McQuail gives us the roots of the term 'audience' as a collective term that was deployed by the pioneers in the field of media research. He defines it as "all those who are actually reached by particular media content or media 'channels.'"
But audience is a VERY large topic to touch upon, so I'd like to focus on one element of audience studies. Fans and fanatics.
It is believed that audiences can go from being pure innocent bystanders, to utterly obsessed. Take a look at this website I found posted by a person who seemed fed up about obsessed fans and fanatics. http://www.ggower.com/fans/. Glen Gower linked his site to a multitude of fan sites I didn't even know existed, and it makes you think when you see all that are out there.
Also if you have time take a look yourself...Google any actor/actress/athlete and see how many hits you get for fan sites. (That's how I found the one above.) Is this too much?
Here is an article I found written by a BBC reporter who writes about the lowdown on celebrity fanatics. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1408843.stm. I think it sums it up too.
So after reading the article, maybe browsing the web yourself, what do you think about fandom. Is today's society too caught up in a celebrity framed world? Or is the way we idolize celebrities okay?
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I feel that this is a big problem today. Celebrities are now seen through so many outlets that people do feel like they know celebrities on a personal level. The article was very disturbing to read. People are killing and stalking celebrities because they are relating to them on an unhealthy level. Yes, celebrities put themselves out there with the kind of work they do, but that doesn't give people the right to invade their privacy.
I also feel the media outlets contribute to these obsessions. Magazines airbrush and create these unrealistic views of the celebrities. They feed into the standards people set the celebrities to and people become obsessed because these people are unlike any "normal" person they know.
Overall, I feel that people are too caught up in celebrites and their lives.
People are too caught up in celebrities’ lives. To a certain degree, celebrities bring this on themselves by having websites and blogs with information about their daily activities. This is obviously a way of keeping in touch with their fans and keeping/increasing their fan base, but at the same time this leads to fans feeling that they have a closer relationship with a celebrity and therefore are justified in invading a celeb's privacy further. Paparozzi also plays a role in fandom. Private and exclusive pictures of celebrities can also give an obsessed fan the feeling that they are more a part of a celeb’s life than is actually the case.
When an individual watches a show for the sake of escapism from their hectic lives or just for entertainment, this is considered normal. When an individual goes further to post blogs online and seek additional information on a character they are then becoming the obsessed fan. Celebrities are expected to be aware of fans but it is when they become enraged and seek to harm them that it is scary. It was interesting to see all the fan based web pages there are. Seeing this you might want to wonder or question whether the individual has a life outside of blogging or being obsessed with a celebrity. The media has to some degree caused this crazed obsession by focusing on celebrities as main news stories. The individual feels a need to know everything about their 'favorite actor' or singer, etc. If you go on a blog and read comments you might think a person is so obsessed but I wonder if maybe that person just goes on to post blogs because no one they know feels the same interest and are not necessarily a 'crazed fan'. There are some individuals who take it too far and know every detail about a celebrities life. Those are the individuals you question if they are sitting outside the celebrities house waiting for them to get home. I think everyone has at one point in their life been a crazed fan for someone or some type of media but when does it become too much or what creates an individual to go as far as wanting to harm that celebrity they have obsessed ?
Jennifer Copela
There are some extremes that fans go to that I will never understand. Not until I took the media audience class did I realize that there really are people out there that are overly obsessed. Before, I knew of fans, people that were a little kooky and obsessed. However, we looked into fandom and the severity was astonishing. I had never seen so many websites dedicated to single characters on one show or movie; and these people on these sites were entirely serious. These fans spoke like these celebrities were their friends and were reading these sites to keep up with their fans. (And I find it interesting that someone else took the time to complain about the fan sites … another site to “clog the internet” when he is complaining about the very same issue). But this article is flat out frightening. People are going to the extremes of killing people because they are such a big fan. I can’t help but think that there has to be something mentally wrong with these people rather than just another obsessed fan.
In today's society, people do not just watch television or any form of entertainment for that matter, and strictly "watch it." There is always an obssesion that goes along with your favorite television show or favorite celebrity. It is to what degree do we, as the audience, stop and realize that it may not be healthy. However, we can not solely blame ourselves for the reactions we have to what we see on the media. I believe it is the media that makes us what to become "obsessed." If we didn't care as much about what we watch, ratings obviously wouldn't be as high.
On the other hand though, some people get to caught up with the media world. You either get people who blame the media for their actions (cultivation theory) or others who base their life upon a celebrity/show. Even by setting up websites, etc. to show your interest in whatever media outlet you love, this can interfere with their real life. When is enough, enough? The media wants to attract a audience, yet can you then blame those people who choice to become fanatics about the media? I know that at some point in my life, I am guilty of being a obssesed audience member of some tv show, yet I am confident that it was the hyped of news that made me more interested.
Aw, I really wanted to check out some of those fan sites but they were all dead links. Guess that says something about the fans and their dedication to the celebs which they obsess over. I think a lot of it is just based in fads, who's big right now, who can we worship this week. I mean...we have a hit show called "American Idol"...interesting name no? I think a lot of the attention given to celebrities is brought on by the celebs themselves though. The attention of the general public seems to be as addictive as drugs to a lot of celebrities, whether they are pulling some stunt, purposely getting in trouble, or just making a scene in general, many celebrities bring on all the attention themselves. As far as the levels mentioned in the article go, I'd say anyone so caught up in a celebrity to the point where they murder/attempt to murder them obviously has some serious issues which I would find it hard to blame the media for.
Let us just think about Anna Nicole Smith for a second. I don't know the numbers exactly but I am sure there are thousands upon thousands of custody battles going on every day, every where. Most of the children whom these "battles" are taking place over have nothing, not even loving parents to assist in the process of providing until they are able to, if they are fortunate enough, provide for themselves.
The money.
I think the money is the big issue. The money spent and not spent where it should and shouldn't be (i.e. Smith's trial coverage) is to blame.
A thought just popped into my head... Anna Nicole is no longer living, am I correct? And, not knowing who the father of your orphan child is does not speak highly of who you were as a person when you created this child. I think we praise the wrong people for the wrong reasons.
Thanks
I think we are a society obsessed with fandom, and I think this is by design. Media, marketing and advertising all thrive off of predictability. Marketing gurus and advertising big wigs love knowing that the programs they are buying into will deliver that coveted 18-34 male demo. And the more these fans are exposed to content and information the more they become obsessed and the more they will consume. You can almost make a case that we are obsessed with being obsessed about things.
Sports is a great example and for anyone who took Sports, Media and Society from the fall you'll remember that the fandom assignment was pretty memorable. Basically, for anyone who wasn't in the class, we had to observe a group of people watching a live sporting event. Many people observed people watching some sort of football game whether it was college or the NFL. What we all observed were fans that let the flow of the game control their emotions. From elation to devastation and everything in-between, fanatics live it all. And this isn't limited to sports fans. Celebrity fanatics act the same way, maybe without as much screaming, yelling and alcohol. But either way, whether you're a diehard Yankee fan or just trying to get your sexy back, both parties share a common ground - the need for more information. And they'll usually consume any and all media related to their favorite object.
This is a problem in today's society that needs be taken care of. These obsessed fans feel as if they know the celebrity through the TV shows or the movies they are in. It begins to consume their life and they feel as though they have a friendship or even a romantic relationship with the celebrity. Anything the celebrity does or says directly influences the stalker. I am sure that celebrity news does not help matters. The media is constantly talking about useless celebrity news or having some type of reality TV show. This seems that it would just feed stalkers obsessions. Celebrities really have to up there security and take extra steps to protect themselves against these stalkers. I feel that the celebrity’s privacy is important to slowing down these stalkers because the less information the stalker has, the less he or she can obsess over.
After looking at this blog I thought it was pretty interesting to read in the different articles how celebrities are seen by other people. It is true to say that because these celebrities are so well known and shown so frequently in the news and in the media overall that people do get to sort of get to know them or feel that they know them. This is where the stalkers come in; they fall inlove with the idea of this person who is always being looked upon(fame) and because they feel like they know them they really do feel as if they have "fallen inlove" with the celebrity. There is one thing to have a kid crush on a celeb or think that that celeb is "hot" but its another to take it to the stalker level. The article also talks about the high level of privacy these celebrities would like but they have placed themselves in the spotlight... even though it is horrible to say they cant really expect such a high level of privacy while wanting the "life of the rich and famous." It is not right for people to do what they do but i happens... and we cannot judge those people either who do invade their privacy and write gossip articles/magazines because we are the people who buy them...
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