When Heroes Fall

Fandom is a powerful thing. It's nice to have someone to look up to. Fandom can fuel creativity (such as fan fiction) and connect you to people with similar interests. An idol can be a source of inspiration, acting like a beacon showing the way to success. Plus, it's just nice to be enthusiastic about something or someone.

The connection that forms between a fan and an idol is well-studied, and it's called the Parasocial Relationship. A Parasocial Relationship is a non-mutual one; most often our idols won't be interacting with us directly and even when they are, they will generally do so just to intensify the illusion that we have a personal relationship with them. Fans can invest a lot of their time and energy - and certainly money - into their fandom, allowing an idol to become an important part of their lives, self-perception and identity. 

Just like a real relationship, a Parasocial Relationship can also end in sadness and misery, either when a fan feels somehow betrayed by their idol (often through a scandal) or when the idol is no longer present (through disbandment, retirement or death). What may occur in such cases is called the Parasocial Breakup. It can happen even with our "relationship" to a fictional character, evoking similar feelings of loss, grief and cognitive dissonance as if it were a relationship with someone dear in real life.

IYKYK.
(Picture stolen via Google).

Of course, our real-life idols are only human, often faced with the impossible task of not only continuing to perform up to our standards in their job, but being morally perfect in their private lives as well. Their every mistake is scrutinized and weaponized. The constant pressure to project a perfect image of themselves to the public can be a source of tremendous stress, burnout and emotional fatigue. This pressure can, ironically, become their downfall as demonstrated by so many celebrities with drug and alcohol problems as their coping mechanism. A scandal will not only damage their reputation, it can utterly destroy their whole career. The worst betrayals occur when some of our idols turn out to be genuinely despicable human beings or even criminals.

So perhaps, as fans, we might do a favour for both our idols and ourselves by keeping in mind that whatever image we may have of them is only a construct - either a carefully, professionally crafted one, or one built by ourselves within the framework of the Parasocial Relationship.

Personally, looking back to some figures I've admired - musicians like Michael Jackson, sports stars like Matti Nykänen, artists like Scott Adams, actors like Bill Cosby and writers like J.K. Rowling to name a few -  I'm reminded of what my father used to say: "No mere human is ever worthy of worship".

I think he might have had a point.