The Force of a Fandom

The power of passionate people is said to outshine any one subject, but this power isn’t always earned or gained. These folks come in many forms; however, fans have such a strong grasp on the strength of numbers. The ability to force a single person to change their portrayed identity and lifestyle is used far too often on celebrities, performers, and under-acknowledged groups. Some of these influential people have ways to filter and work through the drastic claims or attacks from the press and their fans, while others suffer and fight to not crumble under the pressure.

With identity, there is always a story of how or why one is this way. In a TED demonstration named “The danger of a single story,” given by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the topic of discussion circled stories and the types of ways people hear them. This includes well-crafted fantasies to one-sided propaganda causing disagreements and confusion. Adiche puts a magnifying glass on stereotypes and how easy it is for a person to be viewed in inescapable ways. Sharing her experience as a woman of African descent as she strived to publish stories that her publisher viewed as not authentic, and gave a prime example to someone thinking people within African culture couldn’t live through the same experiences as those in countries like the United States or Europe. Adiche continued to show how having only a select amount of exposure leads to narrow views that she didn’t want or ask for. This perspective is shown when Adiche states, “Now, I loved those American and British books I read. They stirred my imagination. They opened up new worlds for me. But the unintended consequence was that I did not know that people like me could exist in literature,” (Adichie 2:37). Once she was exposed to stories she could connect with, Adiche was able to share more than one story and explore writing with diversity and greater depth. During the discussion, Adiche shared a story taking place after publishing her first book. A Nigerian woman went to Adiche saying, “’I really liked your novel. I didn’t like the ending. Now, you must write a sequel, and this is what will happen …’ And she went on to tell me what to write in the sequel.” (Adichie 15:00). This came as a surprise because “She had not only read the book, but she had taken ownership of it and felt justified in telling me what to write in the sequel,” (Adichie 15:26). By expanding her writing she continued to reach others who could connect with her experience and these readers formed their ideas and stories as they wanted to gain control of the narrative. I believe that Adichie’s discussion about the danger of a single story is mirrored and expanded with other types of performers. As we continue with understanding forced identity, we will explore others with similar yet different experiences.

The global phenomenon of Taylor Swift has taken over the music industry and redefined the idea of sticking to one genre. This choice was met with concern by many and led to the public questioning if this was the right choice. Swift went from a young country star to a multi-genre success growing up through her music and portraying her deepest thoughts in a variety of ways. The idea of “Eras” within every album is a way she shows different identities she has taken throughout life. Each added up to form the next, but did she pick to change so quickly or was she forced to by high expectations and outside influence? With the constant growth in fans and attention from the press, she has gone through many uncomfortable and stressful situations. With every road bump or twisted story Swift continued to write and even took a full year off when it was needed. Her music has reached an unimaginable number of people and can be interpreted in many ways. As one of Swift’s fans, a personal take is that she is a human being who deserves the most respect and appreciation possible. Her accomplishments are not the only thing keeping the loving and caring community of fans from leaving. They have proved this relentlessly as she lives through different parts of her life. Of course, there are some who become consumed with extreme idolizing and act in not-so-courteous ways, but many understand she is merely a vessel of joy, sorrow, unconditional love, and memories. Yes, we help form the Identity of the character of which the performer is portraying, but what we don’t do is pick who the person is or should be. While life happens behind the scenes, Taylor shares vulnerable and heartbreaking stories mixed in with energetic and catchy tunes. The song “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” is part of her newest “Era” and breaks down the barrier between being “tortured” by her thoughts and still putting on a performance for tens of thousands of people. Swift continues to perform the longest show and tour of her life even when she was struggling with personal issues behind the scenes saying, how she “can do it with a broken heart” and how she was “so depressed, I act like it’s my birthday”. The lighthearted yet heartbreaking line allowed her fans to see Swift as a human and more than the performer she has been sculpted into.

A crucial member of the well-known band Fallout Boy, Patrick Stump, changed themselves for what he believed to be for the better but was met with hatred, disgust, and unnecessary comments. This person who had served his loving community for many years was led to convince himself that he agreed with the thoughts of others which negatively affected his mental health. The following quote from this article is lengthy but its entirety is required to understand the accumulative thought, “I suppose there’s nothing wrong in thinking I’m at a point in my life where it seems I’ll never catch up: If anyone’s going to appreciate the work I’m making, it won’t be until long after I’m done doing it. Again, this is fine: I’m insanely lucky to even imagine anyone ever appreciating anything I ever do, let alone in real time. Countless artists far better than I have only achieved posthumous acclaim. If I am to be obscure and financially unsuccessful, there’s nothing disheartening in that. The thing that’s more disheartening is the constant stream of insults I’m enduring in my financially unsuccessful obscurity,” (Stump). We will discuss this one section at a time, starting with how this lifestyle has destroyed self-esteem and passion within Stump. As the many outsiders who feed these thoughts continue to pummel him with disrespect at the time of this publishing, Stump had already tried to better himself and stay with his love of music. However, after having such success with a group, his journey alone was unable to fulfill the viscous needs of the public. While trying to achieve the goal of his first solo album, Soul Punk, Stump said “I coincidentally happened to achieve another goal which was to lose the weight I’d been carrying around” (Stump). This physical weight loss helped him feel happiest about his body and more comfortable in his skin. However, the weight of past expectations from thousands of fans who knew Stump as only a part of a group caused those who followed his solo journey to stray away after he was unable to capture the same level of music. The comparison between himself and other artists who have been awarded by their fans, guides Stump to constantly dehumanize himself and the music he created. This led to a cycle of despair, feeling as though he owed his past fans and community more than just himself while being unable to fulfill their request. This continued the convincing of himself that he agreed with the disrespectful thoughts of fans causing Stump’s mental health to decline further.

As we have discussed, storytelling has been a huge part of culture throughout history. The shared experience of all humans has been forced into boxes that cram millions of stories into a brief line of sentences and the people who share their stories feel the same. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Taylor Swift, and Patrick Stump are prime examples. Their lives, experiences, and personal attributes have been shaped by how others view them, even those who lack an understanding of who they are as an individual. These performers, who are people, need to be allowed to express themselves while handling the pressure on them and their identities by those who aren’t or are supporters.

Works Cited:

“Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: ‘The Danger of a Single Story’”, YouTube, uploaded by TED, 7 Oct. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg.

Swift, Taylor. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart. 19 Apr. 2024, https://music.apple.com/us/album/i-can-do-it-with-a-broken-heart-single/1757015576usic.

‌Stump, Patrick. “We Liked You Better Fat: Confessions of a Pariah.” Alternative Press Magazine, www.altpress.com/patrick_stump_essay/.