad records. For passers-by who don’t chase stars, these stars who have made mistakes should not continue to be sought after, while those fans who are still trying to maintain their idols are “not distinguishing between right and wrong”.
For fans, "collapse house" is a very vivid word. In the online emoticon package, someone saw a house collapsed there, so he went to watch the fun, but in the past he found that the house collapsed was his own. Fans borrowed this emoticon to describe the collapse of their idol’s character. The funny emoticons made fans less angry and more "self-mockery" and "wrongful".
At the beginning of their idol’s disqualification “collapsed”, the most common reactions of fans were to question (when the news of the idol’s disqualification began to circulate), rejection (when the news of the idol’s disqualification is confirmed), and to express their support for their idol through various channels to comfort each other within fans.
From the perspective of bystanders, these fans who are persistent in maintaining their idol need to "wake up as soon as possible", and they have lost their minds and judgments due to star chasing. But for fans in it, these idols contain the time, money and love that fans invested themselves. It can be said that in the eyes of passers-by, the "commodities" created by the idol industry production mechanism may be a special emotional connection with them. Every brick and tile of the collapsed house contains their efforts.
"imagination" accepted by
fans' almost crazy "obsession" with idols is not unique to contemporary times. It can be said that since the word "fan" appears, this identity has been posted with the connotation of "excessive". Henry Jenkins, a big shot in the field of fan culture research, mentioned in "Text Poacher" that the word "fan" is the abbreviation of "fan" (crazy), and later gradually generalized to "excessive and inappropriate enthusiasm."
"The Fanatic" (2019) stills.
Recalling the emergence of the star mechanism, you will find that fanaticism has always been an important feature of the star-chasing group. Early studios did not disclose the names of actors, but audiences who were obsessed with specific actors began to write to studios, screenwriters, and movie magazines for information about their favorite actors. The enthusiasm of the audience made the studio realize that the actor's name can bring profits, so they began to create real stars, while the audience would choose the film and screening room based on the actor's name posted at the entrance of the theater. The audience has shown great enthusiasm since the stars appear, and has established a special intimate identity relationship with the actors during the videos of their favorite actors. This intimate relationship is called "quasi-social relationship" by American psychoanalyst Donald Holden, in which the most important thing is the unilateral imagined interpersonal relationship developed by the audience of media characters.
TV series " Love to stay together " (2009) based on the fan-idol relationship.
Obviously, unilateral and imagination are important characteristics of this relationship. For this reason, the "quasi-social relationship" of the audience or fans is considered to be a kind of self-indulgent imagination. The term "imagination" shows the society's critical attitude towards this imagination. The sensational Yang Lijuan incident has caused public discussion about star chasing. The obsessed with Andy Lau's Yang Lijuan paid the price of his family's death in order to meet his idol. Her father's practice of selling kidneys and committing suicide to satisfy his daughter's wish seems to prove to some extent that fans' excessive obsession with their idols is a mistake, or even a "pathology".
However, with the rise of the idol industry mechanism, fans' obsession and imagination of "quasi-social relations" of idols have the possibility of being accepted. Even the basis of the entire idol industry is based on the de-pathologization of fans' "quasi-social relations" imagination.
Idols will use unique words and methods with fans to respond to fans' imagination, and then constantly provide fans with proof that they are in a close relationship with their idol.This idol industry, which originated in Japan and South Korea, is constantly rationalizing and responding to fans' "unseparate thoughts", so that the social relationship between idols and fans can truly become a two-way connection. For example, in Japan, many girl groups will hold regular fan meetings. Fans can meet their idols, take photos, and get autographs for just spending some money. Under this mode, chasing stars becomes extremely simple, and fans can also have a richer emotional experience.
Stills from the TV series " Please answer 1997".
In the period of one-way communication between media, idols only need to show themselves on the screen or in front of the stage, and fans cannot have too much impact on their idol’s work. In China, the broadcast of " Super Girl " has created new possibilities for the distance between fans and idols. The final score of the singer is directly determined by the fan's text message vote. This method can further ignite the enthusiasm of fans and give fans a strong sense of participation. When the singer you like gets excellent results, this sense of participation can make fans have enough sense of accomplishment, thereby completing the connection in the relationship between idol fans. By the time of two-way transmission, the "idol-fan" relationship has undergone new changes. Idols are no longer strong in this relationship, but instead need to invest more time and emotions to satisfy fans' expectations and imagination for intimate relationships. Idols not only have to complete the "before-stage" work, but also have to move the back of the Taiwan Strait to meet fans' expectations and imagination for intimate relationships.
In fact, these imaginations of fans are not "over-interpretation" as understood by passers-by. Instead, they have richness similar to the types of daily intimate relationships. In addition to completing the "before-stage" work, the idol has moved the "behindstage" to the stage, allowing fans to feel the realism of participating in the idol's life. More importantly, idols can always give fans enthusiastic and sincere responses in appropriate ways, and this response will make fans believe that there is a true "two-way rushing" between them and their idols. For example, an artist publicly says on the screen "I want to love her/they will last for the rest of their lives", and this direct expression from an idol is undoubtedly an extremely happy thing for fans - although this may be the basic labor as an idol.
Star-chasing laborization
Idol's labor form is different from that of ordinary people. In their labor or work, there is a large amount of emotional part, so idol labor is often called an emotional labor. Idols need to constantly adjust their state in work and life to meet the emotional needs of fans. In this process, they need to constantly explore the deep and necessary parts of their own personality to complete the mutual coordination between consciousness (mind) and feelings (feeling) as sociologist Hawk Hilde. All of this is ultimately to make the relationship between fans and idols closer and fulfill their work responsibilities as idols.
"The Practice of the Mind", written by Ali Russell Hawkheard, translated by Cheng Boqing, Tan Weijun, Wang Jiapeng, etc., Shanghai Sanlian Bookstore , January 2020.
For idols in the past, they could have a clear distinction between "going to work" and "going to get off work", but for idols who are used for consumption in contemporary times, the boundaries between work and life are blurred. They not only have to maintain the character set by the company during their working hours, but also give fans "benefits" during their work to meet the needs of fans. It can be said that the work of idols is to create an image of almost "commodity" based on themselves and can be imagined in intimate relationships through emotional labor, and is used for the emotional consumption of fans. What fans consume is never the works that idols participate as part of popular culture, but a fictional image that can remain vivid, charming, and constantly produce new materials to help maintain love.
Therefore, it is not that fans are immersed in a state of fanaticism and irrationality, but that idols and the production mechanism behind them are constantly creating some kind of "daydream" that is difficult to wake up, so that they can continue to consume idols. Of course, the idol’s efforts are not without any return. They and the commercial capital behind them need fans to achieve economic benefits through various ways.And fans will not think that they are forced to give their idols. In fact, the dream opportunities that idols have are enough to make them willingly devote time, energy and money that others cannot understand.
"If you are a fan, you will be moved and happy even if you look at the other person." Stills from " Her Private Life ".
Many domestic scholars also call fans' contributions to their idols emotional labor. If defined by the new connotations derived from emotional labor in the development of social media, the laborization of fans can also be used as a type of emotional labor. However, the various behaviors of fans have long exceeded the scope of Hawkheard's definition of emotional labor, but have become a kind of labor based on the love for idols, spontaneously and actively invested in digital production. In this, fans do not need to suppress their feelings, but instead turn this labor into a "expression behavior."
fans seem to have a variety of expressions, but they are actually simple. Every "business" of idols means that fans will spontaneously carry out free labor for their idols. Fans represented by digital female workers will protect the idol's traffic through strict division of labor; "Krypton gold fans" with strong financial capabilities will buy a large number of magazines and endorsements, and even give gifts to staff in the name of fan clubs. Especially in some crews, fans invite the crew to drink coffee and afternoon tea almost become the default rule, and all expenses are borne by fans; as for fans who are good at creating, they are responsible for "producing grain". Excellent retouched pictures, edited videos and fan novels play an important role in expanding the influence of idols on the passers-by.
These efforts may be difficult for people outside the fan circle to understand, but for fans, all of this is willing or even enjoyed. As long as the "quasi-social relationship" with their idols has not been broken, they can always engage in free labor that passers-by can't imagine.
"Two-way rushing"
It can be said that fans and idols form a two-way emotional labor, which is gathered together based on an intimate way that only each other knows. It is this internal intimacy that allows fans to maintain long-term enthusiasm and then provide free labor for idols and the commercial companies behind them.
is just that this emotional labor of fans naturally brings some emotional risks. When idols find it difficult to meet the emotional needs of fans or have their character collapsed, the broken emotions will lead fans in another more complex direction. In the novel "Idol Disqualification", the change in the protagonist Akiri's mentality may be the true feelings of many fans. When I was addicted to this pursuit, I felt that "every move of the idol happens in front of me. Although this state can only last until the end of the stage play, I want to have all the traces left by the idol, his breathing, and his sight. During the sitting, my whole heart was filled with the same person's feelings. I want to remember that I need to buy photos, discs and surroundings for this to be used as containers for preserving memories." But when this pursuit is forced to end, I feel "How should I live with nothing in my hand? I am no longer me who does not support my idol. Life without an idol is the rest of my life." And in the end, it may be that "I can no longer chase him. I can no longer watch him who is no longer an idol, nor can I interpret him anymore. The idol has become a human."
"Idol Disqualification", [Japanese] Usa Misuke, Chihaya Translation, Hunan Literature and Art Publishing House ·Purui Culture, July 2022.
Douban There is a group called "House Collapsed House Rescue Center". Here, a group of fans who have experienced the idol's "House Collapsed House". After the house collapses, the people who "built" the house will still be sad, so they choose to comfort each other in such a space and seek some kind of spiritual comfort. Because here, everyone understands the pain after disillusionment, so there is no need to worry about being accused of being a "brainless fan".
For non-fan groups, fans are blindly believing that their idols are "perfect". But in fact, fans are clear about their idol's advantages and disadvantages, so there are fans who have quit fans and fall back to count the various faults of their idols to prove that this is a "disqualified" idol.This also proves from the indirection that no one knows idol better than them, because they are the people closest to their idol, and the idol they want does not need to be perfect. Like that idol, it may just be because the idol is the idol itself.
"Fan" (2016) Stills.
"Collapse of the house" is a great harm to fans, which means that everything they have paid has disappeared. The house built with emotions, time and money collapsed, which is not something that can be accepted instantly. For many fans, the pain caused by "collapse of the house" is even stronger than a broken heart, which is more like the collapse of a certain belief, but the fans have no power to confront them.
The stars who have liked them for many years and paid a lot are exposed to scandals. The fans' first reaction may be incredible and anger. This anger is more like being disappointed, so some fans will also speak on social platforms saying "I am really feeding the dog"; but after anger, fans may not be able to "get out of the trap", especially when social public opinion comprehensively criticizes their idols, it is easy to develop a "protect the calf". Fans who are used to guarding may find it difficult to bear the idols they have been obsessed with being insulted. In order to defend the person they really like, defend everything they have done, and also to defend the self who is desperate for this seemingly "unworthy" star, fans put on a fighting posture again to fight against all those who criticize their idols - even if they have long believed in their hearts that their idols have done contrary to public order and good customs or even violate the law.
When public opinion recedes, fans finally have space to belong to the internal group. At this stage, they may say goodbye to their idols, to other fans, and to themselves. Saying goodbye is often full of sentimentality, and even the most rational fans still cannot face such results without any disturbance, especially when others tell them that everything they have done is a joke, they may feel bitter in their hearts when they refute it.
As time goes by, idols fade out of the public eye, and no one even mentions it. Fans may gradually heal themselves after saying goodbye, and instead like another star, or put away all the things related to idols, and will never indulge in star chasing and start another life again.
text/Paziliya
edit/Xixi
proofreading/Liu Jun
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