I have a friend who
is a diehard fan of a Korean star. This young star’s name starts with Kim (no,
not that frumpy dictator who is happy-go-a-killing)
and ends with Hyun (yes, that's the one; although I think the other Kim looks
cuter).
This rising meteoric
star is in his twenties and my friend is in her forties. I have a secretary who
shares the same mindless abandonment for this young Korean heartthrob. The
craze doesn't stop there.
Recently, a group of women in Hong Kong forked out
about HK$10 million to invite him to an exclusive banquet with them. And I
guess he has thousands of other female fans, young and old, who are totally
into him. This heartthrob wields considerable social influence over his
groupies. And it doesn't help that he has a pristine innocent look with
mesmerizing eyes and a well-sculpted body to boot.
Now to do more
“damage” to his X-factor, he is an actor who had starred in many juicy roles. In
one of them,
he played a country bumpkin who turned into a musical genius. In
another, he played a young gang member of a cool heist team in an a la Ocean 13 fashion. His popularity
skyrocketed with his recent serial foray as an alien professor in a period
drama. He has also won many awards for his acting and his looks. And as if the
gods have not done enough, he is also a model and a, well, out-of-tune singer (the fans would stone me for this). Finally, he is a much sought after
entertainer who charges at least
half a million dollars for a public appearance.
I personally have not
seen any of his tv dramas or heard his songs. But I guess he has many male fans
too. Unfortunately I am just not into the whole
throwing-my-unwashed-undergarment-at-you kind of adoration. Still I am curious
about such irresistible magnetism. And I am here trying my best to understand
this social phenomenon. It is no doubt a phenomenon because the level of
adulation he receives from his fans is beyond comprehension.
This is not some kind
of affection one shows for his or her mother. It is not a love expressed
between spouses. Neither is it the celebration a son receives from his family
when he returns after a long overseas hiatus. Oh no, the adulation factor is
much deeper, if not wilder. I would never expect a respected freedom fighter
like Gandhi or Mandela or their equivalent to receive such an out-of-this-world
reception. Consider the late
Michael Jackson and how many of his fans fainted and cried with
uncontrollable,
fits-like excitement by the mere sight of him and you will roughly know where I
am coming from.
After some thought, I
have come up with three factors that I hope could explain this social
phenomenon, and they are, social identity,
youthful idealism and momentary escapism.
You see, no matter
how enlightened we
are, we can't escape the reality that we are social animals.
By this, I mean that our lives are interdependent. We flourish via mutual interactions at all levels.
We cannot live alone. We may very well go bananas living with a company of one.
So, the animal in us craves for social connection. We desire to identify with
someone, a group/tribe or a nation. This social identity is layered with family
ties first to ethnic/race group to patriotism or loyalty to a particular ideology. For most of us, this craving for social affiliation seethes with quiet
desperation.
I recall the time
when I was young and I was all charged up in my Christian youth group. I could
readily identify with them. We had a common goal, a shared faith and an
undivided allegiance. We were as tight knit as the supercool Marvel heroes. When I transposed
this desire for group cohesion to the adulation of Korean pop fans, I see the
understandable parallel. There is
an indescribable feeling of high when we get
suck into the frenzy of common group idolization.
If an analogy helps,
it is comparable to the convergence of many riverlets from all directions and
backgrounds pouring into a common pool and the splash it makes when they rush
together at one go is beyond exhilaration. So I should never underestimate the
power (or insanity) of social identity which is able to dissolve even our own
personality for the greater good (or frenzy) of the group.
The next
factor is
youthful idealism. Now this affect (or infects) everyone young and old and
don't let the word "youthful" misdirect you. We are all young at
heart, even for those whose hearts have aged considerably. We have our own
ideals. Even for the seasoned amongst us, the disillusioned and the disabused,
their ideals are no less pronounced. It is just less professed.
But for some of us,
we may feel that our ship has sailed. And this feeling of resignation causes us
to chase after
the same ideals that are personified in others. This is where
superstars come in. From a distance, these stars are idealism-galore. By this,
I mean that they represent everything, if not most things, we are not. They are
rich, famous and widely adored. They are good looking, multi-talented and
seemingly good natured (until we get to live with them for a month of course).
So, it is hard not to
like them. It is also hard not to secretly adore them. And since they are
widely adulated by
others, by diving into the same social pool, we somehow
become hip, cool, hot, accepted, favored and appreciated by mere association.
It is a kind of vicarious fame very much like riding on the coattails of a
Halley’s comet. This is the time-tested us-vs-them mentality. This is also a
marriage of convenience between the first factor of social identity and this
second factor of youthful idealism.
Now, the last factor
is momentary escapism. For this, I am turning the spotlight on ourselves, on
our
own lives. I call this the blight of everydayness. Most of us live a
rut-like existence. The pre-set grooves are predictable. We wake up, doll up,
work around the clock, meet deadlines, clock out, dress down and lights out.
This is as routine a routine as it can ever be for most of us. And somewhere
along the road, the monotony nags and gnaws at us like an old dog nibbling at
desiccated bones.
So, many crave for an
altered ego or a pseudo personality to escape into. We vicariously fantasize
about another life or
persona, mostly in direct opposite with our current
unrelishing state. This existential longing propels us to scour the globe for a
distraction. And the distraction that fits the bill to a tee is, yes you've
guessed it, the pantheon of god-like superstars.
Of course, this distraction
consists of both positive and negative influences (compare the stellar Mandela
and the corrupt Mugabe or the timeless Buble and the misguided Bieber). Whoever
the object of our adulation, with specific reference
to young heartthrob, we
will unavoidably steal some time and attention away to throw ourselves at the
glittering altar of these stars. Somehow, such distraction and borrowed fantasy
ignite in us a sense of aliveness, a feeling of wonderment, and a joy of
unbridled escapism from our dreary reality.
Like the Lego song
"Everything is Awesome", we secretly crave for such a bubbled,
glamorous and self-elevating world that differs so much from our everyday
existence. In the end, this
escapism is a form of therapy for us and for some,
a form of emotional recharging.
So after all is said
here, as long as we do not pull to the extreme this affection we shower
on the stars, I guess it is all done in the name of good fun and for
de-stressing. And for some, we just want to feel young again. Personally, minus the
wild screaming and the torpedoed undergarment, I find a little of this
distraction healthy, if not infectiously mood-lifting. And I am sure it would
be quite fun to live like a Korean pop
star (or intellectual giants like Rowan
Williams or Richard Dawkins, for my taste of course) for a day or two.
Being a social animal
myself, I can understand why some of us go gaga over these beloved celebrities.
And just like a dog chasing after its tail and salivating profusely when his
owner comes home, we sometimes do the same when these stars strut their stuff on
stage or croon a ballad on screen (or for me, renders a mind-blowing lecture
behind the lectern). Cheerz
* Image taken from "seoulbeats.com."
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