Kpop Fandom It's Not That Deep

Kpop is not that deep

Selepas menulis article yang ada sikit emosi iaitu BTSMeal (alaaa sikit je menjawab), noona rasa nak tulis another thing. Some might agree, some might not. But we agree to disagree like an adult we all are or will be. Being in a fandom is cool, that’s why we are all here.  But it is also true that 

FANDOM IS NOT THAT DEEP

Fandom does help us through the bad time. The bad time can go from 1-2 days to months to years. Heck, as a working adult, we still need fandom update & drama.

WHAT FANDOM IS

All fandom starts off as an interest & hobby. Fandom doesn’t happen when you purposely want to stan a group of people. You don’t wake up & say “Today im gonna be an X stan” no it doesn’t happen like that. Most of the time you become a part of the fandom when you spend some time in it.

Now, why do we spend “some” time in it? We spend some time in the fandom to find a little space for us. A quiet, happy, brighter space than our reality.

And that’s okay. We find comfort in them, the artist and find similar people with the same interest. Fandom ni ada yang official, mostly yang senior lama punya start off dengan unofficial fandom. Fandom juga ada yang bersifat minat whole group, ada yang bersifat solo.

As much as us international fans tak suka solo stan, realitinya alah di Korea terutamanya, solo stan tu budaya yang dah lama ada. Pada kita alahai superficialnya korang, tapi dah jadi budaya lama kan, nak buat macam mana. Yang boleh kita lakukan adalah respect others dan kalau mampu educate mereka supaya tidak bersifat extreme.

Kita bahagia dalam fandom sebab kita boleh enjoy benda yang kita suka dengan orang lain. Jadi jangalah kita mengutuk fandom orang lain. Minat atau interest orang itu berbeza, please respect others.

Don’t make fun of people enjoying thing. Like the meme goes “ Shh…let people enjoy thing”

WHAT FANDOM IS NOT

Fandom is not a place to lose your reality in it. You need to be able to separate the real life, reality from fantasy. Some of the fandom are based on fantasy, fictional or virtual character but a lot other fandom is based on real people.

In my eyes they are everything, in their eyes I’m just another fan

Kata-kata kat atas ni agak pedih, tapi itulah realitinya. Just a reminder to me and us that we are just another fan behind the camera flash, behind the screen. Have fun, have dreams and fantasy, be a delulu. solulu but remember to also be realistic. 

And this real people do real thing like sleep, drink, eat, poop, smoke, fart, fight, sick, tired. They also have partner, fall in and out of love, have family, friends etc. They are human like us. Separate what fantasy and what reality. Bak kata budak sekarang jangan delulu sangat. Delulu = delusional.

And treat them like a human being too. They need their personal time and personal space. Respect that. Dari dulu sampai sekarang kes extreme fans, sola stans, anti-fan, saseang ni tak habis-habis. Walaupun kita tidak lakukan benda ni, kita juga perlu bertanggungjawab dengan tidak menyokong perbuatan sasaeng.

Kita dikira menyokong mereka kalau kita pergi Like, Follow, Comment, Subscribe, Retweet, Edit gambar dan video yang mereka ambil diwaktu luar schedule, dan yang tidak dibenarkan. Malah, HYBE (sekarang Hybe, dulu BH) dah keluarkan senarai sasaeng yang dah diblacklist, dah ada yang kena tindakan undang-undang.

Jadilah fans dalam fandom yang baik dengan tidak support sasaeng. I’m okay with the word stan but I am not ok with the obsessive, violent, extreme, unmatured fans.

Satu lagi perkara yang perlu diingatkan terutama kepada adik-adik, Fandom is not a lifestyle. Berada dalam fandom tak bermakna itu jadi gaya hidup kita. Bermaksud, apa yang dibuat oleh sebahagian orang dalam fandom, kita tak perlu ikut pun. Just enjoy being a fans and friends with few people with the same interest.

YOU ARE NOT A REAL FAN

Ada orang kata kita bukn=anlah real fans kalau kita minat banyak group atau disebut multifandom. Being a multifandom ni bukanlah salah ya. Kalau banyak masa, dan duit dan minat yang berbeza, support je lah banyak mana pun group kita suka.

Taboo ni ada kat Korea lah biasanya. Fans sebalah sana memang jenis minat satu group, malah kadang satu orang je dalam  group tersebut. Mereka kat sana memang ada kind of competition lah sesama fandom ni. Jadi kalay korang mulitfandom, nanti nak support siapa bila few artist ada dalam competition atau majlis yang sama? 

Selain tu, aktiviti dan jadual peminat ni kadang sama dahsyat dengan artist. Jadi agak mustahilah korang nak sekejap ke event ni, sekejap pi ikut schedule artist ni, esok fly ke konsert artist lain pulak. Ingat pesan noona, jangan jadikan fandom itu lifestyle. Jadi lagi logik kalau support sepenuh jiwa satu artist je. Noona panggil full blood hahaa.

Tapi minat pelbagai group dengan kadar yang sesuai tu boleh je. Kadang jadual promotion diorang dah habis, kita isi masa dengan follow group lain. Takde masalah pun. Just because kita minat banyak group tak bermaksud kita bukanlah real fan.

ENJOY BEING A FAN

Perkara yang orang selalu pertikai kadang adalah kita ni tak pernah pergi konsert, tak pernah beli album, tak pernah pergi cup sleeve event. So what? Korang pun jangan rendah diri tak pernah pergi ke join benda-benda ni sebab faktor umur, kewangan dan jarak. A long as you enjoy the artist art, you are a fan ok.

Being a fan, people enjoy it differently.

Some read fanfic, some write fanfic.

Some watch the old performance, some watch the new one.

Some purposely stream the song on 16 devices, some just listen to the song on the way to work.

Some introduce song to other people, some just send a spotify link.

Some buy song for themselves, some give funds to other people to buy song.

Some buy cakes & celebrate their idol birthday, some make charity.

Some do thing behind the scene, some get others to join in.

Some draw, some make animation, 

some make edit, some make scenario.

Some make stats & chart, 

some make translation & posters.

Some put the inside jokes in their presentation, 

some make research paper & dissertation about them.

Some get ideas from their teaser & comeback strategy to implement in their real working industry.

Different people enjoy and have fun differently, let them be. Just become we didn’t do what you do doesn’t make us a bad fan. We just different people with different issue in our life, doing the best we can everyday.

BEING A FAN DOES NOT ALWAYS MEANS BEING IN THE FANDOM

Sometimes, we are just a casual listener. Sometimes we are just a casual fans. Some of us used to be a hardcore fan. Then life happens, we become casual fan.

Then we become very casual fan but still knowing and checking our idol update whenever we got time. We don’t buy the newest merch or completing our collection. We don’t go to all events or buying concert ticket. We don’t like all their post in less than 10 seconds. 

But we still support them. We still listen to their new song, like & subscribed, replaying their old songs while singing our heart out, still keeping their merch official and unofficial in boxes in our room.

As casual fans, are we still in the fandom?

Heck yes we are. We might not renew our official membership, but as long as we love them, we are still a fan. We might not be active in the fandom, but as long as the fandom means supporting the idol, we consider ourself a part of the fandom.

LEAVING THE FANDOM

But if the fandom start acting out of the line, dictating what the idol should and should not do, crossing the line as just a fan, just people supporting others, then its okay to not associate yourself with the fandom. Being in a fandom is part of it but not everything.

Again, being a fan is not a lifestyle, don’t let other people dictate what you should and shouldn’t do. They don’t live your life. It’s okay to take a step back, take some time off to live & touch the grass, to disconnect, to [REST]

Don’t feel bad about it. Don’t feel bad you are not active as you used to be. Life does goes on.. Prioritize yourself first. Enjoy it however you want it, whenever you want it. Keep what’s good from it, like the new friend you gain, the knowledge you get. Don’t let the fandom consume you & your life.

Another thing is for people leaving the fandom for whatever issue; you dont own it to anyone to declare it. Sometimes we fall out of love, sometimes our interest change, sometimes its just a phase, sometimes we don not want to be associated with the fandom or even the artist, sometimes life is becoming too realistic. 

For whatever reason you want to leave or change your fandom, its up to you and its ok.

And for people that loves announcing stuff like this just to stir conflict, DONT.

GOING BROKE

Being a fan is not a competition. Some of us are kids still in school, some in university, some just graduated, some are working, some are stuck working at the same place for 10 years, some are single, some are married, some are raising their kids, some are a mother, father, some are grandparents to us.

Fandom is not about crazy young girl screaming their idol name only. Come on, we already had this discussion since The Beatles. (yang minat bola sampai pergi Manchester, Liverpool, almari baju penuh jersi je, baby baru 2 hari dah beli jersi bola itu bukan fandom ker tuu)

Don’t put your entire happiness, personality, mood, financial in someone else or something out of our control. Don’t take this too far, it’s okay to be excited but remeber what need to be prioritized. Never borrow money from anyone just to buy some official merch or concert ticket just because everyone is doing it.

Don’t fall into the FOMO trap. Dont use YOLO as an excuse. If you really want it, save up and when its time, go splurge that money. Till then, do not care about others too much okay?

YOU ARE TOO OLD

Ah, lama dah dengar kata-kata ini. Instead of ambil sebagai satu cacian, we take that as compliment yeah hehe. If they are always in the fandom, don’t judge them. We just really enjoying the artist and the fandom; or the few people that become a real friend. Fandom can feel like the only family or friend you have but  still the toxicity in it is real.

Tak semua fans tu elok pengaruhnya, so take care of your self, Also jadi peminat ni boleh tahan emosi turun naik, kalah rollercoaster kat Everland. Intense emotional roller-coaster ni tak elok sangat untuk yang tak berapa stabil mental healthnya, so be aware. Jangan terbawa perasaan sangat ya.

Also, paling penting adalah its ok kalau dah tua pun masih minat dan aktif dalam fandom. Kalau dia mampu, tak ganggu kehidupan sebenar, family, kerja dan tanggungjawab, its ok. Heck, they deserve this, they can afford it, they spend more than others, and they do not cause any issue as they are more matured.

Age is just a number. 

YOU ARE LATE

Pedulikan orang yang kata korang lambat jadi fans ni tak layak masuk dalam fandom. Semua yang minat boleh pilih nak masuk dan aktif dalam fndom atau tidak. Bak kata quote yang sedap tu, its not you who found them (the artist/song), its them that find you at that exact moment.

Being a fan doesn’t mean being there from the start, its mean being there till the end

Still, tak ada sampai ke akhir pun takpe. We all got different starting and finishing line. Walk in our own path and timeline.

BE REAL

Sebagai fans yang matang dalam fandom, kita akui jelah banyak realiti dalam kpop yang tak elok dan jadikan ia sempadan. Contohnya realiti yang kebanyakan idol ini adalah manufactured, banyak isu bayaran, keselamatan, mistreatment yang ada dalam industri.

Dalam fandom ada banyak isu seperti fans yang toxic, ada yang punya racial fetish terutama kepada bangsa Korea. Entertainment company yang banyak tidak jujur, capitalist dan sebagainya.

Ini semua realiti, tidak semua tapi memang ada. Accept that dan tahu when to support and when to stop, INGAT PESAN NOONA: Minat, Minat Jugak. Tapi Berpadalah. (OUR TAGLINE)

Noona nak mengakhiri artikel ini dengan lirik BTS Pied Piper. Its written for us so take the message. Sekian, adios.

~B

BTS Pied Piper Lyric

You like it more because it’s bad for you

You do know that, deep within

You’re unable to stop now

(You can’t stop)

It’s time to be a bit more honest

Now stop watching and study for your exams,

your parents and boss hate me

Videos you’ve already watched, various photos, Twitter,

V App, Bon Voyage –

I know, what can you do, since you like it so much

Stop, analyse the MV later

You already have a lot of photos of me in your room anyway

It’s not just an hour, it’s a year or two that’d fly away

This song is the prize I’m giving you

(You’ve been good)

It’s not as if you’re being punished

Come to me, I’m your paradise (paradise)

Can’t close your eyes (can’t close your eyes) 

Even if you try to resist, it’s probably useless now

(Don’t refuse me)

Just close your eyes and listen intently

Follow the sound of the pipes, follow this song

Even though I’m a bit dangerous, I’m very sweet

I’ve come to save you, I’ve come to ruin you

You’re the one that’s called me; see, I’m sweet

Follow the sound of the pipes

I’m takin’ over you

I’m takin’ over you

You know it already started

the moment you heard the sound

(Yeah, SUGA)

Yeah, maybe I am a bit dangerous, (a bit dangerous),

just like the Pied Piper

I do test you, (test you),

like the forbidden fruit you’re attracted to, though you know what’d happen

My pipes awaken all things

The sound tantalises you further

You react, pulled along

I’m relentless in my blowing of the pipes

I’m your guilty pleasure

You can’t escape

Never

Yeah, I am a bit dangerous

I, too, can’t control myself

Don’t worry, my hands

are only warm, warm for you

If I am, perhaps,

ruining you –

would you forgive me?

Because you can’t live without me

I know it all

I’m takin’ over you

I’m takin’ over you