Is it wrong for a Britney fan to be biased in her favor? I only ask because I’ve gotten in trouble so many times for alleging that somebody wasn’t much of a fan because they refused to cut her any slack whatsoever. The response was usually that the person refused to lick her boots and make excuses for everything she does or doesn’t do. But isn’t that the point of being a fan? You aren’t supposed to be neutral.
I’m entirely neutral about Beyonce or Lady GaGa, for example. If I hear something bad said about them, I may or may not believe it, but I don’t feel any obligation to defend them - because I’m not a fan. I leave it to their fans to stick up for them, show loyalty and, yes, make excuses. I expect them to, and would be disappointed if they didn’t. It’s belief and confidence in their heroes that makes them fans.
I have to say, though, that I can’t remember ever being disappointed by any wavering in the faith and commitment of Beyonce’s or GaGa’s fans. “Every day is Beyonce day!” trumpets one blogger. Britney’s fans are something else. Maybe it’s because she’s a lifestyle choice for us and not just a performer, and what we think or say about her is a reflection on our whole selves and not just our musical tastes? A lot of fans seem to be hiding something under a world-weary and knowing exterior.
They say that cynics are disillusioned idealists, and maybe in later life that’s what they are. I don’t think we can say that about young cynics. I think they’re people who are insecure in their beliefs, preferences and choices and are anxious not to appear naive and gullible to those who display great certainty or who claim to know “the truth”. They don’t want to be called “Britards” by the Wise Ones with their savage, sneering put-downs.
It’s a little sad to come to the realisation that so many of Britney’s fans lack the certainty displayed by those of most other artists. They find themselves drawn to her for some reason, they find that they like her, maybe at home they’re secret obsessives but, in the final analysis, they are truly unsure if she’s any good or not.
This uncertainty leaves these fans unhealthily open to negativity and equally unhealthily cynical about anything positive that may be said about Britney. One of her choreographers recently commented that she had great instincts. This seemed an innocent enough remark to make about someone who had been in the business of performing for enough years to be able to come up with constructive suggestions.
But on at least one forum the remark was greeted with a storm of criticism of Britney’s current dancing, as if an alleged deterioration in her physical abilities somehow disqualified her from knowing anything about putting on a show. That’s not being “realistic” or “telling things as they are”. That’s being OVER-eager to take a negative stance. One young gentleman kindly informed us that we couldn’t believe what the choreographer said anyway, because “obviously people she works with will say nice things about her”.
Now it may well be true that people she’s currently working with will say nice things about her if they have to, but usually they don’t have to. Unless you’re deeply cynical, you might possibly be able to accept that someone may say something nice as a spontaneous, uncalculated and honest reflection of what they actually think.
We get the same kind of unnecessary cynicism about the many complimentary things said about Britney by record producers she has worked with in her lengthy career. “They have to say that, etc. etc.” No, they DON’T! They don’t have to say anything, and even if asked they could say “no comment”, like the producer who had it put to him that he wouldn’t have to use any Pro-tools on Beyonce’s voice because it was so wonderful already.
Most of these producers have been spurred to comment as a reaction AGAINST the igorance and negativity so routinely expressed about Britney’s singing ability by people who only have theories and no personal knowledge. Yet the cynics would prefer to get in line behind the doubters and haters because they find it impossible to accept that the producers may actually have been telling the truth. Surely EVERY producer can’t still be on Britney’s payroll? Wouldn’t you find at least a couple of embittered ones whose songs weren’t used on her albums? Embittered former security guards haven’t felt any need to sugar-coat their accusations.
I dunno. Do you find the fans of any other artist endlessly picking away at every performance, every video, every tour, every piece of singing? Do they look desperately for body-doubles and refuse to believe the evidence of photoshoots, that people can look very different from one day to the next? Do Katy Perry or Kesha fans spend hours searching for dubious microscopic evidence that they don’t sing such and such a line in such and such a song? I don’t think so. And it’s not JUST because they’re fans, it’s because they’re normal human beings, not cynics or people too insecure to believe.
If I was allowed to nominate the Eighth Deadly Sin, it would be cynicism. It’s corrosive, it’s nihilistic, it leaves us with doubt but no possibility of reassurance, it undermines values and creates none of its own. It throws shade at everything, whether deserved or not. And it isn’t smart. Have the endless doubters and conspiracy theorists never heard of Occam’s Razor? It’s a principle of philosophy sometimes known as “the rejection of unnecessary hypotheses”. You have to learn that there’s a time to doubt and a time to believe. Believing only the negative isn’t the answer. It’s a sign of inexperience and lack of judgment.
No comments:
Post a Comment