“She who must not be named.” This article from The Atlantic by Helen Lewis is a useful and enjoyable look at the demonisation of J.K. Rowling by her readers.
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/07/why-millennial-harry-potter-fans-reject-jk-rowling/613870/?fbclid=IwAR2xljQ7kOdvQFjLrsEIqTCby_qshQ3yytvJwA50xGUgoo4gNZ9Ar1AQyZ0
I enjoyed the Potter books and I admire her as a person so I’ve been rather gobsmacked and perplexed by the way in which Potter fansites now no longer want to even mention her name. Quite bizarre.
But as Lewis mentions, J.K. is not the first to run foul of their fans
Mr Dylan got into very hot water when he strapped on that electric guitar.
That dangerous radical, Wild Willy Wordsworth, who wrote thus of the French Revolution,
“Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
But to be young was very heaven!”
alienated many admirers when he became a curmudgeonly pillar of the establishment in later life.
Have we any other examples of fans rejecting their idols?
When I was five years old, I idolised Pinky and Perky and Cliff. They are dead to me now.
That’s very good, and a relief from the whole exhausting shitshow.
Latest celeb to get into trouble is Jodie Comer, who is dating a Trump supporter apparently. Her body, her choice as they say. Sample tweets:
“Jodie comer if you’re reading this, you can’t play a gay character and call yourself an ally when you’re dating a republican you disgusting piece of shit. not to mention your co star is an asian woman who’s also been affected by trump’s policies. fuck off with your fake activism.”
“I just received the news that Jodie Comer is dating a Republican Trump supporter. I am so disappointed and will not be watching anymore of her movies -Susan.”
This one’s incredible. The reason for the abuse is that her boyfriend has the same name a Republican, and she hasn’t yet confirmed if it’s the same one.
Noam Chomsky signed the “restriction of debate” letter yesterday alongside Rowling, and now The Woke are turning themselves inside out trying to work out how to cancel her but not him.
That will take some wriggling!
I googled because I didn’t know about this.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/thehill.com/blogs/in-the-know/in-the-know/506314-jk-rowling-noam-chomsky-sign-letter-warning-of-restriction-of%3famp
Here’s the actual letter.
https://harpers.org/a-letter-on-justice-and-open-debate/
Not going down well on Twitter, inevitably.
Step up to the dock Stephen Patrick Morrissey.
Guilty as charged of turning into a massive knobhead.
Use the box!
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/07/why-millennial-harry-potter-fans-reject-jk-rowling/613870/?fbclid=IwAR2xljQ7kOdvQFjLrsEIqTCby_qshQ3yytvJwA50xGUgoo4gNZ9Ar1AQyZ0
People get upset over all kinds of shit these days.
Really don’t understand why the comments she made were so offensive – I thought they were pretty sensible myself.
If I were her I would just ignore them – she has made her money from them and why should she care, its not like she is going to write another Harry Potter.
Regarding the subject of the post I remember Phil Collins getting shed loads of abuse for singing’ Another day in paradise’ as if he knew all about the experience that was so alien to him.
I was trying to think of a song abut disillusionment with a former hero.
I didn’t do very well . But this stupendous song will keep me going in the meantime..
I’m beginning, no I am not – I am certain that the internet social media thingie is BAD (except on here of course). It allows everyone to think that their views somehow matter when, let’s face it the majority of people posting on Twitter or FB or whatever young people do these days are dickheads.
Let’s go back to the days when I read The Guardian, you read The Torygraph and we agreed to politely differ (even when most of the time you were completely Wrong).
That and reality TV have truly messed things up.
I do sometimes long for the days when the only outlet the nutjobs and fruitcakes had for their prejudices and conspiracy theories was the editor’s wastepaper basket at the local paper. Mind you, we now live in an age when all of us can be reasonably sure that we talk more sense than the 45th President of the United States, so…
Only “reasonably sure”?
Didn’t want to exaggerate…
I remember back in the 80s you couldn’t walk around Leeds city centre without having some unkempt kook thrust upon your person a badly photocopied leaflet containing his (always a his) fevered scribblings on Religion, Politics or the imminent Apocalypse. I once was given a pamphlet that warned me of the secret threat of the Zionist cereal box whilst also offering 10 handy household cleaning tips. Very entertaining.
Hilarious. I guess every city had them, Franco.
In London we had Speakers’ Corner at Marble Arch where all the nutjobs would gather and climb on their soapboxes to deliver their diatribes. Twitter is like a ginormous electronic Speakers’ Corner which has taken over the world!
To be honest, some of the speakers were rather entertaining. More a form of street theatre than a political discussion.
Still going strong!
https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/hyde-park/things-to-see-and-do/speakers-corner
Even without social media, the Rowling backlash would have probably occurred. Extreme fandom often flips out. Beatlemania is a good example.
@kaisfatdad Did you ever come across Stanley Green the Protein Man in London?
Luckily I missed the kooks in Leeds, I certainly would have remembered Zionist cereal boxes. @Franco
Stanley Green! I didn’t know his name. But if you lived in London you could scarcely miss him
What a story!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_Green
I remember seeing him outside Oxford Circus tube station in the 70s
Him and Jesus (at gigs) were the 2 essential ticks for the young man about town in them olden days.
Which calls for this..
‘Jesus’ had a manifesto which almost completes the circle.
In my pot-smoking days a very old friend who was a small-time dealer introduced me to a mid-level dealer with gangster connections that he sometimes did business with.
This guy used to, purely for his own amusement, dress up in a sober suit and dog-collar and go to Speakers Corner to spout quasi-religious nonsense every once in a while. Quite a character.
That sounds like a film script just waiting to be written, Mike!
It made me wonder whether the Corner has featured in any movies which led me to this, a website devoted to that bastion of free speech.
https://www.speakerscorner.net/
If you look under Documentaries, you’ll find some interesting vintage clips.
“So-cialist werker” (outside Smiths near HMV). Always pronounced the same way.
Sometimes (perversely) with the NF on the other side of the square – and without any trouble.
As someone who makes cereal boxes for a living I can confirm the Zionist threat could be real. Some say it is. I don’t know. That’s what they say.
As we know from Ken Russell’s Lisztomania, the Romantic era had some major superstars.
Not least of these were Byron and Sir Walter Scott. The latter attracted enormous crowds wherever he appeared.
https://theseaofbooks.com/2016/08/15/how-one-authors-bankruptcy-changed-the-history-of-the-english-novel-forever/
When I first went to Edinburgh that I can remember, my Dad pointed out the Wally Scott monument.
I couldn’t believe that it wasn’t a space rocket monument of some kind, let alone for a writer.
You’re right. Not many writers have such a splendid statue in their honour.
I read a few of his novels back in the day. He could tell a colourful yarn rather well but it is a little difficult in 2020 to see why he was the toast of Europe.
As this writer argues, he invented historical fiction and did a very great deal to put Scotland on the map.
https://medium.com/@jacksoncyril/the-hitheringthithering-sea-sir-walter-scotts-influence-b0379e312636
If it’s popstars of the day, there was the occasional charismatic firebrand priest that could move the masses.
If you’ve an hour to spare, here’s a program about a 19thC clergyman who claimed to be the Second Coming…no statue, but he lived in the lap of luxury provided by the wealthy spinsters who followed him.
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/archived/spiritofthings/abode-of-love/3175302
The Abode of Love! That is a story and a half, Sniffity!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agapemonites
Useful piece on Stan Lee’s role in shaping of modern fantasy fandom.
https://thewalrus.ca/when-comic-fans-become-villains/
Marvel Comics, The Beatles Fan Club, Dick’s Picks, the NME, sundry charismatic managers….there were many actors shaping modern fandom Back in the day.
I knew that Justin’s fans were known as Beliebers. But had no idea that Jimmy Buffet enthusiasts call themselves Parroheads and that Slipknot refer to theirs as Maggots because of the way they “writhe and squirm” during live shows.
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/28858/barbies-maggots-nicknames-25-fan-bases
We’ve been talking about Workingman’s Dead on the AW this week. If there ever was a group of devoted, rather conservative group of fans, it’s the Deadheads.
Has there never been a backlash of any kind in the Kingdom of Dick’s Picks?
I suspect Dick Pickers are rather prudish and do not do dickpicks.
They may not call themselves a catchy name like Bobheads, Bobby-Soxers or Zimmerframers, but there can be few larger, more opinionated or more devoted fan communities than the acolytes of the Murder Most Foul Hitmaker.
I opened up a ginormous can of very interesting worms by mentioning Bob’s fans.
Barry Williams of Aston University has written a whole thesis on the topic.
https://publications.aston.ac.uk/id/eprint/33413/2/Williams_B._2015.pdf
He has really done his homework.
Take a look at the appendices,such as the list of international Dylan fan sites.
Or the facts and figures on the never-ending tour!
Quite fascinating even fir a very casual fan like me.
Here is a Danish Dylan enthusiast, Charlotte Carlin, writing in response to Barry’s call for input.
http://mybobdylanstory.weebly.com/more-fan-feedback.html
This Guardian article by Peter Roboinson has some excellent insights on the modern relationship between an artist and their fans.
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/aug/25/great-pop-power-shift-how-online-armies-replaced-fan-clubs
Today I discovered that the oldest fan club in the world dedicated to a single artist is The International Club Crosby.
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/59705-longest-running-fan-club-solo-artist
It has nothing to do with The Almost Cut My Hair Hitmaker.