Wednesday, 29 July 2009 12:11
Did you know, that if you say "Robert Pattinson" three times loudly in a public place you'll be trampled by a horde of fangirls? True story. It happened to a friend of a friend of mine.
I'm too young for Beatlemania, and way too old for JonasBrothersmania (how many of them are there again?) but I am kind of slinking along the edges of Pattinsonitis. I cried when he died in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, I loved him as Art in How To Be and although I'm not a fan of the Twilight books (I know, I know. It's like blasphemy in this day and age), I thought he was the best thing about the movie.
So no, I'm not immune to Pattinsonitis.
It's fascinating to watch the groundswell of hype surrounding this young guy from England. I can't imagine it's too much fun being the centre of it, but watching from the outside is an exercise in seeing exactly How Fandom Works.
Imagine it as its own little universe, with Robert Pattinson in the centre ruling over this patch of Fandom with lanky, awkward elegance. He's the star - the object that fans gravitate to. They both love him and hate him in equal (and extreme) measure. Love him when he's everything they want him to be, hate him when he's human. How Dare He Smoke For God's Sake? And He Should Really Stop Drinking On His Downtime Because It's Not A Good Look And Not Good For A Role Model And Won't Somebody Think Of The Children Please?
Orbiting closely to the star is an asteroid. For argument's sake, let's say that this is the blogosphere and the paparazzi. Tabloid celebrity blogs such as Perez Hilton, TMZ, E! etc circle around like sharks waiting for the star to explode. They are actively waiting and watching for the supernova. They might needle it abit to give it a nudge - because hey, we can't all wait a million light years, can we?
For a young, outgoing guy like Robert Pattinson, this would be akin to having your parents follow you around, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
What the hell is that you're smoking?
I don't like that woman you're seeing.
Please don't punch that photographer, even if their lens is in your face
If anyone of us was followed in this manner by work colleagues outside of office hours, we'd be pretty cranky looking too.
Beyond the orbit of Perez Hiltons' and the like, are the system of planets called fans. These planets are held together by the gravitational pull of the star, and, whether we like it or not, also depend on the pull of the Blogosphere and Paparazzi Satellites.
(And you didn't think you were going to learn anything reading this article!)
Fans aren't all created equal. Some are bigger than others, better-known than others. Some are closer to the centre and some are further away. Some scream and cry and chase Robert Pattinson down the street. Others sit back and say "there's no way I'd scream and cry and chase Robert Pattinson down the street." These fan planets have their own hierarchy, and are fascinating, frightening and wholly unstable - but that's another story.
This chain works in symbiosis. Even if we believe what the tabloid blogs do is deplorable (it often is, someone get that white pen away from Perez please) as fans in order to get closer and learn more about the "object of our affection" we look to the ones who are in a "better position" to see what we cannot.
Because this is often only a facade (only a fragment of the person's persona, or even a figment of an overzealous blogger's imagination) by the time it reaches fans it is often untrue, or at the very least incredibly diluted.
So why do we rely on tabloids to give us these made-up pieces of Robert Pattinson? Why should we act so grateful for that? Do we really want him to be dissected and laid bare? Are we going to let it get to a stage where he snaps and ends up a shadow of the funny, warm guy that brought us here to this fandom universe in the first place?
If you look at interviews from around the time he was in Harry Potter to now, it's completely, heartbreakingly different.
I think that's what pains me the most. Stars - those incandescent centres of the solar system - don't burn forever and the ones that burn the brightest often burnout the quickest.
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1 comment:
She may have some points with a large portion of the fandom out there, but Rob has ordinary fans also. People that just admire him as an actor, albeit a gorgeous one, and who follow his work, but don't necessarily ever plan on sneaking into his hotel room.
His real or rather his normal fans keep it all in perspective, realizing he's a man, first and foremost, not a God. He's human with his weaknesses and strengths just like you and I.
I don't care that he smokes, or drinks. It's his body and he's intelligent and knows the risks he's taking.
I don't care to know the details of his private life or even speculate about it. He has a right to one as we all do.
I think Rob will be fine. After all, the Beatles went thru the same thing at an even greater level. Elvis and Michael Jackson as well and the list goes on. It will just take time for him to learn how to deal with him being an almost instant superstar.
When New Moon is released, he will most likely be a household name by then.
But I have faith that he WILL survive as long as he has friends and family around him.
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