What is the name for the condition where ppl posthumously become morbidly obsessed fans of a dead celeb?
Question by .: What is the name for the condition where ppl posthumously become morbidly obsessed fans of a dead celeb?
When Elvis died we’d never heard of him, yet my brother became a fan and bought all his records.
This morbid fan cult phenomenon happened when people heard that a certain Brandon Lee perished while shooting The Crow, his final movie. (kind of redundant but not really due how movies get post-produced & released)
Same thing with Heath Leger whom the majority of people who became fans had never seen any of his movies, or dismissed him as the “gay cowboy in that gay movie”. Once word got out he died before “The Joker” was released (incidentally a very Crow/Lee-esque performance, eerie as that is) he became a cult sensation even before the movie opened! People just had to be fan of the latest “recently departed celeb”.
I’m sure it must have happened with Marilyn Monroe but that was before my time. Nevertheless U Tube is notoriously littered with platinum blonde wanna-be bimbettes who pout with their pink lips and coo about “being born a few decades too late so they could have met their idol”….
Now it’s happened with Michael Jackson: forums upon forums post “how many of you were fans before he died” and tons of teeny bopper girls admit they barely knew his name but became a full fledged fan after his death.
I had a friend who ran a website about some celeb who killed himself in the 70’s. Never heard of the guy myself, but then her obsession grew to making websites for other “obscure celebs who only made one or 2 movies and committed suicide” some time when she was just a child. Her morbid passion was somewhat disturbing as she was (and still is) spending all her earnings to acquire rare memorabilia on eBay and neglecting son, husband, house, dog and career all for her online dedication (she eventually quit a job to pursue this non-lucrative effort full-time)
What is it about death that catapults the tragic star to the status of mega-cult phenomenon??
So as you see it’s not a new thing with MJ’s passing. This has been going on since celebrities have been dying. Possibly started back with Rudolph Valentino?
Anyway, if you know the name for the condition, I’d like to learn more about this and research it for myself. Thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by KatieP
Well, it is not a condition, in my opinion it more of a social phenomenon where people become idolised. Especially if they have died young or tragically it strikes a chord for some reason. Would like to understand it more myself!
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