As mentioned before, not everyone in the fandom is guilty of this disrespectful behaviour, but it has happened so much and so severely that it needs to be exposed.
You're probably tired of hearing about Coriolanus and it's impact on the Hiddlestoners and Tom himself, but it's the most severe example of where fan shaming clouded what was supposed to be a wonderful performance for Tom and a wonderful experience for fans and patrons.
Cut to Tumblr, the mecca for all fandoms, and you will find post after post condemning fans for their behaviour at Coriolanus, whether in the audience or at the stage door.
One blog post, titled "Utterly Appalled", written by ravenguest, starts off with "I can't even talk about the play as I am so disgusted by the way in which people were treating the wonderful MR.H. This man is grace incarnate, polite, sweet, friendly and generous with his time. How do fans repay him? They treat him like a piece of meat." (ravenguest, 2013)
I wouldn't refer to this post as fan shaming because her observations are fairly accurate and informed. I honestly don't blame her for everything written in her post because it refers to the other appalling behaviours that most fangirls and fanboys exhibit in public, especially when they have the chance to see their idol up close.
Another untitled blog post, written by hiddlestonandtom, is a shining example of fan shaming:
Another untitled blog post, written by hiddlestonandtom, is a shining example of fan shaming:
"But it does seem that a number of “fans” have only been interested in going to Coriolanus to get to meet Tom. There are those that have gone multiple times - while I don’t care what you spend your money on - it’s incredibly selfish seeing how hard it is to get tickets. It’s also incredibly selfish to then do the stage door multiple times - while you’re chuffed that you’ve “met” Tom multiple times, your selfishness has meant that someone else (equally deserving) has missed out. Shame." (hiddlestonandtom, 2013)
I agree that the vast majority of fangirls were interested in seeing Coriolanus because of Tom...whether it was the chance to meet him or the chance to see him up close. But the fact that there is a complaint about those who were able to get multiple tickets is irrelevant. In August, I was able to purchase two second row tickets to the sold-out performance of "Hamlet" starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Does that mean that I am a selfish woman for planning my purchase down to a T?
Granted, she also mentions that some of those who got tickets to multiple performances gravitated towards the stage door multiple times, and I do agree that it's selfish because everyone deserves a chance to meet Tom if it's in the cards. If someone has met Tom multiple times, they should step back and let the man meet his other fans. It's only fair.
When I attend the performance of "Hamlet", I'm not even going to bother going to the stage door because I already know it will be a crowded, unorganized mess. I am also pretty sure that the vast majority of people at the stage door will be the fangirls and I refuse to be defined by their behaviour. I am also lucky enough to have Benedict's autograph, so I don't see any point in mobbing him for it. Now, if I somehow get to meet him in between the end of the performance and his departure, then I will let him know what I thought of the performance. He and his fellow thespians are wary of hearing things other than "You are tremendously talented" or "I appreciate your hard work in your performance" and deserve the respect they've earned throughout their careers.
Getting back on topic, the fan shaming of the second article is too generalized. I am sure that not all fans who purchased tickets to multiple performances were huddled at the stage door, salivating for a chance to meet Tom again. Perhaps they got those tickets because they loved the performance so much...or maybe they didn't have a good experience the first time because of rabid fangirl behaviour and disrespect. You can't just shame a whole group of people based on a select few. Plus, she doesn't sound like someone who was actually there, she's basing everything off of Mr Hiddleston's tweets regarding the situations at the stage door and box office and another blogger's post. If I didn't know any better, she was jealous that she wasn't able to get tickets.
A lot of fans were unable to get tickets. Not all of them resorted to fan shaming to make themselves feel better about the situation. I am from Canada...it is super hard to get tickets to overseas performances unless you are on the ball. I was never able to get tickets to Coriolanus, but I was able to see it via satellite through the National Theater Live series at my local theatre. I am happy for those respectful fans who were able to get tickets because live theater is a wonderful experience.
If you read further into the article, she also basically accuses Mr. Hiddleston himself of fan shaming. In my experiences of being a bullying victim, it's the bully who exhibits the behaviour and then accuses someone else of it.
It's the generalizations and uninformed comments that have given fan shaming the power that it has today. Not only is it ignorant, but it is disrespectful as well. It is not unlike the behaviour of a bully. There are fans who have been lucky enough to have met Tom who were shamed because they were at the stage door after the performance. Not every single fan who lined up was rude and disrespectful to the staff...there were people who waited there patiently for their turn.
There's no crime in trying to meet your idol...the real crime is lashing out against those who were successful because jealousy runs rampant among fangirls. If you are one of the fortunate ones, you will be shamed for "hounding" your favourite actor to meet him and accused of being a fangirl when you just wanted to let them know how much you enjoyed and appreciated their work. Yes, I know you respectful fans exist out there...I am one of them.
Fan shaming is one of the biggest reasons why I abandoned the fandom in the first place. I believe in being a fan on my own terms and I will only condemn fangirl behaviours if they are disrespectful and/or harm others, including the celebrities involved. If I go and meet one of my favourite actors, it is because I wanted to let them know how much I enjoyed their work. An autograph is a bonus, but I will never press for it. I believe in giving them the respect they and their work deserve.
You will have to be prepared for when "Hamlet" starts in August because I am highly certain that the fan shaming will be even worse during those three months of the performance. Those of us who took advantage of the two presales will have targets on our backs because the performance officially sold out on the first day of the public sale. (The online queue was made up of at least 30,000 hopeful people attempting to get tickets) Please be prepared for the backlash because there are a lot of disappointed and angry fangirls out there who are chomping at the bit to start shaming those who are there, whether they are disrespectful or not.
I refuse to be a part of it. Those who are disrespectful will already make themselves look foolish in front of everyone, including Benedict himself and there's no need to further exacerbate it.
If you are part of the elite group I am in, as in the group that was able to get tickets, I implore you to treat Benedict with respect and save the ogling and disrespectful behaviour for the privacy of your own home. He already has had issues with a few fans and is wary of being treated like an object. He is a human being...human beings get tired...they get annoyed...and they get hurt. And, I will be damned if anyone does anything to hurt Benedict because he is a wonderful, kind individual who deserves all the love and respect he's earned.
I do not own the excerpts from the blog posts I mentioned in this post.
No comments:
Post a Comment