From Fans to Fanatics of Fandom - The World of Idols

A CELEBRITY may become an idol to his/her fan(s).

Some fans tend to idolise a celebrity at the level of worshiping a saint. Such a fan becomes a “devotee” who does not merely follow the idol's updates but also follows the idol's way of life. The performance and popularity of their idols sway their mood and happiness in daily life.

On the other hand, a celebrity idol is always under pressure to maintain or increase fame and fans. However, the number of fans and followers fathom the scale of the popularity of a celebrity. A celebrity idol then naturally remains frantic with fear and stress to lose the support and confidence of his/her fans.

This fan-idol dependency is not necessarily limited to the entertainment world, such as music and movies. It is equally true in politics, literature, fashion, or even a fictitious character in a novel.

From a fan to a fan club representing a group of fans of a celebrity evolves in a sub-culture (or cult?) - fandom - where the group of fans share a common interest and feeling of camaraderie for their celebrity. Generally speaking, a fandom grows and acts around any common area of a fan’s interest or activity.

A celebrity idol is no more than a human of flesh and blood - a reality that is often ignored or forgotten by their fans as well as by the entertainment industry. Yet, idols are held to impossible imaginary standards beyond human level. That expectation “forces” them either to abandon the life of a regular human or hide their dealings and affairs as a regular human behind the curtains.

While a fanatic fan dictates their way of life following the celebrity idol in their imaginary world, their formidable demands at times turn into “fan justice” dictating the fate of a celebrity. Along with public scrutiny, cyberbullying, and overwhelming expectations of the entertainment industry, fan justice took a heavy toll on the lives and careers of celebrity idols.

News of their dealings and affairs in the daily life of a celebrity that mismatch fandom’s expectations can turn into an inevitable fallout of the celebrity not only from the hall of fame but also from the entertainment industry. Being unable to cope with pressure of losing fans and fame - some celebrities hide themselves behind the screen, some go on self-exile from the entertainment industry, and a few commit suicide.

The disappearance of many celebrities from the entertainment world and a series of high-profile suicides of popular celebrities are the tragic endorsements of such fan justice.

Thus the fan justice in the fandom court brings an end to many celebrity idols for a reason that has nothing to do with their performance but for their life and living as a human of flesh and blood.

In fact, the necessity to abandon the regular way of human life to excel in the entertainment world is no more than an enigma. There are celebrity singers and actors who have their regular human life and yet have delivered the best of their performance.

At the same time, no matter how those celebrities are in their personal life, fans or the entertainment industry are unable to dictate them to shape their way of life.

Yet, the formidable fandom demands which forces a celebrity to abandon a regular way of life such as to remain single to become celebrity idols unnecessarily cutthroats their humane life. In the K-pop world that took a heavy toll on many young megastars.

For some celebrities, fan justice matters, while for others it does not.

The wild expectations of fans and fandoms must put an end to the unfair fan justice in the entertainment world. Both fandoms and entertainment culture need to carefully look at the dynamics of such fan justice.