So last night, Channel 4 aired a documentary called "Crazy About One Direction" and it was basically about the band's fandom and their fans, who are called "Directioners". Now obviously, Channel 4 chose to use fans who are literally crazy about the boys. Understandable choice if you ask me, as who really wants to listen a fan who just sits in the room all day go on about their love for the band! Well the decision backfired as the fans are angry to the point that they got #thisisnotus trending worldwide on twitter! My opinion, I think their anger is extremely misplaced and their justification of true fans is not helping them in any way.
Twenty years ago, there was another fandom, just as crazy, just as loyal but the only difference is it did not have access to social media as we do today! This fandom surrounded the biggest British boyband (and still are, if we are to compare record sales) Take That! I was a little young at the time to be able to go to the extremes some of the fans went to, so I cannot speak for myself, but Take That fans were crazy, loyal and ridiculously passionate about the boys. It was crazy to the point, that without the need for the internet, the fans manage to discover their home address, even their parents, leading to many of them having to move just to escape the fans. Take That would almost always win fan voted awards, thanks to the fans dedication through phone voting or voting by post (oh yes we had to do that back then). Even today, our fans can still make Ticketmaster crash all because we all desperately want tickets to the tour!
The point I am trying to make is that what was shown is nothing new and will always happen within each fandom.
Today, obviously the Take That fans have grown up and realised that our behaviour, our reactions were more than definitely over the top and probably uncalled for. Chances are we are the ones who are highly critical today of the Directioners. I will put my hand up and say I am one of those people.
I am being critical for a good reason though! Back then, while it was well reported that the fans were crazy, we avoided the critics due to the non-existence of social media. We were proud to be fans and we never let anyone make us feel any differently. But that is not what I am seeing with the One Direction fans. They have vented their anger in the worse way. They have directed it at each other and at Channel 4. The words used in some cases are rude and vulgar and completely unnecessary and uncalled for. Rumours are being spread that a number of fans have killed themselves as a result of the documentary (something I refuse to believe is true) and on top of that their reasoning behind why they are such amazing fans, just makes them look as crazed as the ones shown last night. Sitting behind the computer all day, voting hundreds of times as long the website allows them, tweeting constantly is not a way to tell us you are not crazy!
It never bothered me when people criticised my love for Take That. I was proud to be a fan. I held my head up high and ignored (most of the time) the comments made. I relish the fact the majority of my high school friends now love the boys and no longer hide the fact they do! And quite honestly, this is what all fandoms should do! IGNORE THE CRAP!!! Be proud to be a fan, ignore the comments and hold your head high but at the same time, please remember there is a big wide world out there, away from the boys! I highly doubt they would want you to miss out on that just so you can sit on the computer all day doing whatever you need to do be a good and loyal fan. Trust me, there is nothing wrong with wanting the boys to win everything, finding ways to meet them or even hoping they follow you, but at the same time, your life does not need to revolve around them.
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