Stan culture and obsession

I decided to look into stan culture. The term "stan" is defined by Merriam Webster's dictionary as “an extremely or excessively enthusiastic or devoted fan". According to Odyssey online, "stan culture" is defined as something “notorious for extreme actions generally committed by a minority within the fanbase, such as threatening others, treating certain celebrities as if they’re demigods, sports riots, and basically just doing anything for attention.” Nowadays, people worship celebrities, not gods. Celebrities are seen as these untouchable figures, raised on a pedestal who now and again come down and greet their subjects with a meetup or the occasional selfie once in a while. Charities or hospitals often have well-known celebrities come in to inspire children simply with their presence. With the help of social media, these stars are worshipped and idolised as if they are higher powers.

Still from Eminem's "Stan" music video

As with everything, fan culture obviously has a spectrum, however I am talking about the extreme side. Fans who will threaten, alter their lifestyles, change their appearance or do anything for their idol to notice them. The word stan originates from Eminem's song "Stan" released in 2000 detailing the life of one of Eminem's fans (Stan) who writes letters to Eminem, bleaches his hair and dedicates his whole basement to becoming an Eminem shrine. However, after coming to the realisation that he was being ignored by his idol, he ties up his girlfriend in the trunk of his and drives off a bridge as a result of extreme rage.

HERESY

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