ANATOMY OF FANBOYISM


Fanboyism is an age old phenomenon but now an epidemic where fans try to appropriate power, fame, respect, brilliance of the artist, by association. 
Earlier it was limited to adoring, sharing and supporting artists and art. Today, fanboys start dictating, lecturing, fighting like they are artists themselves. In fact, most artists do no such thing themselves. 
The chilled out groupies are a far cry from this breed. Some of this lot far exceed star tantrums shown even by the artists, they are fans of. Fanboys earlier would just spread the artist's work. This breed is more interested in judging you and showing off their 'knowledge' of art. 
These are not fanboys. They are in fact true enemies of art. They have built boundaries between common folks and art, artistes. 
You can't just enjoy or talk about a movie, an actor, filmmaker, singer, music, poet, poetry or any art without being judged by this lot. Fanboys are turning people off that art and artistes, more than endearing them to such. This is not about art but their own personal glory. 
Art is NOT about snobbery. Nope. NO. Art is about accessibility, uniting, coming together and celebrating the magic of life and mind.
There is another terrible fall out of this kind of sadistic fanboyism; it changes the artists for worse. Won't take names but I am sure you know who all I mean. And those who have passed away, these new age 'fanboys' are doing great disservice to their legacy. A true art or knowledge lover is humble, not a snob. 
I did not get or like a movie called Moon by a Hollywood director Duncan Jones & said it on twitter. He was gracious in his response, but his fanboys, not so much. This happened a while back. More recently, I expressed, that in my opinion, actor Jim Carrey deserved an Oscar for films like Ace Ventura Pet Detective. Again, such views weren't appreciated. 
Point is art is subjective. Art and artistes thrive on open mindedness and inclusive culture. Snobbery suffocates them & spread of art. 
I am myself guilty of this sort of fanboyism in some measure in relation to StarWars or Bond, franchises dear to me. I see this as a flaw. Nothing to be proud of. 
larger context of this problem is that we are diminishing individual point of view in favour of collective point of view. This is a dangerous trend that attacks the very foundations of individuality and individual choices and freedom, not just of expression but of choices and consumption. This is not limited to art. We see this happening rampantly in Politics, Sports, Media, Journalism, and across almost all streams of our lives. This can lead to systematic erosion of diversity and individuality from our lives and hence it must be resisted in strongest terms possible.
So next time, let's all think really hard before we indulge in artistic snobbery or encourage it. We are doing more harm to art and artists we love, than good.
Amit Mehra

Comments

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