Fan Culture Can Be Wildly Empowering and Problematic粉丝文化：赋权过度，问题重重

These days， with a quick Google search， you can find superfans of almost anything and anyone. Whether you love Beyoncé， the New York Yankees， or Game of Thrones， you’re bound to find a place to share your endless love and devotion. And participating in fandoms online can be as simple as following a few fan accounts on social media， or as involved as writing fan fiction that’s 10，000 words long. When I was a budding1 teen fan of the Marvel universe and Game of Thrones， platforms like Tumblr allowed me to air2 my obsession of the moment with as much fervor as I wanted. But I discovered that while fandoms are a place to demonstrate love and appreciation， “fan armies” can also make themselves into weapons of harassment and intimidation that threaten to undermine all that love and inclusion. And they are hard to stop， even when they want to.

如今，用谷歌快速搜索一下，几乎可以找到任何人、任何事的超级粉丝。无论是喜欢歌手碧昂丝、纽约洋基棒球队，还是电视剧《权力的游戏》，你必然能找到一个平台来分享自己源源不断的爱意和热情。线上加入粉圈可以简单到在社交媒体上关注几个粉丝账户，也可以像写万字粉丝小说那样深度参与。我十几岁的时候还是漫威宇宙和《权力的游戏》的萌新粉，“汤博乐”等平台可供我尽情抒发当时的痴迷。然而，我发现虽然粉圈是表达热爱和欣赏的地方，但是“粉丝军团”也有可能把自己变成骚扰和恐吓的武器，会打破所有爱意和包容。粉丝军团的势头难以遏制，甚至他们自己想停都停不下来。

During my brief stint as a superfan on Tumblr， I saw firsthand how this happens. When Gossip Girl debuted a romantic storyline between queen bee3 socialite Blair Waldorf and middle-class good guy Dan Humphrey in the show’s fifth season， some fans loved this relationship， while others were loyal to the multi-season arc between Blair and her ex-boyfriend Chuck Bass. Online， Blair and Chuck supporters were labeled “sympathizers” to abuse and sexual misconduct. Those rooting for4 Dan were swiftly cut down as not “true” fans.

我在汤博乐上作为超级粉丝的活跃时间不算长，却亲眼目睹了一切是如何发生的。在电视剧《绯闻女孩》第五季里，人称“女王蜂”的社交名媛布莱尔·沃尔多夫和中产老实男丹·汉弗莱的情感纠葛初次上线。有的粉丝喜欢这条感情线，但有的还是“死磕”布莱尔和前男友查克·巴斯，两人在前几季里感情曲折。在网络平台上，支持布莱尔和查克在一起的粉丝被贬称为虐待和不端行为的“支持者”，而力挺丹上位的粉丝则立即被斥责为不是“忠”粉。

The labeling and shaming that ensued during these debates， and the attacking that followed， was not only hurtful to those targeted， it was， frankly， unproductive. It was as though there were rules about the right way to be a fan—certain characters you should like， others you should hate. If you felt differently， well， that meant you weren’t a real fan at all.

口舌之争中用贴标签的方式羞辱别人，还有随之而来的言语攻击，不单会对攻击对象造成伤害，说白了，本身也是徒劳无功。仿佛当粉丝也有走正路的规矩——应当喜欢某些角色，应该讨厌其他角色。如果意见相左，那么你根本就是假粉。

One of the hallmark traits of a celebrity fandom in particular， is the staunch defending of the “faves”—figures the fandom regards as nearly infallible—against any kind of hate， criticism， or insult. While it’s easy to watch fandoms from the sidelines， to be an active player in fan culture can be a perilous undertaking. In July 2018， writer Wanna Thompson tweeted about Nicki Minaj’s upcoming album， writing （in a now-deleted tweet）， “You know how dope5 it would be if Nicki put out mature content？ No silly stuff. Just reflecting on past relationships， being a boss， hardships， etc. She’s touching 40 soon， a new direction is needed.” As reported by The New York Times， the writer received hateful messages across social media， as well as via her personal cell phone number and email address. Minaj herself contacted Thompson through Twitter with two scathing direct messages， the Times reported.

明星粉丝尤甚，其典型特征之一便是坚定捍卫“心头好”（粉丝心中近乎完美的人物），不接受任何形式的仇恨、批评或侮辱。置身事外围观粉圈不难，但积极参与粉丝文化可能是一件有风险的事情。2018年7月，作家沃纳·汤普森在推特上评论妮琪·米娜即将发行的专辑，她写道（推文现已删除）：“唉，如果妮琪推出思想成熟的歌曲，那专辑会有多棒啊！不要傻兮兮的内容，不要仅仅回顾过往恋情、创业经商、艰辛经历等。她快40岁了，需要新方向。”据《纽约时报》的消息，汤普森的社交媒体账户、私人手机、电子邮箱均收到了含有仇恨言论的信息。据《纽约时报》报道，米娜本人也在推特上给汤普森发了两条言辞尖刻的私信。

In an email to Bustle， Thompson said the following：

在发给美国网站“喧嚣”的电子邮件里，汤普森这样说：

“The insults I have received were not only ugly， it’s a reflection of a much larger problem. A lot of celebrities sit back and watch their fans attack and while I believe it’s not their responsibility to monitor every single move， I think it’s imperative to speak out against this behavior. I pride myself on being ‘strong’ and powerful but there are others who may harm themselves if they experience a fraction of the malicious messages I’ve encountered since I tweeted my opinion on the veteran rapper.

“我收到的侮辱言论不单丑恶，还折射出一个更严重的大问题。许多明星对自己粉丝的攻击行为坐视不理。虽然我认为他们确实没有责任监督粉丝的一举一动，但必须公开反对这种攻击行为。我在推特上评论那位资深说唱歌手后收到恶毒信息，我为自己表现出的‘坚强’和力量感到自豪，但有的人哪怕只收到其中一小部分恶毒信息可能就会做出伤害自己的事。

“I’ve watched fan culture grow into this nasty， bitter， insufferable war over the last few years and it’s just a mess. We all have our idols， but the line between appreciation and obsession has been blurred. Maybe it’s due [to] apps like Instagram that give people a sense of ‘entitlement’ because their faves are oversharing every single moment of their lives？ I don’t know. I just want to use my energy and my platform to advocate against censorship and work closely with organizations who work to eliminate cyber-bullying.”

“过去几年，我眼看着粉丝文化演变成一场战争，充满恶意与仇恨，叫人难以忍受，完全是一团糟。我们每个人都有偶像，可欣赏和痴迷之间的界限已变得模糊。也许是‘照片墙’之类的平台给了用户一种‘赋权’之感，因为他们喜爱的明星在上面过度分享生活的每个瞬间。我不知道。我只想借助我自己的平台，将精力用于倡导反对不合理的审查制度，与致力于消除网络霸凌的组织密切合作。”

The issue here is when the unwavering loyalty of hundreds of thousands of fans turns vitriolic and toxic; when fan culture glorifies people to superhuman levels while simultaneously dehumanizing those who aren’t as worshipful.

粉丝文化的症结在于，无数粉丝的坚定与忠实可以变成尖酸与恶毒；粉丝文化一面将人美化至超乎常人的地步，一面把没有表现出同等崇拜的人贬得不是人。

You don’t have to be immersed in a fandom to recall a time when like-minded fans swarmed into a toxic mob on a dime6. Following the release of Star Wars： The Last Jedi in December 2017， one of the film’s stars， Kelly Marie Tran， was subjected to intense criticism from a subset of the Star Wars fandom. While many were thrilled by Tran’s presence as the first woman of color to take a lead role in the franchise’s 40-year run， she was unwelcome to a subset of people who felt that there was no place for inclusivity in their fanbase. Racist and sexist remarks were spewed7 at her by self-proclaimed fans of the long-running franchise. The attacks culminated with her deleting her Instagram posts in June 2018.