Psychotic Fans

If I'm remembering correctly she did ask to be killed off so she wouldn't be in any spin-offs or future movies or whatever.

Though she has to know that being killed off doesn't mean you won't show up again!

Didn't she ask to be killed off though?

Yeah, I believe she did, I just meant that in the context of the tweet -especially given the fact that the two deaths on DA have been because the actors also wanted off that show- that Joss fans still be crazy loco.

Raksha wrote:

swsa wrote:Someone actually said, "What does Kate Upton have to do with sports anyway?" Yes, unlike those previous swimsuit edition cover models who were all just modeling part time in between their professional pole vaulting duties.

I'll admit I hate her pics though. They really are pretty crappy, but that's really due to the tacky body painting and awkwardness of it all.

I didn't see that post, but is it at all possible that that person was being sarcastic? Because if they were, I think that's a pretty hilarious response to a bunch of people bemoaning her supposed unsuitability for high fashion in a post about a Sports Illustrated photoshoot.


And I didn't like those pictures either. They were really unflattering and tacky. Come on, photographer! You're probably getting paid a gajillion dollars for this. Do better!

I just feel bad for her that she had to take her clothes off in the middle of freaking Antarctica, suffered crazy health side effects from being near-naked in those temperatures, then the photos looked like the backdrop had been photoshopped in anyway.

I read an interview with her trainer and even he was like "they...picked that for the cover?"

There is another post about her on ONTD right now and they ARE SO MAD. My favorite was someone innocuously said she seemed pretty and nice so they felt sad she had so many haters and someone linked a wal mart ad for a bra for that commentor and "all other pathetic Jennifer Lawrence stans". Which is just a psychotically weird comment and had me laughing hysterically. Like...what?

I remember when stanning was a rather innocent thing involving queer-slang that sort of made its way around the Mariah fansites back in 08 or so. When did it turn into a way to be mean about celebrities and mean to fellow fans? I just wonder because I stopped posting and reading ONTD after the overhaul and Gaga worship in 2009.

So what's this "stan" thing mean?

It references Eminem's song Stan, about an overzealous/psychotic fan so, so I would say it always had a somewhat parsing the negative connotation as slang.

blixie wrote:It references Eminem's song Stan, about an overzealous/psychotic fan so, so I would say it always had a somewhat parsing the negative connotation as slang.

Ah. Got it. Thanks.

I think it is supposed to be stalker + fan. Because everyone loves a portmanteau.

At the risk of entering into a pot-kettle situation (and of repeating myself for those on my FB): some of the questioners at Gillian Anderson's Emerald City Comicon panel this weekend were strong candidates for this thread. The first person at the microphone couldn't even talk because she was crying. One woman started going on and on about her kids and how old they were for some reason. Some guy went off the rails and started asking about her and David Duchovny's relationship (abort! abort!) and then just rambled on about DD and Californication. One girl asked if she had a favorite fanfic. Gillian did not even know what fanfic was (thank God) -- she asked if it was different from the episodes. (Oh, girl.) (And then asked interestedly if it was dirty. Oh, girl.) So instead of saying "yes, it's stories that fans write about the characters, I guess you don't have a favorite then, ta!" this girl tells her to GOOGLE HER NAME AND "SLASHFIC." The entire audience basically rose up in revolt telling her not to do it. Come on, that is FAN CODE! It gave me flashbacks to that story about the girl giving the actors who played the Weasley twins her RPF twincest fic about them, which HAUNTS MY DREAMS. (Luckily there does not seem to be much X-Files RPF out there so at least she should be OK on that front.)

Some other dude, who I think meant well, told her that he really loved her but was conflicted because she reminded him of his daughter. (Ack.) Some girl looooooved Chris Carter -- she asked Gillian a question and then interrupted her answer to gush about his directing skills. Gillian was like "...OK." (To my cackly delight.) A dude asked her about a Nissan Leaf ad that she'd done and asked if she still had the car and still liked it. (PEOPLE.) Then the last guy was just straight-up stoned. Actually her reaction to that (this is after like, a minute or so of his less and less focused rambling) more or less sums up the panel. I'm sure she's used to this stuff (and she handled it all fine) but I was basically dying of secondhand embarrassment the whole time. This is why we can't have nice things. Oh, and the totally clueless moderator didn't help. He started out by suggesting that she switch back and forth from a British to an American accent while answering the questions, and then later after she didn't do that, said something like "You're doing great with the British accent!" Huh? (And he referenced Mulder's brother. Audience: "SISTER!")

So I was like, well, it's Comicon, there are always going to be weirdos, social skills, blah blah. Then I saw Patrick Stewart's panel and there was NONE of that. Zero. I don't know what it IS about X-Files. It's not like Trekkies are known for being PARAGONS OF NORMALCY.

Oh, there was also a couple in front of us -- the guy had the ouroboros tattoo from "Never Again" on one shoulder and the "Betty" tattoo on the other -- and they had a massive BOX of STUFF, and I couldn't tell what any of it was, but I was worried we were in for an awkward trying-to-give-stuff-to-the-celebrity situation. But happily that did not come to pass.

Bwahaha. At San Diego Comic-Con three or four years back we were at the Spartacus panel and a middle-aged douche in an Ed Hardy shirt got up for Q&A and thanked Viva Bianca (Illythia) because her scenes had replaced his Playboy subscription. Eeewww.

Instant Monkeys wrote:
So I was like, well, it's Comicon, there are always going to be weirdos, social skills, blah blah. Then I saw Patrick Stewart's panel and there was NONE of that. Zero. I don't know what it IS about X-Files. It's not like Trekkies are known for being PARAGONS OF NORMALCY.

I dunno, at least Trek has, what, 5 complete casts to distribute the crazy? X-Files pretty much has two people. I guess people could get hung up on Mitch Pileggi and/or various guests. And I'm sure that happens, as well. But otherwise, if you're gonna be an inappropriate fan, you really have only two targets.

I'm sure I've told these stories on some iteration of this board, but the year I was at SDCC, the first question for Joss Whedon was from a girl who said she had a degenerative brain condition and was wondering what sort of advice he could give her for enjoying the rest of her short life. Oh god, it was so inappropriate. Then Nathan Fillion subtly made fun of her and won my love forever.

I thought that was going to take the cake, but then the Supernatural panel happened. And the first questioner there said she was blind and her greatest wish in life was to TOUCH JENSEN ACKLES. Oh lord, the look on his face. (Also, if that girl was actually blind, I will eat my shoes.)

Psychotic fans, y'all. Constantly making me feel better about my particular level of over-devotion.

Binky wrote:

Instant Monkeys wrote:
So I was like, well, it's Comicon, there are always going to be weirdos, social skills, blah blah. Then I saw Patrick Stewart's panel and there was NONE of that. Zero. I don't know what it IS about X-Files. It's not like Trekkies are known for being PARAGONS OF NORMALCY.

I dunno, at least Trek has, what, 5 complete casts to distribute the crazy? X-Files pretty much has two people. I guess people could get hung up on Mitch Pileggi and/or various guests. And I'm sure that happens, as well. But otherwise, if you're gonna be an inappropriate fan, you really have only two targets.

Also, Trek fans received so much media blowback when we were front and center in fandom that there's more of a "Don't scare the talent" unspoken rule going on. We've been around enough to have generally understood rules of behavior. This isn't to say that there aren't people who go overboard (Check out the Trekkies documentary for some disturbing examples), but that sort of thing tends to be frowned upon. Supernatural fans, X-Files fans, and fans of other more recent franchises don't seem to have the same amount of internal policing.

That's a good point. There's still stigma to being a Trekkie, I imagine, and probably a culture of "stop it, they already think we're crazy." I do remember how many YEARS it was when Trekkies were basically the alpha and omega of the crazy, geeky fan, and then there was also Star Wars, but that was sort of mainstream, and stuff like Dr. Who or whatever didn't even register. I mean, I still hear people bring up the William Shatner "get a life" SNL thing when people are talking about Star Trek, like no one knows about that, eyeroll. (Trekkies probably didn't help either. I will NEVER forget the "Brent break" lady.) It's kinda-sorta cool to be a geek these days, so not as many brakes get put on it from a social-consequences perspective.

I also suspect a lot of the psychotic fandom in Star Trek land is diverted to stuff like ship schematics, the Klingon language, Vulcan culture, weapons, etc. Whereas X-Files basically has Mulder and Scully, and the alien/conspiracy angle, and if you're not into that you don't have a lot to obsess over besides Mulder and Scully/DD and GA. I'm sure that's true for Supernatural too (whose fans I think take the cake, frankly) and other shows set in the "real" world.

There has always been a level of hysteria surrounding Gillian Anderson, too, of the "OMG SHE IS MY ANGEL I WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH HER AND CRY" variety. I think most of that is very young women, though not all.

Also, I don't think the internet (especially Tumblr) helps - it creates an echo chamber that you wouldn't used to have had if you were the biggest Star Trek fan in town.

I only know about crazy fans and cons from what I read here, but does Gillian Anderson attend many of these? I just wonder if the ZOMG!CRazeee came out to play because she rarely makes appearances, whereas the Star Trek peeps are pretty much everywhere, all the time. I mean the fact that she didn't know what Fan Fic is leads me to believe that she's not as ... in touch with that level of fan as someone like George Takei would be.

I am pretty sure she's done very, very few cons. And I would love to know how much she was paid. Both she and DD have probably been pretty insulated and lack the experience and the personality that really succeeds at these kinds of things (a lot of the B-list sci-fi actors have it down pat and are really good at congenially answering the same questions over and over again, telling stories that aren't even related to whatever role they're famous for, and deflecting the crazy).

She didn't do any for a long time but lately she's started doing a bunch, one assumes because she needs the money, since playing creepy old ladies on the BBC doesn't pay that well, I'm guessing, and she needs to maintain her lifestyle of frequent transatlantic flights to consort with her secret husband David Duchovny. So I do think that's a big part of it -- the novelty hasn't worn off yet, and people get the feverish "this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance!!!" feeling. Whereas someone like Walter Koenig (who was in the panel before her) barely registers at this point, even though he was a good storyteller and seemed like a nice guy. Even Patrick Stewart kept saying "eh, I'm sure most of you have heard this story already, sorry." (Nobody cared because PATRICK STEWART.)

I think there's also still the perception that there is un-mined X-Files material to be told, which there definitely is -- but she (a) can't remember anything and (b) is tight-lipped about the stuff she does remember because I think it was a fairly grueling several years for them and "well, I was crying in my trailer after having a panic attack while David was outside telling anyone who would listen that we have nothing in common and he was miserable in Vancouver, and then they told us we had to spend our hiatus making the movie and I considered chaining myself to my bed or perhaps getting drastic plastic surgery and moving to Bhutan, but then we pulled it together and shot the stupid scene like we always do and it came out fine apparently" doesn't make a feel-good story for fans. Someone breathlessly asked her to tell stories of pranks she pulled on David, and she danced around it before tactfully saying that she "learned" that David wasn't super receptive to pranks but here is a prank she played on Rob Bowman. They just don't have a lot of jolly production tales and they never have and neither of them is very good at sort of packaging it. I think they're genuinely much better with each other now but I think the stuff people most want them to talk about is the stuff they'd prefer to dwell on the least, not least because they don't want to spoil fans' good times. DD remembers more and is a better yarn-spinner than she is but he probably wouldn't be caught dead doing one of these. So I think people are always trying to get at that stuff and never really can, which begs the question, why is she doing the cons then, but again, got to pay the rent I guess, and/or her publicist wants people to remember she's alive.

Probably also helped that the moderator of the Patrick Stewart panel straight-out said at the beginning, "By the way, just to get it out of the way, no personal questions, no demanding hugs, no giving him anything." I mean, they shouldn't have to say that, but. They've said it at some of the ones GA has done (at the charity thing with both DD and GA, there were VERY clearly laid-down NO PERSONAL QUESTIONS, YA BOUNDARY-OVERSTEPPING GIGGLY PUPPIES rules), but not this one.

And yeah, I think fandom in general has gotten more skilled at assuring itself it's not being unacceptably weird thanks to the prevalence of online fan communities, Twitter, etc. That's how you end up in a place where you think the Weasley-twin actors might appreciate your smutty RPF about them.

I thought the story about the girl giving the Wesley twincest thing was about her trying to warn them about it. Still gross but heart in the right place. But she was hoping they'd like it? Ew!

Maybe I'm wrong, and by god I hope I am.

Instant Monkeys wrote:She didn't do any for a long time but lately she's started doing a bunch, one assumes because she needs the money, since playing creepy old ladies on the BBC doesn't pay that well...

I think there's also still the perception that there is un-mined X-Files material to be told, which there definitely is -- but she (a) can't remember anything and (b) is tight-lipped about the stuff she does remember because I think it was a fairly grueling several years for them and "well, I was crying in my trailer after having a panic attack while David was outside telling anyone who would listen that we have nothing in common and he was miserable in Vancouver, and then they told us we had to spend our hiatus making the movie and I considered chaining myself to my bed or perhaps getting drastic plastic surgery and moving to Bhutan, but then we pulled it together and shot the stupid scene like we always do and it came out fine apparently" doesn't make a feel-good story for fans. Someone breathlessly asked her to tell stories of pranks she pulled on David, and she danced around it before tactfully saying that she "learned" that David wasn't super receptive to pranks but here is a prank she played on Rob Bowman. They just don't have a lot of jolly production tales and they never have and neither of them is very good at sort of packaging it. I think they're genuinely much better with each other now but I think the stuff people most want them to talk about is the stuff they'd prefer to dwell on the least, not least because they don't want to spoil fans' good times. DD remembers more and is a better yarn-spinner than she is but he probably wouldn't be caught dead doing one of these. So I think people are always trying to get at that stuff and never really can, which begs the question, why is she doing the cons then, but again, got to pay the rent I guess, and/or her publicist wants people to remember she's alive.

I think in the same way that there's only two of them to take the cah-razy, there's also only two of them and a very personal relationship to talk about (whereas the Trek casts have numerous people). I think in the period everyone wants them to talk about (seasons 1-5), DD and GA banged (they totally did), a very young and not particularly celebrity-sophisticated GA became pregnant, married, and divorced her daughter's father, they spent way too much time together than was good for them, DD hated Vancouver, and they both didn't have as much fun making the series as fans did watching it. I agree they're cool now, but I don't think either of them wants to revisit what everyone else thinks was so awesome.

I think GA has a new TV series, too, so she may be advertising that/getting her face out there.

The tumblr/internet echo chamber does have "don't give the celeb a box of sex toys!' voice, but it's competing with "DO!" and once someone has that idea, I bet it just seems so awesome. Why wouldn't you do that?

I was in Cardiff a few days ago and we were down at Roald Dahl Plass, which as a non-Dr. Who-or-Torchwood-watcher, I had no idea of the significance of it all. Until I saw the a) signs pointing to the Dr. Who Experience and b) the Ianto Jones tribute wall tucked in under the pier. I'm talking a 6'x12' wall covered in valentines and laminated photos and signs and postcards and I am pretty sure more than a few cds.

Totally want to go to (a). Frightened beyond the capacity for reasonable thought by (b).

I know someone who went to Cardiff and thought the Ianto Jones tribute was a tribute to a real person who died tragically, it's that over the top.