Understanding A Parasocial Relationship Between Fans and Celebrities

 During my free time, I normally do not follow news updates on celebrities’ activities, such as Justin Bieber, Kanye West, and Miley Cyrus. This is because they do not suite my needs as a person, and I really do not care about their everyday routines. I do not follow an artist just because everyone likes one particular artist. I only follow a artist based on his or her quality of the art, not just for the artist’s physical looks. The only times that I look up information and videos about those celebrities is the controversial aspects of them. For example, If you look up any videos of Justin Bieber going to a public place, you will usually see many his screaming fans that wants to get close to him.

I wanted to bring this up because I would like to briefly talk about the parasocial relationship between celebrities and their fans. One may ask, “What is a Parasocial relationship?” According to my Com 280 textbook, “A First Look at Communication Theory,” the textbook defines parasocial relationships as a make believe bondage, between a fan and pop culture icon (Griffin, Ledbetter, and Sparks 359). One example of a parasocial relationship is a fan that is into Christian Bale, and has imaginary beliefs that he or she will be loved by Bale. So why is the phenomenon of fans developing parasocial relationship with celebrities becoming more noticable? According to Pacific Standard’s article “Your Imaginary Relationship With a Celebrity,” written by Alana Massey, the reason that parasocial relationships of fans and celebrities are increasing in society because social media networks made it simpler for fans to interact with celebrities, and monitor the celebrities’ public activities. This can cause any fan online to make a request to the celebrity, to do something for the fan (Massey).  In my opinion on these parasocial relationships is that I think it is okay to talk to celebrities on social media sites, as long as the fans are making respectful comments and not send unexpected messages. I think it is also okay for someone to imagine meeting a celebrity, and that is normal. The important thing for fans of any Hollywood celebrity is understand that they are regular people, and they have other lives outside of their careers.

Emotionally Attached

When watching a movie have you every felt like you've gained a connection with a particular character or characters? when your character gets into an altercation, or goes through a break-up, or even dies do you develop a sense of emotional connection? Just like you many who watch films encounters the same emotional pattern that develops between the movie watcher and the character. But why? According to Howard Skylar a doctoral researcher of the University of Helsinki, states in the article The psychology of character Bonding by Rachel Norman state that we develop these feeling through empathy and sympathy. Skylar states that humans tend to connect to a character due to a similarity of a situation. Whatever is going on with the character, the viewer may be able to relate to what they're going through rather it being a loss in the family or a simple job promotion. The viewer forms a sense of empathy for the character when identifying the character's backstory, or their story displayed throughout the film or show. This opens the viewers need to sympathize for the character. For example, above is a clip from part one of the trilogy of Hunger Games (Spoiler alert if you've never seen this movie). In the scene displayed the young lively character Rue dies from a dart to the chest. This would be considered as one of the movie's high points that received a lot of reaction from the crowd. Many viewers became attached to Rue which made her death very emotional. Many even cried at the death of Rue (Okay, I confess), and some even upset. In the rebel of district 11, many moviegoers cheered in excitement as if they were actually there to witness it for themselves. Prior to that particular scene, Rue's character is developed through the back story of her life, where she was raised, her life history etc. This opens a sensitive boundary that allows the viewer to find out more of the characters personal background in which one may relate that character to someone who has similar characteristics or has a relatable situation. When there is a life-threatening situation the viewer may place another person that may substitute the character for a real person, or in other instances see that character as real and not fictional.

According to the article The Psychology of Fandom: Why We Get Attached to fictional Characters by Abby Norman, Norman continues Skylar's theory adding the idea of things that are fictional may be perceived as reality. Though we can not feel, or interact with the character there is a sense of connection viewers build that gives them the idea that the character is real. This idea gives homage to the actor in which they precisely portray a character so well that their actual identity is lost and sometimes become permanently referred to as that character rather than who they actually are. Let's take the Twilight Saga as an example. Many watchers not only gravitated to the series but gravitated to these three phenomenal characters.Kristen Stewart, also known as Bella Swan will always be known for her role on the Twilight Saga even though her acting career was well established prior to the famous Saga and is still thriving. However, her role as Bella will always be a part of her identity which will make it hard for her to break away from due to the connection fans have with that character. 

According to Ann Burnett and Rhea Beto, one may identify this as Parasocial Relationship theory. Parasocial Relationship is a theory that indicates a viewers development of a relationship between themselves and a character, tv host, etc. These relationships often develop individually and not within a set group of people. There is a sense of connection that a viewer may develop making the character seem real or close to them as if the character is a friend or companion. This has a large impact on a production. It is stated that a viewers idea may contribute to how producers may construct a characters script withing a series or sequel. Viewers become so emotionally attach that if a viewer is not pleased with a scene or a character's plot twist producers may switch, or re-create and revive a character for the popularity of the viewers. A viewers emotional attachment can not only have a pivotal impact on that person but also on the production or the characters longevity within a series or sequel. In today's age, most shows, movies, etc thrive off of viewers emotional connection with a character. If there is no connection to viewers one can be killed off a show or written a smaller role to the sake of the production. To be emotionally attached to a character can be a good and bad thing and largely impacts not only you but the production itself. 

References

Burnett, Ann, and Rhea Reinhardt Beto. "Ann Burnett and Rhea Rheinhardt Beto." Ann Burnett and Rhea Rheinhardt Beto. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2015.

Nuwer, Rachel. Where to Watch. N.p., 13 July 2034. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

Norman, Abby. "The Psychology of Fandom: Why We Get Attached to Fictional Characters." The Mary Sue The Psychology of Fandom Why We Get Attached to Fictional Characters Comments. N.p., 19 Aug. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2015.

               Our Obsession with the Apocalypse

It is no brainier to simply understand that from time immemorial our undeniably obsession and apprehension about the concept of apocalypse have left us quite gullible.

Whether it’s bad news about the world coming to an imminent and a catastrophic end or watching the dozens of Hollywood movies depicting survivalists beating all odds on the silver screen over the decades, all have assisted in festering our obsession with the apocalypse.

As an apocalypse nerd, I thinks finding the reason for our doomsday obsession and why it does exist is actually relevant. According to listverse.com, there are ten reasons responsible for humans' obsession with apocalyptic events. But for our argument here I've decided to select these four amongst the lot: An inflated sense of self importance, provides a sense of meaning, it gives a sense of power and it's predicts the end, especially in the Christian Bible.

 Because of our self inflated sense of self importance, we go around with the notion that the world revolves around us and everything should be about us. We think that power to control circumstances beyond our imagination can be manipulated by our intellect and according to our desires.

Understanding the nature of the universe; which consists of order and chaos, we try to provide a sense of meaning in the midst of everything. power being a basic human need, it becomes evident that our obsession with apocalyptic events is all about controlling others and the world around us. And because apocalypse is predicated- Christian eschatology (religious theory about the end of the world), adherents of the faith look forward to its fulfilment.

Over the years, the Hollywood film industry have tried endlessly to satisfy that insatiable taste of the American viewer with diverse apocalyptic movies. Over the years, movies scripts have been written and acted upon that left us some sense of recognizable elements of our universe society remains: after series of catastrophic events --in order to allow us identify with. The urge to glance at the remain of our destroyed city or town. Sometime, characters in the moves make us identify with them as the engage themselves in the use of our technologies.
I Am Legend: seeing actor Will Smith as Robert Neville driving through a deserted Manhattan streets haunting a deer makes the scene more related to the viewer. Whether we sit down to really watch dooms day movies like Armageddon, Independence Day, or the Fifth element, there is always that awareness that at the end humanity will emerge victorious (P.328).

References

http://listverse.com/2013/01/02/top-10-reasons-humans-are-obsessed-with-the-apocalypse/

Is it really love?

I actively say that I love Jennifer Lawrence. I love the way that she's unapologetically herself in interviews and on the red carpet, I love that she's weird and silly in a totally unprecedented way, and I love that she's not afraid to call Hollywood out for it's B.S. I make sure to see all of her movies, watch all of her interviews, and buy all of the magazines that she's graced the cover of (and sometimes I have dreams that we're best friends- more often than I'd like to admit). But is this really love? 

Laken (2009) describes a parasocial interaction like the one discussed above as when the audience response is more than just observing; they participate and interact with the actor or character on screen. The relationship itself is "one-sided, nondialectical, controlled by the performer, and not susceptible of mutual development" (p. 6). Furthermore, audience members share the media figure's life as though the performer is someone in their own life (p. 7). This can be seen in instances such as when Princess Diana died, and fans took to her tribute website to write through their grief. 

One person went so far as to assume that the two shared the same life milestones, saying, "Once we reached our early 30s we had developed our personalities and begun to gain independence. Our husbands forgot how to nurture us and give us the love and friendship that we both wanted so desperately" (Arnot, 2001). 

This parasocial interaction is encouraged by articles like Buzzfeed's quiz Which Celeb Should Be Your BFF Based on Your Zodiac Sign? or 7 Reasons Why Jennifer Lawrence Would Be An Amazing Best Friend. We're reminded that these celebrities are "real people, just like you and me!", and we believe it. We follow their careers, declare our love for them, and then we cry because we just can't handle all of the emotions. Take Cody and her love for Justin Bieber for example:

Despite the tears and the comical air to this video, the fact is that many of us engage in parasocial relationships. The question that remains is how far is too far?

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Animation Nation

         The movies of today have been defined by an era of animation and special effects, the time for on site filming has been usurped by this great cinematic innovation.

         From Avatar, Hunger games, Avengers, Godzilla, to the Hobbit, Star wars, and even the Wolf of Wall Street, films in the 21st century are using CGI (Computer Generated Imagery)  and special effects incessantly instead of the classic stunt man and on site shooting tactics. Nearly every movie you watch today uses some form of digital effects. Especially with todays craze of science fiction and post apocalyptic films, special effects such as CGI green and blue screen are used more and more and are becoming more prevalent in big budget block buster films.

         To put it into perspective, in the Lord Of The Rings trilogy, over 75 percent of the scenes are shot using CGI and Green Screen, and that number only gets higher in the prequel trilogy, The Hobbit. Out of the entire LOTR trilogy, there are 3240 digital visual effects shots used. (Weta Digital (DVD). New Line Cinema. 2004.) The Lord of The Rings series (including the Hobbit) is comparable to the timeless series classic Star Wars. 

        Director George Lucas was the father of special effects because of his renowned series. When the first movie came out, A New Hope, "Movie goers were awed by Star Wars's opening sequence, as the large space ship appeared to hover over the head of the audience and converge into the middle distance." CGI was a brand new system in the 70's and it was expensive. Lucas actually only used 90 seconds of CGI footage in his first film, his prominence as a special effects master came from the animatronics, puppetry, "matte paintings," mass amounts of miniatures, and other effects techniques. It is important to know this because when hearing the word special effects, most people thing CGI and green screen, but many times it means hours and hours of creative analog genius. Referring back to LOTR, the miniatures team in the Two Towers film, worked the most out of any special effects crew logging a grand total of one thousand days. Yet Star wars was still one of the first to use such a technology as CGI and it would make way for major films such as Jurassic Park, Men in Black, and so on. 

       As we venture deeper into this cinematic wonderland, some people fear that we are loosing the classical art of aesthetic film to digital blockbusters. Yes the Return of the King, a digital masterpiece, won 11 Academy awards (IMDB), but the prevalence of poorly shot digital films is very real. The great movies that win awards such as Avatar, LOTR, or Titanic are high budget and use the best special effects companies. It is the films on the sci-fi channel that give special effects and CGI a bad name. Even some of the major movie theater quality films have been criticized for their special effects; Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, The Mummy Returns, the Green Lantern, and R.I.P.D to name a few. 

       The use of animation and special effects in todays world of cinematography is very prevalent and will only increase with time. Will we forget about how to make great movies such as The Notebook or Casablanca without the use of special effects, or will we hold sacred the values of analog film and film making. Personally i enjoy animation when done right and i think that it can add a whole new realm to film. But the reality that special effects have the power to ruin film is much to great. 

Pretty Little Liars will invade your heart, and then your twitter feed.

If you have had to scroll through endless tweets, Facebook posts, and other online conversations based on the latest Pretty Little Liars episode, you are absolutely not alone. Perhaps, you have even been apart of these conversations. One can simply hate and scroll through their feeds each premiere night, or join the fandom to see what everyone is crying and screaming about (literally).

Pretty Little Liars is a television series on ABC Family which follows five high school girls as they try to entangle the mystery of "A," a figure who texts them and sends them messages, threatening the disclosure of their secrets. The series has been classified as a teen drama, thriller, and mystery, and is currently in the middle of their sixth season. Pretty Little Liars has conquered something that all other series and networks can learn from; it has been the number one most-tweeted cable television series from 2012 to the present.

The main audience of the series is teenage girls, those who already spend much of their time on the internet and smart phones. Pretty Little Liars used this to their advantage to market their show even further, and ultimately sky-rocketing their success.

One way in which they have done this is through creating online communities. For example, the Pretty Little Liars Facebook page is consistently thriving in the growth of "likes." There are fan-made Twitter accounts, fan-bases on Tumblr, and a community for PLL fans on just about every social media platform. The communities have grown by the series using exclusive content on Facebook and other websites. One could "Like to Unlock" a preview of the next episode. Also, specifically targeted for Twitter, the episodes will show a hashtag during a dramatic scene, so those who are tweeting can track conversations, opinions, or reactions on the scene of reference. This has been substantial for twitter activity, since it makes viewers feel included during the premieres of each episode and like their thoughts important to the series. Everyone wants to be on top of things and "in the know," and the hashtags have helped viewers experience that.

Another way in which Pretty Little Liars has engaged their media-consumed fan-base is by filling the gaps in between seasons. Often, fan-bases die down when there are multiple months until the next season premiere. However, PLL has worked to fill the gaps with interviews or mini-series' that release new information about the show and its characters.

Lastly, a substantial technique used by Pretty Little Liars to capture the hearts of fans is by letting them engage with the actors and actresses of the show. The actors will create hashtags on their twitter accounts to give the fans the ability to tweet in their questions or comments. This created a flood in the twitter-sphere on its own, since every fan dreams of being acknowledged by these actors.

Pretty Little Liars has made its mark on the modern television watching experience. It is no longer a personal hobby that is maybe brought up in small talk, but it has become largely an internet craze. Social media platforms are consumed with hashtags, theories, exclusive content, conversations with actors, interviews, etc. If you are on Facebook or Twitter and want to understand what the hype is about, you best keep up with this series. It is almost like peer pressure in the media world, which is marketing genius for the show. It has even affected the enthusiasm of the show in day-to-day. If one wanted to be apart of the conversation, he or she should have watched the premiered episode the night before.

References

http://www.karanovic.org/courses/mca008/archives/1311

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/29/entertainment/la-et-ct-abc-family-pretty-little-liars-twitter-20130529

https://www.capstrat.com/posts/abc-familys-pretty-little-liars-has-mastered-social-media-game/

Panem Today. Panem Tomorrow. Panem Forever.

Suzanne Collin's masterful Hunger Games trilogy has sparked debate ever since its conception in 2008. After gaining serious momentum within the literature community, the trilogy was adapted to monumentally successful blockbuster films. 

 The series appeals to a wide demographic. Rich in action, romance, and suspense and aligning perfectly with the ever popular "apocalyptic" or "dystopia" genre, the film franchise has found profit in many beyond the book fandom. 

Collin's work is a truly powerful piece of literature that holds meaning far deeper than Gary Ross or Francis Lawrence would have been able to capture and convey through in their films.; nor is it necessarily the platform to elevate these components. Luckily, due heavily to Collins working closely with the film franchise, a number of her deeper themes 

translated into the film medium furthering her impact. 

The Hunger Games trilogy is a deeply political series full of allusions to history like Nazi Germany, the depravity and severe imbalance of class division, and serves ultimately as a glaring commentary on our modern society. 

Upon the series initially gaining momentum in both the literature community and within larger culture, the complaint of brutality within the work surfaced. People were shocked at the audacity and abhorrence of the Capitol as they forced the district's children into the arena to play their sick game. However, how different is the Games from what we watch everyday within our society as a means of entertainment? From MMA fighting to reality television to the innumerable horror films produced each year, we are no better than the citizens of Panem. 

Within his article "'The Hunger Games:' A Commentary on Society", Alexander Vassiliadis states, "The Hunger Games take the concept of 'reality TV' and successfully blows it up in society's face... What is Collins trying to tell us? Are we blind to the very fact that our entertainment today is elevating... Shows like Fear Factor and Ninja Warrior are only primitive examples of violent, revolting, and action-based reality TV. People need to take a step back and realize that if these types of exaggerated media were to evolve into something bigger and a bit more ludicrous -- based on historical data showing the magnitude of violence in films and video games today -- who says that a reality TV show in which kids come together and fight to the death is really out of modern-day society's reach?" Collins sketches the horror of these games with true intentionality and seeks to hold a mirror to the grimace of society as we thoughtlessly consume media with equal insensitivity and brutality.

The franchise pulls slightly on the threads of history Collins incorporates within her texts by using propaganda images as advertisements for the upcoming installments of the series. 

Within the books, the elements of history are obviously much more clearly pronounced. This layer of political history is just another of the many deeper pieces of Suzanne Collin's work. 


Within our text, Matthew Leggatt also evaluates some of the more substantial components that Collins incorporates. In discussing the first film, he states, "The economic consciousness of the film reflects only one element of today's concerns. This film also deals with over-indulgence, fascism, state propaganda, and the manipulation of the work force primarily through fear and surveillance" (331). Leggatt continues to say, "These are certainly not films that celebrate the end. Rather their purpose is to mourn the loss of the future. Why do we watch them? Perhaps to find something that lies outside the system of capital...or maybe we watch in order to remind ourselves of the bleakness of the future" (332). However, in the case of The Hunger Games, I would argue our attraction steps from an unconscious connection to the culture of Panem. Within social science, it has been proven individuals are generally more attracted to other people and materials that are seemingly similar. And while we, of course, would prefer to identify with our incredible protagonist, Katniss Everdeen, we see ourselves more clearly in the faces of the Capitol citizens. 

Leggatt ponders throughout the chapter what makes this apocalyptic and dystopian genre so popular within our culture. While he believes it to be a direct result of our obsession with the end of the world, I would say it stems more from our culture's preoccupation with excess and over stimulation, much like the Capitol. In her impactful trilogy, Suzanne Collins creates a dystopian society that's a little too close for comfort when we break it down. She confronts the unsettling truth of how desensitized our culture has become, and ultimately conveys a powerful and sobering message through an engaging and accessible platform; an unfortunate necessity within our Capitol-istic culture.