Are We Dying For Recognition?
An idol is an image or other material object representing a deity to which religious worship is addressed or any person or thing regarded with blind admiration, adoration, or devotion. This is what Wikipedia tells me when i’m too confused about what the meaning of it should be.
Back to the 48 environment and it’s culture especially in Indonesia where JKT48 have been reaching us with idol image and how the way we approach it. Idol thingy and stuffs are new and those have been becoming major entertainment for us. Even the template, The gimmick of an idol/artist you can meet has become current addiction for its fans.
In my opinion, Idoling is more like a hobby with much emotions. We deal with girls who bring such a task ‘person you can meet and communicate’ in their industry. There are too many feelings crossing in this world and you have to bear with it.
The more I think about it, when we’re rooting for the most beloved girls in town, we need something in return. Everything seem so impossible if we just do the hobby with flat attitude.
Sometime, we’re not able to maintain the connection with our idol. We often push ourselves to have a more exposure on our idol. Yes, that’s your problem and you have to deal with all the consequences. Furthermore, your happiness in idoling is risking yourself in the same time too.
We try our best to make this hobby keep us pleased. Everyone can do what they want to make themselves happy. We like to be swayed, we like to be recognized with someone we like. But when all the joy is disappeared when we try too hard to be recognized, it’s like a sickness in the world that should entertain you instead.
Are we gonna blame the gimmick? no, we are not. This hobby has a big risk when you put too much emotion on it. Idol is tend to make every single of her fans happy. Idol’s task is clear. Idol is only a girl yet a human that has feeling too.
Idol and fans are a like a professional bond. We pay and they will entertain us. We, the fans are appreciating their effort by a reward.
Reward for her fan-service, improvement, dancing or singing skill, or even more we like with her physical appearance and consider them as your lady. There’s no prohibition or punishment for thoughts like that, back to the start again, it’s your own risk.
Everyone has their own meaning with their happiness in Idoling. I don’t know of you will fly with only a smile from your favorite, or the most of all when you are getting recognized. We have to admit that for the most fans, the biggest pleasure in idoling is when you get the recognition from the one you’re dreaming for.
What’s more serious than the lost of joyfulness and enthusiasm in this hobby. Pardon me if i label it as a hobby not a lifestyle instead. I certainly don’t have any problem with this syndrome, but are we dying for recognition?
The biggest pleasure in my idolling activity is when my idols got honorable achievement.
Even in Japan, “recognition” is EXPECTED. See:
http://www.akb48wrapup.com/2012/04/what-you-should-know-about-akb-shake-hands-event/
They’re not buying dozens of handshake tickets for free. They WANT to be remembered by the idol the like.
See also:
http://www.akb48wrapup.com/2012/05/yuki-kashiwagi-and-minami-takahashi-simulated-shake-hands-event-in-tv-show-domoto-kyoudai/
I met one of Akicha’s fan who went here to Indonesia, explicitly saying “I have been a fan for 6 years. Akicha knows me well”.
These kinds of things, you can’t simply put it aside.
And for my case, I’d like to differentiate between “recognition” and “warok” (the dreaded local term).
“Recognition” is gotten from “legal ways”. That is, the 48 management there is so professional, you can only get your oshimen’s attention via legal outlet: Attending theater performances, handshake events, giving fanletters, etc so much that your oshimen would start to notice you.
Au contraire, “warok” in JKT48 fandom can be gotten from “illegal outlet”, since the management here can’t really figure a system that would encourage maintaining strict discipline, and preventing idols from interacting with fans via other outlet. You know some staff, you know some family members of the idols = You gain access. It’s not simple, but it’s not building the Pyramid either.
THUS!
This situation doesn’t encourage you to be a total Wota, doing everything in this fandom in fan-idol relationship. This situation instead encourages you to try to move from the “wota” quadrant, into a “colleague” or “friend” quadrant. Hell, into the “boyfriend” quadrant, should you get lucky enough!
This is kinda like a bleeding-out situation, and if it’s not managed correctly ASAP, JKT48 will soon lose its core audience and left with floating light fans, none of whom eager to dish out their pocket moniez to buy the merchandise and contents.
So thats what everyone called skymen right? the one who have acces to member, even have member’s contact and move from a mere wota to a friend or even a really close friend of member. i think its natural if member recognize them coz those skymen support jkt since their early days(when a few people come to watch their perform live) . but if that makes them cross the fans-idol boundaries and became really close with member, thats unhealthy. me and im sure with a lot of another fans especially far fans(like me), are not okay with this kind situation.
thinking that a member has intimate relation with fans, can discourage us from supporting that particular member. maybe this is what that makes some veteran wota prefer kks to team J coz knowing their fellow wota has already become someone close to member. or maybe they just wanna set their target to kks coz their chance with team J is slim haha
i dont know if this kind situation can really hurting jkt position in the future. Preventing is better than curing right? haha. but JOT must carefully handle this situation coz those skymen have influence among wota in this fandom. So they can easily badmouthing management way(for example saying JOT interfere with member privacy too much) and gain support from a lot of wotas. its better if this situation can be solved among wota themselves.
(Im new here and sorry for my bad english)
I don’t personally thinks that Veranzzo’s article meant to categorized fans as Skymen or zombies or anything. It is his personal take on what he sees on the field as he doesn’t implying any name-calling terms in his article
My take on this : It is a privilege for fans who got closer to their idols and that’s okay for me. I’m happy for that fans too.
The main point is, one should know what path are there to take to get closer to them. Overdid something, then you’re screwed.
In order to support your OSHIMEN’s fruitful growth, I recoment fans have better moderate to do multiple CD purchase for one type of CD. I know fans want to obtain opporotunities to reach bodily comunication and an instant chat with their OSHIMEN as “hand-shake” as many as possible fans can. I know fans passion that can’t be suppressed. But if Indonesian fans start to do excessive multiple CD buying (In Japan, in front of CD stores, so many CDs that hands-shake ticktes drawed are threw away or were put in a garbage cans on the relese day. Or sold at net auctions with JPY1.00/each. Sure without hand-shake tickets), those incomprehensive life styles will be bashed by society that fans breathe, at the same time, your idols are also made a fool. Multople CD purchase can contribute the growth of CD company’s sales and of CD industry, sure great money for some producers. But at the same time, it occurs society insult against idol fandum. Finally fans will loose both, fans and idols identy in society. Even though idols in Japan bashed by society in Japan, idols can survive. The reason is that it’s delicious business. The idol grup in Indonesia that I OSHI have better survive, I believe.
As long as they do it legally, that’s okay. My friend , Romo A. (not a priest), once said “Which one do you prefer, being recognized due to her respect on you, or being recognized as a scumbag attention seeker”. The choice are yours..
I thought of what you wrote, but couldn’t come up with an answer. Although I think,
It is very much like fishing.
The moment we bite the bait, we’re physically caught by the hook.
When the bait is good.we follow the line because we think it leads to more happiness ahead.
So we follow the line and keep waiting for the next delicious bait.
Those caught hope to meet this fisherman, thinking they will give us happiness forever.
It is a blessing when the fisherman is as nice as imagined.
So those caught will happily keep following the baits along the way.
But what if we are wrong?
When we finally see the real fisherman and they become different?
We struggle to break off the hook.
We bleed, we feel pain and we try to escape.
Maybe it’s better to break off the hook at the start,
But how will we know if the fisherman will bring us joy or sadness
without following the line, in the first place?
always inggris ya wan
This one of many reasons why I asked the question “do you think that the majority of the targeted fans of JKT48 are ready to accept and and exercise a healthy and positive Idoling culture?” in the S48 forums and to some people in twitter, since, I believe, this is one of many reasons that could drive even some of the respectable & healthy fan into zombies or even hater.
I don’t know why, but somehow us, Indonesians (I’m talking about myself and the people that i’ve been observing) are prone to choose or to follow something simply just because we want to be recognized, not recognized in “I-want-everybody-to-know-me” way but in a “I-want-to-prove-to-the-other-people-that-I’m-different-than-them” way. I’m still don’t understand the roots of this social behavior, but many people choose to do it in the easiest way. Sometimes, it had positive effect, but the negative ones are as much especially if it escalated into fanatism. I could see the example in almost everyday of my life in Jakarta, from the bustling city street to the serene religious places, from the football club fans to the avid music listener. Put it into the perspective of this article, I think those people that wants to be recognized by their idols are somebody that’s dying to differentiate themselves from the other fans. Sure it’s nice to be recognized by your idols. but, sometimes we choose to take the easiest part to be recognized without thinking the future consequences.
For me, a healthy idoling activity meant you yourself could draw a line between your daily life and your idoling activity. You’re trying to support somebody to achieve their dreams, why don’t you try to achieve your dream as well? Wouldn’t it be better that your Idol recognized you because you’ve showed that you’re different from other fans because you’ve achieved your dreams while supporting your idols in achieveing their dreams?
Haddad is the most casual fan here, i like your thought.
Like i said, i personally do not have any problem with this general issue.
but i am really annoyed when your effort to be recognized is being too far and break the limit of the fans and idol connection
specifically, when your effort fails and it has to make you sad, then you whine like a sissy and announce to the world that you will do ‘oshihen’ or even stop supporting the whole groupi. it just does not make sense after all.
Recognition is expected, but what’s the point if that hope only keep you unpleasant?
Legal or Illegal, it’s your choice.
Thank you
And, you the case of social behavior that i mentioned could also be found not only at fans, but also from haters. In this case they declared themselves as a hater simply to differentiate themselves from those people who called themselves a fan.
I’m 100% completely fine with those who
1. buy multiple CDs in order to get more handshake tickets
2. buy or make a lot of gifts, presents and fan letters for her idols
3. buy theater performance ticket often
I’m 100% completely against those who
1. approach idols’ family member with the intention to obtain:
a. special access to meet their idols (outside official JKT48 activities) and
b. idols’ really personal & private information
2. actually visits members’
a. house (especially by means of tailing and stalking members on their way home after performance over) and
b. school/campus
Self-control over our own emotion is one of the highest traits of Alpha male. Girls like Alpha males more than Beta ones.
wow this topic really heavy for my limited intelligent, at least i write some comment here, so that’s a good things right.
nah, i think just reading and understanding the conveyed messages from this text is enough actually.
On Tube, I saw many musicians cover JKT48 songs. It is the remarkable evidence that JKT48 has already grass-rooted in your fandum and society I think. So as many comments said without any ireagal and rude attitudes, anything goes. I have never reffered to “side effect of multiple CD purchase” any more. If you are in peace, your idol, JKT48 is also in piece. I hope you can obtain “recognition” as many as possible you can.