Who is a true fan?

To be a fan of something means, according to one definition, to love something and be actively dedicated to it. Of course, there are different levels and ways of being a fan depending on how deeply you feel about the thing. You can, for instance, enjoy watching Game of Thrones without considering yourself to be a part of its fandom. On the other hand, you can be obsessed about a book series, say the Harry Potter saga, and write fanfiction stories that continue the tale. 

When people say they’re a ‘true fan’ of something, they usually mean that they’re obsessed with it: they have watched all the episodes, they know the dialogue by heart and they stay up all night reading fanfiction. It’s also very common to see magazines posting quizzes on a certain show and asking “Are you a true fan of the show? Take this quiz to find out!”. This might lead some fans who didn’t get every answer correct feeling bad about themselves and thinking that maybe they’re not a true fan after all just because they didn’t know every single detail from the show. 

‘Glory hunters’ and ‘fakes’.

Sometimes people start grading other fans with regard to how much merchandise they own or how many times they have read the book series through. This is clearly wrong. There are fans who actually believe that just because they own more merchandise (because they have more money) or have gone to a concert (because they live in certain places), they’re better fans than those who haven’t. Usually those who aren’t as into the thing as others are called ‘fakes’, as if they would only like, for example, a band because one of their songs is in at that moment.

The aforementioned is closely linked to another phenomenon, glory hunting. A glory hunter is a person who only starts to follow a team if the team has a chance at winning, say, the world championship in ice hockey. If their national team doesn’t do so well, it doesn’t move them one way or the other.

The thing to bear in mind when talking about being a fan is that everyone has the right to be a fan just the way they want. How long you’ve been a fan is not equal to how much you love the thing.


Different levels of being a fan:

1. Casual. A casual fan is one who watches a movie and says, “That was a pretty good movie.” They may recommend it to a friend or two, but then forget all about it. The names in the cast or that of the director don’t register.

2. Interested. This person, upon seeing the film, checks out the director’s name online and what else they’ve directed, especially if the one they enjoyed was part of a series. They may watch other films in the series, but not necessarily all of them.

3. Curious. The viewer realizes they like everything they’ve seen from the said director and become curious about them. They begin to check out the director’s work periodically, and even acquire a film or two on Blu Ray.

4. Follower. This viewer watches the director’s interviews on YouTube, begins to follow them on Twitter and likes their Facebook page. They want regular updates and begin to see them as more than a director and eagerly await new films.

5. Avid. The viewer signs up for the director’s newsletters and may travel to a meet-and-greet if it’s in a nearby city. They may post reviews around the internet.

6. Tribe member. This person aligns themselves with that director and seeks out opportunities to tell other people about the awesome film’s they’ve seen and can spend hours talking to other fans.