Is Fan Culture Going To Far?

Justin Hernandez, Photo Editor

Fan culture also known as “Fandom” is a popular group of fans and communities who characterize themselves as their favorite characters from tv shows, and movies, or share their enjoyment of an aspect of their favorite popular culture. Fan culture  consists of movies, T.V. shows, and sports… But is it going too far? Where does the line draw?

There have been a lot of good movies and T.V. shows throughout the years but in my personal opinion I believe 2022 has had the best movies and shows to premiere on all platforms. Shows like “Stranger Things’ ‘, “The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”, or even “The Boys”. Out of all these shows the one show that has impacted the most is “The Jeffrey Dahmer Story ”, the show is about one of the most notorious serial killers in the United States. The ten  episode show premiered  on September 21st, 2022 it follows the real life story of the Milwauke serial killer, who murdered 17 men and boys’ between 1978 and 1991. The show was a big hit on Netflix, exciting fans of the deranged mind and dark humor of a serial killer and what his life was like growing up and eventually turning into a man who almost got away with it every time. The internet swarmed the Netflix series with memes, cosplay, and even turned into an ideal Halloween costume. Is it too far showing a lot of love and passion towards a man who took 17 lives? After all this was a real story and real family members who suffered and mourned the deaths of their loved ones.

Sports America and other national countries’ source of entertainment it’s the passion the players have for the game that makes it entertaining and how far they’re willing to go to win, but how far is a fan willing to go? Football has always been my favorite sport to watch. The NFL short for the National Football League consists of 32 teams across the country, but my favorite team is the Las Vegas Raiders… It hasn’t been the best season for the Raiders but the fan culture

is always loud and proud. The Raider fans have always had the best tailgates and fan cosplay, who doesn’t love to see Darth Vader as a Raider fan? But the fan culture can be violent. The Raider fans have many rivals and can get violent with them if they’re enemies are in Raider Territory and multiple fights break out. I have witnessed many of these fights from personal experience growing up. But how far is a football fan willing to go just for their team? Are they willing to hurt another person because of their love of their favorite sport?

Fan Culture from either Sports and TV is safe to say it can be over the top at times but will we ever have room for improvement to handle situations better no matter how much you love it? I think we can and we should not just laugh but for the sake of other people too.