Saturday, July 17, 2010

My Issues With Fangirls

I live in Korea. Koreans pretty much wrote the book on fangirlism and all the craziness that entails. For the most part, my friends and I make fun of them and have a good laugh. It provides a lot of entertainment on occasion. But sometimes they really annoy me.

Especially when they are older fangirls. As in, adult fangirls. Women who are my age or around my age. And occasionally older than me.

Now, I can understand that people who follow music groups or actors or whatever for years can become quite attached to said celebrities. I'm a huge fan of Relient K and have been for about 10 years now. However, I do not have all their names memorized (mostly because they keep changing drummers and bassists). I do not know where they currently live or what their favorite movies or ice cream are. I do, however, watch for when their new albums are coming out so I can buy them. I occasionally read articles about them because I find it interesting to hear what their inspiration was behind certain songs and whatnot. If I'm in the States, I buy tickets to their shows.

I do not daydream about marrying Matt Theissen (the lead singer). I do not cover my walls with their posters. I do not write a million and a half blog posts about them. And should they ever break up, yes, I will be sad, but I will not be upset and lose my will to live. My life will not turn upside down. I will not start petitions to keep them together.

Because no band or music group stays together forever. It's a natural part of life. Even the Beatles didn't stay together and no one thus far is bigger than them. And just because they break up, doesn't mean we have to stop listening to their music. There is no reason to get all torn up about music groups breaking up or one member deciding to leave. It's THEIR choice. Not the fans. Because, now pay attention because this is radical stuff, they are HUMAN. Wow, what a concept! They aren't owned by the fans?

And I think that behavior like that is best left for a bunch of junior high and high school girls. Not adults (aka people over the age of 18). Thus why it annoys me to hear of people I know who are 20 or 24 who are actually getting depressed about some obscure Asian group breaking up that they've followed for years. They write long blog posts about it... and then get even more upset when people tell them to get over it, and say things like, 'no one understands me!' Well, yea, because you're 20-something and you're acting like a 15-year-old...

This might be considered harsh, but I think back to when I was in my 20s. I was working two to three jobs to get through school. I worried about things like car payments and how I was going to pay for my school's volunteer trip to Northern Ireland. Things like what I wanted to do after I graduated and finding jobs kept me up at night. Yes, I did like a few of these Asian groups, but they didn't rule my life. I wasn't learning Japanese because I dreamed of someday meeting them or running off to Japan. It was just a phase. I still had my daily life/future career plan issues that took presence over my hobbies. Because focusing on studying and choosing a career seemed more important in the long run than some group of Asian boys that dance around and sing.

So... in conclusion, I no longer have any patience for people who are over the age of 18 who are obsessed to an unhealthy level with music groups. Seriously. Grow up. Get a life. Focus on what you are planning to do with your life and not some group of celebrities. Because in the big scheme of things... It doesn't matter.

And, those celebrities that you're falling all over yourself to love and support... they most likely don't even give a shit about you. They are going to do what they want to do. This is a business and they are in it to make money and be famous. It's a job. Think about that the next time you want to bawl your eyes out because Hot Boy A has decided to leave his group to pursue something else that may or may not make him more money or fame.

(And just to be fair, I do know there are exceptions to the rule... Some celebrities do care... but probably not many...)

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