Fan culture brings out the passion of fans that sometimes is seen as an obsession. With the spread of technology, the influences of what many people find interest in has no limits. According to Hills, “A fan is somebody who can produce reams of information on their object of fandom, can quote their favoured lines or lyrics, chapter, and verse,” (Hills, 2002). There are different areas of which can produce during fan culture such as comic books, manga, science fiction, movies, and so much more. When it comes to mass media, there are different elements that help motive the reaction of fan culture.
One of the biggest influences in the entertainment industry is the power of social media. Social media allows many people to interact with one another by stating their opinion, starting conversations, posting photos or video footage, and so much more. Social media also allows many of their users to create hash tags that can lead to heavier traffic into conversations. The influences of peers can easily influence the different elements that produce fan culture. An example that I have that is currently popular is the infamous BeyHive. In popular culture, the fans of entertainer Beyonce Knowles are know as the BeyHive. They make up a huge fan base that supports one of the most powerful contributors in music. The BeyHive is known for praising everything she does, supporting all her music and clothing line, and also defending her when needed. Social media shares a big influence on the power of the BeyHive, especially on social forms such as Twitter and Instagram. In the link provided, you can see get the inside scoop of one of the worlds most devoted fan base. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So6ifqHkyoo)
Fan of Beyoncé see her as an icon. She has created new fashion trends when dealing with her music and clothing. When it comes to remakes, Beyoncé has influenced many trends or costume this for years. This past spring, Beyoncé put out an album titled, “Lemonade”. This album included a continuous video that includes all her songs and different costumes. For Halloween, many of her fans ended up dressing up like her mirroring the costumes from “Lemonade”. Remakes happen all the time when dealing with this superstar. Videos of her chorography have been remade because of her inspiration. An example can be from a video seen around the world in 2012. It shows this young boy that took the time to learn the whole chorography of a Beyoncé hit titled, “Countdown”. He then puts both videos side by side and helps the audience compare them together. View video here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4aiwTkDwCY&app=desktop)
As an icon to fans, Beyoncé has given out different memorable messages. The BeyHive love her because of her stance on Feminism. The video of her performance can be seen right here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7pd1w022ME). Beyoncé has continuously talked about the beauty of women in her music and who runs the world, girls. She is very inspiring to ladies of all ages, telling them they can be whoever they want to be. Even when it comes to relationships with her husband, rap mogul Jay-Z, Beyoncé shares a message. Her relationship with her family is very private and she showcases that everyone does not have to know what is going on in their life. Beyoncé leads by example and has her fan culture, the BeyHive to back her up.
Hills, M. (2002). Fan cultures. Psychology Press.
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