Fan Culture in Sports and Science Fiction Enthusiasts in the 1920s

The term “fan” was originally used to describe sports fans during the nineteenth century and was later adopted by science fiction enthusiasts in the 1920s. The term “fan,” however, is used for describing a type of person who is enthusiastic, or fanatic about a certain subject. Popular fan culture, nicknamed “fandoms,” have become an integral part of society in many countries, and have connected people sharing a common interest through online communities where they can freely discuss fan related topics. Popular fandoms today include Directioners, Beliebers, and VIPs. People who are part of fandoms usually show their devotion by participating in fan conventions such as Comicon, writing fan mail, creating fan art, or by promoting their interests to others. Being a fan also comes with the responsibility of changing one’s lifestyle in order to accommodate time and energy into the fandom. Fan culture also offers people the chance to feel passionate about something or someone in order to satisfy the emotional needs they lack from their daily life.
A fan in today’s world is usually characterized as the result of the “star system” portrayed in society due to mass media where media figures’ lives are constantly emphasized on a day to day basis. The internet and society are obsessed with news concerning celebrities, and knowing about their personal life. Today’s social media keeps fans constantly updated about celebrities, giving fans the illusion that they know everything about that celebrity and that they are connected somehow. This type of mass media has made the difference between appropriate behavior and inappropriate behavior of fans less noticeable (Lewis 11). These types of fans, the pathological fans, are also classified as the “o...

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...ther fans online it is not uncommon to come across conflicting fans. In the fandom of One direction, a very large and powerful fandom, there would be conflicts concerning if one is was a “true fan,” and if they were not fans of the boy group since their beginning days starting from the X-factor than they were not a true fan.
The force of a fandom is very powerful when dealing with large fandoms. One should refrain from offending fans because if one offends a fan or insults their interest then they will defend their fandom by all means. Fans tend to be very loyal and endearing when it come to their fandom. “Although they were stereotyped as brainwashed consumers, the fans were far from passive- when they screamed they were celebrating themselves, their freedom, their youth, their power. Screaming didn’t drown out the performance: it was the performance” (Lynskey 5)