#we stan the hong kong protest

[eternal-bauhinian]

Yet Another Update As We Continue to Spiral Into Insanity, 12 Aug 2019

The cops have begun to shoot tear gas INDOORS (Kwai Chung), despite the fact that the packaging clearly stated that the chemical can hurt people and should only be used outdoors.

Cops capture girls in the protests, so that their screaming could induce the effect of fear, to intimidate the citizens. (I am officially in danger.)

Police have shot beanbag shots at a medic, causing them to be shot in the eye. Note that beanbag shots should only be shot at the lower body of a person, meaning that the intent to injure is clear.

The airport has begun to shut down. No planes can take off or land.

Conclusion: Police have become legal terrorists. Heaven help Hong Kong.

[elize-ravensworth1922]

May God bless the protest against the extradition bill in Hong Kong

It isn't just about evicting criminals to China.

Those of you who know about China's infamous approach on those who criticise the party will know that they usually place the vaguely-described charge of "Inciting subversion of state power" on them. Those "guilty" to this crime not only includes politicians and critics, but also random netizens who mentioned any keywords of the party's shadowy past, like 64/June Fourth.

If the extradition bill is passed, Big Brother will finally have the right to arrest those that may harm his rule by manipulating the weak-willed government of Hong Kong. Hong Kong people will no longer have the right to simple fun like making fun of politicians. This is roughly the equivalent to banned from and facing punishment from making Trump baby inflatables for my American friends.

It isn't just about evicting criminals to China anymore, it's about Hongkongers' fight for judicial justice and freedom of expression .

[aquaeclipse]

Hong Kong has resorted to pasting post-it notes all over China's car in protest. China is not amused.

Look here, I just passed the Mongkok Lennon Wall, and it has spread much further than I past saw it in July. Mainly because of recent events.

[aph-a-provincial-life]

(Hiii I’ve been following your works on ao3 and may I express how much I adore (and cried) from them :,) 香港人一齊加油!!💪🏼) After the “festivities” of the 70th anniversary, how are the provinces doing?

Thank you so much for the first ask!

Most of the Provinces don't really know what is going on, tbh.

Guangdong isn't happy about it (since she/they has always hated politics), but doesn't really say much about it.

Beijing is steadily trying to ignore the fact that half of the world is screaming at him through mainly texts. Because of the whole Tiananmen Square issue, he personally objects to using violence (as a diplomat/capital at heart), but his Bosses are perfectly fine with killing to get their way, and he is still a northerner at heart, so… he's conflicted and would rather not say.

Macau can't really help that much, so he's mostly a messenger figure for his brother.

HK is obviously ready to cuss up a storm and…do highly illegal things, but he's smarter than that.

Taiwan (I'm only putting her here because China would murder me otherwise) is staunchly supporting her cousin, though she can't do much about it other than joining the rallies in her cities, because she too is smarter than to take on China head-on in the political arena.

[randomhetaliarelatedposts]

Request: Can someone please draw protests!HK for me?

[welcome-to-the-cafe]

Shang-Chi (2021) Review Pt. 2

This one will be about the less character-relevant stuff, such as casting, props, settings, and design.

Easiest first: props and costumes.

A bit cool, a bit silly, and bit too "Chinese-themed".

The old Ten-Ring troops had normal armor for the time and age. The new Ten Ring troops looked like the Snake-Eyes fodder ninjas but with tassled helmets. Like I appreciate what they were going for, but...it look dumb dude. And what they were doing with only one hook sword? The electrified thing was cool, but y'all didn't use the bladed hand guard, the combo hook move, the spiked pommel...wasted potential smh. And then the electric arc crossbows....again I appreciate the idea, but that was silly, especially after we showed the Ten Rings sniper with a normal ass gun. Or, just go full sino-futurism and give me the chainsaw spiked club, the electrified monk's spade, taser three section staff.

The villager's clothes were too...saturated, and monochromatic. It kinda reminded me of Mulan (2020) actually, the white people's ancient Chinese clothing. In contrast, in the he TianLongBaBu wuxia series I've been watching, people dress in...normal earth tones. Oh also, too many fucking sandals, where are my black loafers and thick white socks, with rope bindings? Like the kind modern Shaolin monks wear?? The villager's weapons too. Only Xialing's was kind of interesting, the rest are vanilla staffs and sword+shield. Boooo. Where's the dragonscale fangtianhuaji? The dragonscale guandao? Ok I'm done. Just disappointed.

Wenwu's costumes were pure drip in every scene. Zero complaints.

Shang-Chi's letterman's jacket was my favorite costume to be honest. He should not have changed in the village. The final costume seemed a bit too...modern, but not quite to the level of the Black Panther suit. It just seemed like Western superhero top with a vaguely Chinese pattern on it. Or it looked kindof...southeast asian? Wish it had no sleeves.

Katy should've kept her Macau drip. The "traditional" robe just didn't look right.

Xialing looked the best in her inverse Bruce Lee colors crop top and sweats. Like damn.

Ying Li's robes' green is too saturated in my opinion, unnaturally. Same with Michelle Yeoh's character. Now that I think about it, I hardly ever see bright green in traditional Chinese clothes...or modern Chinese fashion. Her pristine white/biege wushu outfit is also meh for me.

Death Dealer's dark blue + yellow colors are quite striking, but a bit odd and out of place with the rest of the Ten Rings' getup. Perhaps it was intentional, since he's the elite trainer? I wish it was more modern, a la Snake Eyes' suit. I would also like to complain about his opera face makeup though; why only the top half? Is that even a real opera face design? It's kind of a dumb half-ass reference I think. Like, Noh masks are used all the time for creepy effect, why not Beijing Opera?

Next, CGI animals.

Morris the Hundun/Dijiang was cute, but I half expected him to suddenly go nuts and devour Slattery, since the Hundun is one of the primordial evil beasts. But Disney needs their marketable mascot. I even saw a Lego piece for him before the movie was released!

The trip through the other world was a bit too safari-like. Like wow, the Ninetails is just chilling by the road, and a herd of Qilin conveniently pass by. The execution of these creatures were fine, though the Qilin eyes were too "dead".

I don't have problems with the Lions' design, but they were completely unnecessary, and lowered the stakes for the final battle for me. Those two lions could literally tear apart all five of Wenwu's trucks in less than a minute.

I stated already, the big evil monster, the little soulsuckers, and the dragon are completely unnecessary to me. Even when I saw just the wood carving of the soulsucking bats, I felt disappointed. Xialing and Shangchi spent way too long riding the big dragon and not doing kungfu :/

Onto settings.

I just recently visited Bay Area! The hilliness of SF was nicely showed off by the bus fight.

Macao seemed well-grounded and normal for a modern Chinese metropolis. Was portrayed better than Tokyo was in Snake Eyes in my opinion. The bamboo scaffolding scene reminded me heavily of Rush Hour 2's Hong Kong fight, and I could hear Jackie Chan assuring us "don't worry, Chinese bamboo, very strong!".

The Ten Rings compound was...eh. No defining features to locate it anywhere real so whatever. But the interior was weirdly homey?

The Ta Lo village is what I really want to complain about: why they gotta throw Chinese people back to the Xia dynasty like that? Straw huts? Really? And there was a total of like 7 buildings there, across a tiny area. That is not a village, it's a medium-sized temple complex. Kung Fu Panda 3's hidden panda village was loads more impressive, with interesting geography. This was on a flat plane next to a pond. Combined with the costuming, it's like hello, it's hokey Western orientalism again.

Casting.

Tony Leung. Perfect. Outstanding. Phenomenal. Sexy as hell. I have recovered fully from Lust, Caution. I see on Tiktok that westerners are thirsting after him, and I am very satisfied. The "Killmonger-Loki" Effect is now the "Wenwu-Killmonger-Loki" Effect. I only wish he were younger, because I hate the "daddy" kink. Mr. Leung, you are a hero to Asian-American men. Thank you.

Awkwafina. Yeah she is pretty good as the unabashed ABC friend. But lately, I feel she has been over-used as the main Chinese-American actress. On some social media, I have seen Black users complain of her 'blaccent' and vow to boycott Shang-Chi in protest. I'm inclined to defend her, as it is probably what she grew up with, and the boycott feels like another attempt to draw moral hierarchical divisions between minorities. Similar sentiment is "yall didn't come out for Black Panther, why should we come out for Shang-Chi?". I don't have any data as to whether 'we' did come out for Black Panther, but I generally disapprove of POC factionalism.

Simu Liu. I'm glad that Westerners are thirsting over him too. I'm glad he's very enthusiastic and affable, and well-liked in the Asian-American community. He's us! And he got a shirtless scene! But the catch is...he doesn't fit the current Chinese standard for "hot guy actor".

From the majority angle: that's toxic af. He's hot enough, why are we being so picky with dumb Asian beauty standards? Will we ever properly support ourselves? Like damn, this is the first Asian-American lead in a goddamn Marvel movie, and this is how you treat him?? By the Heavens.

From the other angle: his eyes are small, his jaw kind of round, head kind of wide. Not the most masculine, but definitely not feminine. He's a normal Chinese-American dude. Chinese dude, Harbin, Heilongjiang born. Compare that to Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Paul Rudd, Chris Pratt, Sebastian Stan, Chadwick Boseman, Anthony Mackie, etc. These are among the finest western specimens; why did the pick the Asian hero to be played by the 'normal-looking' dude? Was Jackson Wang not available? Or Ludi Lin? I personally have a suspicion that his appearance most fits the stereotypical look of an Asian man to Western audiences, and that's why he was cast.

He's received hate for this, from Reddit r/aznidentity, the sub that I frequent, which currently is cheering Shang-Chi's box-office success. That's toxic af, and must be heartbreaking for him. Unfortunately, it's part of the larger conflict of Western and Eastern media, representation, markets, and culture. And that's a big fish to wrangle in part 3.

[purple-iris]

The Hetalia fandom: makes a comeback and is trending on tumblr in Canada day and Hong Kong birthday

Tumblr: freaks out

The Hetalia fandom on tik tok: prepare a protest with #happybirthdayalfredfjones like the Kpop Stan did on July 4 cause the USA don’t deserve to be celebrated

July 14 / Bastille day: arrives

The Hetalia fandom: ready to celebrate Francis Bonnefoys birthday and a holiday about starting a revolution, storming a prison, beheading the gouvernement and yelling acab in general

The world: trembles

Hetalia fandom: we were the most hellish fandom ever, it’s time to raise hell again

1312, ACAB, BLM

[meikatheworld]

“So What” Theory V [Why I think the LOONAVERSE will continue] 200821

sorry for the 7 month hiatus i kind of forgot about tumblr :’)

1A. So What's main premise

So, we all know about the main theme of So What. It was clear when we saw the members with women from outside of the group - they escaped the LOONAverse. This is also seen in the "FREE" covering the screen at the end of the music video.

But there's one thing I noticed about the MV - every member is seen with a girl from outside the LOONAverse in at least one section of the MV, except for one member. That member is Vivi.

1B. Let's talk about Vivi!

Vivi's role in So What (other than the most mistreated) seems to be the "outcast." She has no scenes, excluding dance scenes, that aren't alone. Her portraying a 'rebellious' character isn't just a stylistic choice, it's important to the lore.

For one, Vivi is the only foreign member of the group. She's from Hong Kong while the rest of the members are Korean. While the So What music video was being shot, protests were happening in Hong Kong. Because it's a sensitive topic for some, I will not be going into detail. These protesters typically dressed in black with masks on. This, of course, was Vivi's attire in So What. 

With all the things coming together about Vivi being the odd one out, you may have been able to predict my conclusion. I believe that vivi was against breaking the Mobius loop and wanted to stay in the LOONAverse. I'll explain her motive later.

2A. Vivi's Motive

Let's rewind a bit to the beginnings in *my* LOONAverse theory. (Keep in mind this is all MY theorizing, and you don't have to believe it!) 

Before anything even started, Vivi was in Eden. She and Yves wanted to escape Eden, which Kim Lip and Jinsoul eventually helped Vivi out with. Vivi, while being transported to the front side of the Mobius, was corrupted and became a robot. This is also why Lipsoul were banished.

Maybe Vivi's character worries that the same thing will happen again if she tries to switch dimensions. If she was corrupted into a robot the first time, even worse could happen the second time.

2B. Real-life connections to support the theory 

As time has progressed in real life, Vivi's Korean has gotten better and better. She's now almost fully confident in her Korean skills and able to speak for herself.

We also know already that real life events correlate to the LOONAverse - i.e. Haseul's hiatus and Yeojin not being able to participate in 1/3. So maybe here, in the LOONAverse, Vivi is finally confident and can speak up when she wants to, rebelling from the group's activities.

2C. Why the LOONAverse will continue 

Many Orbits believe that after J*den J**ng left BBC, the LOONAverse would discontinue since he was the guy who knew what was going on. 

However, I doubt BBC would leave the lore they've had going on for years, which attracted so many people to their fandom and that they've worked so hard on, to waste. 

3. Conclusion 

All things considered, I'm just a random teen on the internet, and my opinion doesn't have to match yours. 

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope I explained my theory enough where I didn’t sound like an idiot.

This has been meikatheworld, and remember to Stan LOONA!

[tcm]

Rediscovering Bob Hope by Susan King

I once turned down Bob Hope’s offer to take a piece of his pumpkin pie. It was a week after Thanksgiving in 1991. I had been dispatched by my editor at the Los Angeles Times to interview the comic legend, then 88, for his upcoming Christmas special on NBC, Bob Hope’s Cross-Country Christmas, which featured Macaulay Culkin, Reba McEntire, Miss America and the Associated Press All-America Team (football).

Hope had been with the Peacock network for 54 years at that time and he had been doing holiday specials for them since 1953.

All press interviews took place at his famed mansion in Toluca Lake in a Vermont Country Store-decorated family room that overlooked his expansive backyard which was spread over several acres. Lunch was served during the 30-minute interview. Though he was extremely hard of hearing, Hope refused to wear his hearing aids. So, interviewers were placed on his left side at the table because his hearing was better in that ear.

We were served a delicious warm chicken salad with bacon. But the highlight of the meal was a pumpkin pie with warm homemade whipped cream. All conversation stopped while we ate the heavenly dessert. Hope still had once piece left when he forked it and proffered it to me.

“I’ll give it to you for 25 cents,” he said laughing. I didn’t have any change, so I politely turned down the offer. He smiled as he popped the piece into his mouth.

Most baby boomers like myself grew up with Hope. I remember my mother taking me at the age of five to see his last good movie, 1960’s THE FACTS OF LIFE, which also starred Lucille Ball. And on early Sunday evenings, one of the TV stations had a Bob Hope/Bing Crosby Theater, which featured their slaphappy Road comedies (1942’s THE ROAD TO MOROCCO is my fav), as well as such solo Hope hits as 1940’s THE GHOST BREAKERS and 1949’s SORROWFUL JONES, with Ball. And in the 1960s, Hope’s NBC specials, especially the ones where he entertained the troops, were must-see viewing. 

When I was old enough to finally see the Academy Awards, I found him the perfect Oscar host. In fact, he would host the ceremony 19 times either solo or as part of a team. Though he always joked that he was never nominated for an Oscar, he actually received four honorary Oscars as well as the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

But the quality of his movies dropped drastically in the 1960s. I remember sitting in horror in the theater during 1966’s BOY, DID I GET A WRONG NUMBER! and 1967’s EIGHT ON A LAM. And I rarely watched his specials from the 1970s on. He seemed out of touch and too conservative. Hope’s once fun shows seemed wheezy.

When I talked to Richard Zoglin for the L.A. Times in 2014 about his biography, Hope: Entertainer of the Century, he noted that the comic alienated viewers during the Vietnam War.

“He was so sure that we were doing a good thing over there in Vietnam,” he said. “He had been convinced by the generals he met over there that the military was being hamstrung by politicians and if we went all out, we would win this war in a couple of months. He hated that there were protesters out there picketing. He was from the World War II generation. He started speaking out. He would bad-mouth picketers.”

Hope died July 27, 2003, just two months after his 100th birthday. There haven’t been any major retrospectives of his classic films. In fact, the Bob Hope Airport has been renamed the Hollywood Burbank Airport. (Its legal name is still Bob Hope Airport). In a 2016 interview with the L.A. Times, Burbank commissioner Don Brown said that “Bob Hope isn’t doing it. We’ve been told by our travel agencies here and been told by the airlines that we’ve got to do something, and the name Bob Hope just doesn’t identify with this airport.”

I think it would be great if the new decade started with a rediscovery of Hope, who not only conquered film, but vaudeville, Broadway, radio and television. And he was the complete package. Not only was he funny, but he could sing and dance.

Even before he made his feature film debut in 1938’s THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938, he had starred on Broadway in 1933’s Roberta. Hope and Eve Arden introduced the standard “I Can’t Get Started (with You)” in Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, and he and Ethel Merman turned Cole Porter’s “It’s De-Lovely” into a major hit in 1936’s RED, HOT AND BLUE. “Thanks for the Memory,” the Oscar-winning song from his first film, became Hope’s signature song and a decade later he introduced the Oscar-winner “Buttons and Bows” from his hysterically funny 1948 farce, THE PALEFACE.

Hope really came into his own with the 1939 mystery-comedy THE CAT AN THE CANARY with Paulette Goddard. It was the first time he played what would become his on-screen persona of the brash, wisecracking coward who loved women. Woody Allen later admitted his reel-life character was inspired by Hope.

Hope told me in 1991 that he had been offered a return to Broadway after he came to Hollywood, but “I got lucky after my third picture, THE CAT AND THE CANARY. I turned into box office. When Cat and the Canary came out (people) started running to the theaters. Then Paramount ran over to my dressing room with a contract for seven years. So, I signed up for seven years.” He made one hit after another in the 1940s and 1950s.

“They were not great films, but Hope is great in them,” Zoglin told me. “You can see how focused he is as a performer, how in character he is all the time. He’s good physically, and verbally he’s absolute perfection.

Film and TV historian Stan Taffel also explained to me in 2014 that Hope was as “perfect as Chaplin was. He knew where the camera was, and he knew how to pose for the camera. He didn't take his character so seriously, so we could have fun with it. I think his movies in that era are the best things he ever did.”

Save for the wan 1962 THE ROAD TO HONG KONG, the Road comedies with Crosby and Dorothy Lamour are perhaps his finest achievements. The comedic chemistry between the three is hard to match. Hope noted in my interview that he and Crosby had no idea that 1940’s THE ROAD TO SINGAPORE would kick off a successful franchise. “We didn’t care,” he said. “We used to do anything for a laugh. After about a week [into production], the director, Victor Schertzinger, went into the commissary and sat down at the table and said, ‘I got the easiest job, all I have to do with these guys is say ‘Start.’ But I don’t want to say ‘Stop.’ It was fun.”

The last time I saw Hope in person was at the taping of the special Bob Hope: The First 90 Years in early May, 1993, executive produced by his daughter Linda Hope. The special would go on to win the Emmy for Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.

It was an extraordinary evening. I was at the front table with Karl Malden ad his wife and Telly Savalas and his wife. Les Brown and His Band of Renown was to my left. Michael Feinstein and George Burns were sitting behind me. Lamour was at a nearby table and so was Ginger Rogers. I looked to my right and saw President Gerald Ford sitting with Walter Cronkite.

Johnny Carson, who had retired from The Tonight Show opened the special in what would be his last monologue. He told the crowd that it was “astonishing” how much Hope had accomplished over his near seven-decade career, adding that the world is a “better and happier” place with Hope in our lives.

There wasn’t a dry eye int the house when veterans of several wars talked about what it meant to them when Hope came during the conflicts to entertain them.

Back in 1991, I asked if he would ever retire.

He smiled: “Not as long as I feel good. It is too much fun. God, you just have fun just doing things with people. You have fun writing. …It keeps your mind alert and keeps you thinking.”

[glass-rose-paperweight]

2020 Was A Dumpster Fire - We Didn’t Start The Fire Parody

I was originally going to turn this into a Youtube video, but it ended up being more work than I was really ready to tackle, and it was not ‘sparking joy’, so I decided to abandon the project. However, I had already written up the lyrics for the parody, so I decided I would just post them on here. Note: I ended up adding verses and lines to one of the verses so I could fit everything in that I wanted to say, and I still didn’t cover everything that happened in this fucking year. Hope you enjoy

Protests in Hong Kong, riots in India Persian Gulf Crisis, a general is dead Yemen and Libya Civil War, fires in Australia Taliban peace treaty, disease starting to spread

Boris Johnson is a clown, Britain’s on it’s own now World war three drawing closer, and Kobe died Volcanoes erupting, Impeachment trial, Tiger King And why did Mr. Peanut have to say goodbye?

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  Can’t believe we made it Was 12 months I hated

The Senate acquits Trump, Quarantine, no testing And now we have to deal with the CoronaVirus England still has their queen, Meghan and Harry are leaving Global disasters rage as the temperature rises

States of emergency, Houston has a cheating team Stock market crash and New planet discovery Same-sex marriage in Ireland, social distance, travel banned People hoarding toilet paper, sports canceled temporarily

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  I can’t believe we made it Was 12 months I hated

Weinstein is guilty, lockdown in Italy Summer Olympics postponed, US election year  Syria Civil War, fires in California People are starting to die, Pope Francis livestream

UFO videos, murder hornets, black holes Black Lives Matter, more fires, we’re still in June Flash floods, hurricanes, cyclones, so much rain What do you mean there’s a crack on the moon?

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  I can’t believe we made it Was 12 months I hated

African locust swarm, Ebola’s back, Parasite won  Title IX rehaul, Austria shooting spree Gay marriage in Costa Rica, brain eating amoeba Don’t let Grimes and Elon name babies Earthquakes, no handshakes, Twitter scams with high stakes Immigration, Trump labeled "antifa" a terrorist organization

*dead silence while I ponder what the fuck this world has come to*

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  I can’t believe we made it Was 12 months I hated

Death of RBG, School starting back virtually Longest living Pope, Protests in Thailand Chadwick Bozemen dead, we just can’t get ahead Kim Jong Un death rumors and his sister was stanned

Beirut explosion, Lake Michigan erosion Trump has Corona, Eddie Van Halen died Mars 2020 rover goes, Africa free of polio Prince Charles of Luxembourg, We might have a vaccine

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  I can’t believe we made it Was 12 months I hated

Who will win, election night, Georgia flipping, what a sight Destiel became canon before our president Doesn’t matter anyway, speedrun bury your gays Then the actors almost died in an accident

Widest voter turnout in history, Trump calling early  Bolivian President attacked with dynamite Nevada get your shit together, Putin resignation rumor Ted Bundy artist, Alex Trebek died

Kill all the mink in Denmark, it’s Grittney bitch, stop the count Four Seasons Total Landscaping, Election over Georgia and Pennsylvania flipped blue, Trump is gonna sue *music stops* and all this happened in the FIRST GODDAMN WEEK OF NOVEMBER *moment of silence for my sanity*

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  I can’t believe we made it Was 12 months I hated

John Oliver Memorial Sewer Plant, Joe Biden is our President Over 75 million sick, Over 1.5 million dead Most active hurricane season, US exited the Paris Agreement  Ratatouille on Broadway, and Darth Vader dead

Covid reached Antarctica, Casey Goodson, Unus Annus Y yo a ti, Cas; Zodiac killer cipher solved Sean Connery died, Aliens are real according to the Israeli guy Exploding RV in Nashville, we can’t take it anymore!

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  Let just hope we don’t have to go Through this in twenty twenty-one, ne-one (x like 9 or something) 

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  I can’t believe we made it Was 12 months I hated

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  I can’t believe we made it Was 12 months I hated

2020 was a dumpster fire It was doomed to burn When the year first turned 2020 was a dumpster fire  I can’t believe we made it Was 12 months I hated

The rhyme scheme of this song was a bitch to try and get right. Technically, it changes for the last verse, but I had already more or less written it, and I didn’t feel like messing with it, so I just said ‘fuck it’ and went with what the rhyme scheme for the rest of the song was. 

Not everything that happened this year was bad, but, man, it was a year. I’m American, so what happened was very America centric, but I tried to branch out and be international with what was going on. Even with the extra verse and extra lines, I still didn’t manage to get everything. One of the most recent developments that I just wasn’t able to include is that abortion is now legal in Argentina, whoo whoo.

[eternal-bauhinian]

Reposting this for the folks that still don't understand why we are fighting.

[everythingispirates]

anyway me and @thecommunityoftrustworthysinks were talking about what a potc remake with zac effron would look like and we spiralled so here’s the result. I will now proceed to go into excruciating detail about the discourse the films would cause. in the first movie people are upset over the age difference between billie eilish and tom holland and disney tries to get woke points by making pintel and ragetti gay and turning them into twinks but they only hold hands once and there’s intense backlash except for a small but vocal part of the fandom who dedicate their entire blogs to #pingetti and make them both look even more like twinks than they are in the movie when they draw them. barbossa is a woman for girlpower uwu but no one talks about it because they’re too busy with #pingetti discourse after it comes out that one of the actors in the original film intended for them to be uncle and nephew. somehow the movie still makes enough money to warrant a sequel and it’s announced that adam driver will be in it. his stans are ecstatic but are then outraged once they find out he only has a few speaking roles and looks like a fucking shark the whole movie. half the fandom ships beckett and mercer and the other half tries to remind everyone that they’re both slave traders. scarlett johansen puts on an awful jamaican accent and is canceled for the 100th time and disney tries to get more woke points by making idris elba bootstrap but people joke about how he can’t be will’s biological dad too much so they panic and recast him, to intense backlash. in the third movie rdj plays bootstrap so that disney can cash in further on the spider man and iron man father son dynamic but that never happens because there’s too much backlash about jackie chan being cast as sao feng because of comments he made about the hong kong protests. no one gets the joke about lucas grabeel being teague. somehow they still continue the remakes and in the fourth movie they once again try to get woke points by making syrena a woc only she’s a model who hasn’t done any acting until now and can’t really say no to this opportunity despite it being controversial seeing as syrena is portrayed as barely able to speak and take care of herself. the least relevant hemsworth brother is never discussed in the slightest, overshadowed by that controversy as well as jennifer lawrence and her controversy. seth rogen does an absolutely terrible job as scrum but is somehow the best part of that movie. once tom hardy is cast as salazar half the fandom is upset because he’s not spanish while the other argue that being spanish is not an etnicity so it’s fine. jude law plays the navy guy who has like three lines and there are multiple blogs dedicated to thirsting after that character and they all post the same five screenshots over and over again. 

[aquaeclipse]

Nation-tans are very easily affected by their people, hence the blood (near the mouth/jaw) and the injured eye. Not sure if it will ever heal.

It's time I stopped sitting on the sidelines just posting and reposting text on @852-hong-kong. Haven't drawn my City in so long, and see barely any art of protest!HK, so I did my duty.

Sorry the flag is a little wonky and inaccurate and stuff.

[lonelytartcake]

To All of My Naysayers, Liberal, Moderate, and Right Wing Alike:

Where is all that blood pumping adrenaline y'all had when the protestors of Hong Kong were getting brutalized?

What happened to the boner popping y'all had at the sight of seeing protestors getting locked up for disturbing the peace in Hong Kong?

Where is all the wetness you felt between your legs at the sight of Hong Kong protestors dying in prison or being brutalized on the street and taking that as something meant to silence them, "Take care of them" and knowing it was bullshit to think that it was a natural effect of protesting?

Hey remember when we all canceled Mulan because the actress supported the Chinese Goverment by supporting the police in Hong Kong?

Where is your larpy living-through-the-struggles-of-other-people pseudo revolutionary fire when you were living vicariously through those blinded, beaten, jailed, killed on the streets because the "brutal and evil government of China was oppressing the rights of these people!"???

Beautiful how the solidarity you naysayers had for the HK protests shriveled and dried up when it came to supporting mass movements within your own boarders. A movement meant to support the marginalized. A movement to help shed light on the brutality the police force and the government had on a group of people it ruled over, but couldn't be further disconnected from the rest of its society.

When it happens in your boarders, somethings wrong. Something is debatable about all of this. Surely, the cops aren't that bad? Surely they're just doing their jobs??? I mean, if the cops weren't there to keep the peace who knows what could happen, right?

I never thought that resistance was a sick game to you all. A Hunger Games style of entertainment to you. Something for you to blog about, and hashtag, and get trending as a way to make you feel like you're actually apart of something bigger because you feel so hopeless in your own situation of social disconnect and boredom.

Everyone loves praising Hamilton, and Les Mis, and 1776 and rapping along to Lafayette talking about murdering soldiers and getting arms for revolutionary armies but none of you won't even support or even hear out a cause within your own country and time period because it's uncomfortable to sit through. You'd rather cheer and rage on to the suffering of other people in different places and irrelevant times than show solidarity to your own neighbors.

I'm not even mad that there is any nay sayers really. It was bound to happen.

I'm just mad that a lot of you are showing yourselves for who you really were the entire time.

Fake ass, disingenuous LARPers who see revolts as Hurt/Angst animes and their victims as characters you stan. Not as something you actually would fully support had the time to resist actually crept around your corner.

[serinemolecule]

@tremorbond replied to my post:

I know it's probably way less than this, but it feels like half your posts are you stanning for big tech corporations, and the other half for the CCP.

[Warning: When I say “you” in this post, I’m referring to Americans, not to tremorbond specifically who is not actually the kind of person I’m complaining about here.]

So, here's my perspective on the CCP. They're bad. Worse than the US, which is saying quite a lot if you actually know the things the US has done.

But there's that thing I was talking about earlier. Americans like seeing things in black and white. There are only two teams, and if you say anything about how your team might be more effective if they did something else, you can only be a spy for the other side.

One of my favorite things I ever heard was a Japanese person say “In Japanese, we have a word, nuance, for how things aren't always black and white and sometimes there are subtleties. It doesn't seem like Americans have a word like that.” The word ‘nuance’ was left untranslated there; the Japanese word is actually ‘nuance’. It's a loanword from the English word ‘nuance’. Which, I mean, self-burn, but also regular burn.

The problem isn't that Americans like democracy and human rights. That's fine, I agree, I like those things too. The problem is, I don't think you've noticed, but you've gotten so polarized you can't even talk to Mainlanders.

Back when Google's Dragonfly controversy (the one where Google wanted to release a censored search engine in China) was in full swing, my cousin, a real actual Mainland Chinese person, told me he wished he could actually talk about it at work (at Google). It's funny how meaningless "listen to PoC, listen to the people actually affected by your politics" actually is, in practice.

Any Mainlander is constantly accused of being a CCP shill. I remember, when the Blizzard drama first started, a Mainlander posted in /r/Hearthstone saying "I agree with you that democracy is good, but I want to give some historical context to these protests". And a high-profile upvoted comment wes all like "He agreed with us that democracy is good! That's clearly a manipulation tactic!" It was insane; zero actual substantive criticism, just pointing out every example of trying to find common ground, and calling them manipulation tactics.

I'm not talking about like actually CCP officials, I'm talking about real regular Mainland Chinese people. I think if we can't talk to them, that's too much polarization. Asian politics might be bad, but at least I can tell a Mainlander I think democracy is good without being called a Hong Kong sympathizer or something. Heck, I can call myself a Hong Kong sympathizer and I still won't get cancelled. I can say “I’m not one of those crazy Americans, but” and they’ll visibly relax, unlike in the US where someone who says “I’m not a racist, but” is automatically branded a racist.

Meanwhile, the last time someone posted a poll showing something like 90% of Mainlanders oppose the Hong Kong protests, and expressed their surprise, and I explained what Mainlanders thought, someone called me out for bad opinions. I’d given zero of my own opinions, and yet Americans still can’t help shooting the messenger.

Did you know, decades ago, Mainland Chinese people used to idolize America? They wanted to be more like you. But then life in China got better, but Western media coverage of China got more critical, and they started to notice how wrong it was, and how much it contradicted their actual lived experience. And I'm sitting here imagining what might have happened if, while they idolized you, you'd have reached out to them instead of slapping them down.

Anyway, in conclusion, if you think that this, a Japan fanblog, stans the CCP, I think that really says way more about your culture than me.

[kehayesmj-blog]

Happiness and Celebrity Worship: So What’s the Problem?

Imagine being in the shoes of a world-famous pop culture icon. You’re sitting in the back seat of an expensive limousine as it comes to a halt, and your manager and bodyguards direct you towards a fancy building for a celebrity interview. Upon reaching the stage, you see everyone is listening carefully, anticipating a spark of inspiration. With the awareness that you are about to change a large percentage of the world’s disposition, you are ready to inform everyone of not only your life, but to change how they live theirs as well. You have a message to get across in this interview, so you stand up, clear your throat, and proudly proclaim that birds aren’t real.

This is a situation that has occurred numerous times over. The bird theory is interchangeable with any other outlandish claim or theory, but the concept is constant. Nearly thirty percent of people under the age of 30 would quit their jobs for fame alone and follow the lifestyles of celebrities in some form. Furthermore, do you know someone that has obsessed over or “stanned” a popular artist, possibly to the point of intimate attraction? It turns out that these two circumstances are rooted in the same mental ailment. If the issue seems familiar, it is because celebrity influence affects everyone, whether they want it to or not. This has some merits to it but can also harm large groups of people in various ways such as indoctrination and stalking. Many lives are affected in some way more than just culturally because of this. Perhaps your friend is adopting their favorite musical artist’s fashion sense, has social media accounts dedicated to their favorite actor, or even has pictures of them printed out to fit their aesthetic. All these tendencies are in some way a form of celebrity worship. Dr. Lynn McCutcheon of the North American Journal of Psychology separates celebrity fandom into “Entertainment Social Stage,” which defines more casual followers and people that simply seek entertainment on a non-serious level, and “Worshipper” which defines obsessive tendencies such as studying a person’s whereabouts, owning an unnecessarily large amount of keepsakes related to a popular person, or extreme sexual fixation. With further research conducted on mental health since the mainstream rise of celebrity obsession culture, a much more psychological case has appeared that defines and details every variant of celebrity worship. There have been cases of people led to harmful lifestyles simply because it was what their favorite movie star thought was beneficial, such as with Charlie Sheen’s and Jenny McCarthy’s fans believing in their conspiracy theories. Without awareness or recognition, this is a problem that could potentially mislead people at an even larger scale. With governments picking up on the relevance of certain celebrities, the case of celebrity worship is beginning to gain influence on the national level in some nations. In recent years, South Korea has made a statement and endorsement for their native pop stars under the condition that they abide by the nation’s values, directly affecting the opinions of fans worldwide. Whether a case of icon obsession is affecting a loved one’s mental health, radicalization, or personal economic decisions, celebrity fixation is a topic with many influential details. Obsession over celebrities and their values is an informational and important study for the good of modern mental health, and the importance of recognizing this is crucial to furthering personal fulfillment.

Misinformation and Radicalization

           People have been falling for the unusual ideologies followed by celebrities since celebrity culture’s shift to pop culture in the early 20th century. However, their ideas were not seen as widely until the late 20th century with pop culture becoming more experimental and expressive. While musical artists such as Elvis Presley, Mick Fleetwood, and Dave Mustaine were always known for some strange views, actors, hosts, and talk personalities usually kept their views to themselves with minimal exception. With social media’s rise, it is much easier to convince the public of things that would normally be seen as extreme or nonsensical. In 2006, Patricia Heaton convinced a group of followers to refuse and deny embryonic stem cell research. This view became such a hot topic because she had proposed to discontinue stem cell research, contraceptives, and pregnancy termination to a group that continues to believe and support these ideas to this day due to her prestige. Many groups focused on unsupported claims, extremism, and conspiracy theories have seen an increase in subscription because of how easy it has become to follow polarizing figures. Charlie Sheen has come out as a Truther and a conspiracy theorist, going as far as making a film with undertones of false information about the attack. Sheen claims: “There are still a couple of things just rooted in simple physics that beg some measure of inquiry. I was in contact with a lot of family members and they were in concert with a lot of my questions.” Jenny McCarthy has gone on record claiming that vaccines gave her child autism. Podcast host and researcher George Ouzounian has stated that “Celebrity worship is the reason we have anti-vaxxers,” attributing the entirety of the anti vax movement to the misinformation of celebrities. “We have people like Jenny McCarthy going on record saying vaccines gave her child autism and her fans just eat that up. Correlation must cause causation, right? She failed to control variables such as chemicals, clothes, plastic, known carcinogens, water, etc,” says Ouzounian in episode 29 of his podcast The Biggest Problem in the Universe.

Another example of blindly following an affluent figure is Stan Culture. “Stan” culture is a popular form of celebrity fandom and worship in both the West and Eastern hemispheres. The western term is derived from an Eminem song titled Stan (short for Stalker-Fan) where the rapper goes in depth about the story of a fan that designs his lifestyle around the lyrics in Eminem’s music. He misinterprets the insane, violent nature of the rapper’s on-stage persona as a lifestyle that he actually lives, causing the fan to go insane and murder his girlfriend in reference to another of Eminem’s horror story type songs called “Kim”. The cautionary nature of the song Stan’s message ironically did not get across to the current generation of celebrity “Stans”, as they view the stalkerish nature of the Stan character from the song as something to look up to, just as Stan looked up to the character Eminem plays in some of his music. Stan Culture causes fans and obsessors to defend everything their idol does, even if it is misguided. “You got some issues Stan, I think you need some counseling. To help your ass from bouncing off the walls when you get down some” says Eminem in the song “Stan” referring to the stalker fan needing medical and mental health attention. Further evidence of this can be found in a case of Ariana Grande not understanding many subjects of appropriation she had used in a music video led to her fans misleadingly defending her with no juxtaposition. Naijaeaux on Twitter says “All Arianna does is drop hits and mind her business, but y’all continue to critique and harass her.” This culture of “my idol can do no wrong” completely removes the subjective concept of art and halts many conceptual conversations that are important for analyzing music.

Stan writing to Eminem, https://twitter.com/mscaitlin55/status/846561100263034882

Stan culture goes even further, however, when focus is on more socially involved governments. Motoko Rich, foreign bureau chief for New York Times reported that North Korea requested eleven kpop acts to perform for their leader as a form of covert diplomacy. Meanwhile, nearly 40 million people claim themselves to be dedicated fans of the Korean pop music genre with feral hive-minded communities swarming every crevice of social media. The implications of North Korea’s propaganda system getting ahold of one of the world’s most flourishing genres would naturally scare almost anyone. Additionally, the People’s Republic of China, a nation currently known for brainwashing internment camps and suppressing many of what the West knows as inalienable freedoms, has recently seen quiet support from NBA personalities such as Adam Silver and LeBron James. After being asked to share thoughts on the topic multiple times, both personalities had refused to speak up on any of the Hong Kong protests in the past out of fear they would lose endorsements from China. When nations have access to beloved personalities that are generally looked highly upon, it becomes easier for them to accumulate supporters to justify their causes.

Kim Jong Un with South Korean group Red Velvet, https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2018/04/02/598812832/kim-jong-un-was-deeply-moved-after-k-pop-performance

Another case of the strange ideologies of popular figures being followed by a growing crowd is Terryology. A study by Dave Schilling, General editor at Grantland covers a firsthand interview between the author and actor Terrence Howard. Terrence Howard is proposing a new way of thinking and problem solving coined “Terryology,” that involves the idea that scientific and mathematical theories can be solved in a minimalistic form of analysis and still make sense. For example, the expression 1x1 having the number 1 stated twice means that there are two of them, and therefore equals 2 and not 1. Many fans of this ideology have begun converting their mathematics to Terryology despite the world still running on the normal mathematic system we have today. Some critics view this as a misinformed, dropout mathematics major turned movie star losing his mind in the fame that surrounds him. However, many news outlets and art enthusiasts view this as an expression of creative integrity that should be considered a legitimate theory. “In that piece, Mr. Howard explains a philosophy for life so powerful, so revolutionary, so magnificent, that most people who read about it were driven mad or had their heads swell up like the bad guy from Total Recall.” -Schilling

Mental Health

           Aside from altering people’s thoughts ideologically, celebrity obsession also has a strong effect on the mental health of people that follow celebrities. Professor and journalist Neil Peterson conducted a study in 2005 claiming that teenage girls tend to have lower self-confidence if they constantly follow celebrities online or in the media. Recently, another study of 437 Hungarian citizens found that people that considered themselves celebrity worshippers also tended to have higher levels of problematic internet use, maladaptive daydreaming, and desire to be famous. These individuals are led to not being as productive and not being in the mindset to make their lives better due to always looking up to someone that has no direct effect on their life. In conclusion, overall happiness and productivity are hindered by celebrity worship. In 2013, more cases of schizophrenia emerged with the leading cause being cultural icons. This may not have been the intention of the celebrities, but some fans of them with less than stable home and mental lives may find this to be a difficult and life halting struggle. In Hungary, internet addiction has been linked to obsession with popular figures for purposes such as envy of appearance and infatuation. Celebrity worship is prevalent among all people but is most present among teenage girls up to age 17. This is a time where most people are still discovering their identity as a person and will likely have a long-term effect on them for the rest of their lives. Due to the age range this disorder affects mostly, there is a higher potential for identity crises later in life. This early age of developing issues also has the largest margin of change to financial literacy and decision making. Adults that spent their adolescent years obsessing over famous people may not know that those people spend all their money carelessly due to their wealth and could cause others to pursue the same luxuries without an enormous bank account to fall back on. School of Psychology professor at the University of Leicester, John Maltby, says “Significant relationships were found between attitudes toward celebrities and body image only among female adolescents. Multiple regression analyses suggested that Intense‐personal celebrity worship accounted for unique variance in scores in body image.” In addition to mental health, celebrity obsession can also affect financial stability. Many communities near or below the poverty line struggle with addiction and abuse, and celebrity worship can be seen as a form of this. From a distance, obsessing over another person’s personal life doesn’t seem as bad as abusing substances, but they both have the same psychological dependence and reaction when consuming both contents.

Chairman ZeBron,  https://lushsux.bigcartel.com/

Diagnosis of Celebrity Worship Symptoms

           In addition to mental health, celebrity obsession can also affect financial stability. As Daniel Guilbert stated in The Science Behind the Smile, one way to determine happiness is to break it into statistics. Many communities near or below the poverty line struggle with addiction and abuse, and celebrity worship can be seen as a form of this. From a distance, obsessing over another person’s personal life doesn’t seem as bad as abusing substances, but they both have the same psychological dependence and reaction when consuming both contents. Robert A. Reeves from the Augusta State University Department of Psychology reports that “Celebrity worship, materialism, and compulsive buying were significantly related to lower self‐concept clarity and to lower levels of well‐being, supporting both absorption‐addiction and empty self-theories” -Celebrity Worship, Materialism, Compulsive Buying, and the Empty Self by Robert Reeves. Celebrity Worship Disorder has also proven to make mental health cases worse. This is proven by more reports by Reeves emerging in 2013 of worsening cases of schizophrenia due more to cultural icons than any other sources. The same study shows that this fixation on pop culture is mostly a coping mechanism for other symptoms including depression and ADHD. These coping methods are an incredibly unhealthy way of dealing with personal problems, as it does nothing to further the mental state of anyone involved. The subgroups of this diagnosis can more easily help find solutions if recognized.

           The first stage of rehabilitation is recognizing what the problem is, which is why groups of diagnoses are so valuable. Celebrity Worship syndrome is a registered mental and medical disorder that Gary Laderman groups into three categories: Simple Obsession (70-80% of cases- between individuals that have shared personal relationships with each other), Love Obsessional (stalking, convinced that they are in a relationship with the individual), and Erotomantic (less than 10%, believe that the celebrity is in love with them and sending subliminal messages to the person, and often a symptom of schizophrenia). All of which are diagnosable disorders that victims can seek therapy or rehabilitation for. George Ouzounian from The Biggest Problem in the Universe expands by connecting these examples to a shift in culture and the fact that youth are more commonly swayed based on culture and wealth (Episode 29 of the podcast).

John Maltby also acknowledged three ways that people can begin their celebrity obsession: celebrity products, personal characteristics of the celebrity, and peer influence. These are all cultural aspects that reflect how modern society is constructed to revolve around these people. “Thematic analysis revealed that 3 major factors influenced participants to become celebrity worshipers: celebrity products, personal characteristics of the celebrity, and peer influence.” -John Maltby, School of Psychology. HaengRyang Huh from Sejong University brings up digit ratios and their importance in finding out exactly who is most affected by mental obsessions. “The digit ratios for the entire sample were positively correlated with CAS scores. Our research found evidence of a significant positive correlation between 2D:4D ratios and celebrity worship in females but not in males, which indicated that females with lower digit ratios were less likely to worship celebrities” -HaengRyang Huh. The gender ratio of celebrity worship varies and affects the level of loyalty to an individual someone has. Additionally, depending on the year and trending names, the ratio fluctuates even more.

The most troubling element of this issue is the amount of lives taken by celebrity worship. Romeo Vitelli, Ph.D. reported on an international connection involving copycat suicides. In Japan, a trend arose when famous pop singer Yukiko Okada committed suicide in 1986. Since then, chain suicides in the country enacted by fan groups were referred to as Yukiko Syndrome. Romeo Vitelli claims the trend began in 1774 when Johann Goethe’s book The Sorrows of Young Werther led to an influx of suicides duplicating the main character of the story. Studies on the chain suicides revealed that nearly all of the participants had existing mental health problems throughout their lives. “In understanding why celebrity suicides can be contagious, social learning theory suggests that the example of a well-known celebrity committing suicide may make them into role models for vulnerable fans to imitate. Once suicide is seen as an acceptable behavior, people experiencing depression may be more likely to commit suicide as a result.” -Vitelli, 2016. Social learning theory can be drawn as the cause of many celebrity related actions, and it is important to consider that as a factor to why these individuals are followed.

Origins of Copycat Suicides, https://www.slideshare.net/gauravhtandon1/copycat-suicides-when-suicides-comes-in-clusters

           Parasitic Relationships

           Celebrity culture on a wide scale has undoubtedly led to many trends and movements, but how do people with this platform have the power to influence opinions? The answer is rooted in the personalities of each popular figure and how they are perceived. A stern person known for minimal emotion may not have the same public image as someone that is often affectionate to others. It is somewhat the matter of whether you would prefer Gordon Ramsay or Lady Gaga to be your grandparents. One option is short tempered and often hard to emote with, while the other appears more considerate and carries their heart on their sleeve for all to empathize with. If the audience sees a humble, welcoming celebrity, they will feel more at home watching or listening to them. Down to earth celebrities tend to have the highest influence on people’s values and thoughts. These relationships are occasionally very beneficial for both audience and performer, causing the rise of many positive movements. The positive appearance of the trend of following celebrities encourages more people to follow them. There are still a handful of beneficial traits that come with celebrity culture such as confidence, individuality, perseverance, and humility. Many cultural figures today have improved society in some form. Bill Gates has committed to a foundation called the Giving Pledge where he and other billionaires donate a majority of their income to new charities to bring notice and support for lesser known causes. Upon his first year as a charting artist, Chance the Rapper immediately started a tradition where he donates $1 million to schools in his hometown Chicago, as well as actively participating in Faith in Action. Elton John actively participates in and has created multiple foundations spreading awareness for sexually transmitted diseases and support for those who suffer from them. Conversely, some pop culture icons take the route of studying policies firsthand in an effort to connect more people with how society can be improved. The late Nipsey Hussle is another person well known for his charity work and had planned to meet with the Los Angeles police department to learn about and discuss alternative solutions to the gang violence he grew up with. All of these people have made positive changes to how people seek to improve their communities and have plenty of supporters participating in their causes.

Elton John speaking at the anniversary of the Aids Foundation, https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8030099/elton-john-celebrates-25-years-of-aids-foundation

Although celebrities often have good intentions, their fans may not. This is once again attributed to the fact that celebrity worship is caused by the fan’s mental health situation. Even if a pop icon promotes a positive relationship between themselves and the fans, there could still be a dangerous obsession by the fan. Korea calls this relationship Sasaeng and is seen as normal for fans. Sasaeng are fans who will stalk and obsess over the most popular musical idols of the time, often resulting in devastation to the fan. Sasaeng, or fans, will also spend large amounts of money on traveling to meet their idols or buying excessive merchandise. Famous celebrities, as well as Stans, are often publicized without a clear image on whether their actions as obsessive fans are good or bad. Many people will find these statements, regardless of good or bad intention, as something to look up to and shape opinion based on. This is why fandoms for eastern pop groups have become so viral in the past decade. If being a feral fan is seen as a positive trait, more people will aspire to follow the trend. Due to so much attention being on these people in eastern countries, many of them are also required by contract to refrain from certain actions such as dating, stating opinions, or associating with certain people the labels and contractors have not approved. In Japan, a female member of a famous pop group, AKB47, was seen in public on a date with a boy and was later required by label officials to shave her head and apologize to both her fans and music group on camera. This strict image can sometimes even be too much for the celebrities to keep up with and reflect how strict and obsessive everyone involved is. Other people may feel entitled to forcing contact with famous people or may even feel they deserve special treatment from their idols. Furthermore, if an induvial has violent tendencies or disorders, celebrity obsession could amplify them. “On the periphery, however, resides a much smaller group of individuals who lack the ability to discriminate between their own private fantasies and the public figure’s behavior, believe they are entitled to pursue the figure, and may present a risk of violence.” -J. Reid Melloy, pg. 3 of Stalking, Threatening, and Attacking Public Figures : A Psychological and Behavioral Analysis.

As icon worship grows in popularity, it is important that ways to identify the trend grow with it. With so much stigma around the culture of celebrity worship, is it possible to support and follow a famous person without any of the burdens of mental health or misinformation? In simple terms, yes, as long as you’re able to educate yourself with more than one source and viewpoint. Knowing the positives and negatives of views and lifestyles is crucial to enlightenment. Therefore, it should be a priority to educate yourself from every angle on any type of new information you want to learn. This, along with prioritizing mental health will allow for a healthy experience following any public entertainer. Connecting happiness to life is mandatory for fulfillment and should never be compromised in favor of someone you’ve never met.