by BJ Beauchamp
What did we ever do without the World Wide Web? Spent less money that's for sure. But the Internet has done something else beyond draining the pocket book – it feeds an insatiable addiction. People are linking up everywhere online from Facebook, to MySpace and beyond. Cybernauts look for jobs, romance, other gamers, or for a place to hang out and chat with others who are similar in kind. They pay bills online, buy stuff, track down family ancestry, download homework assignments and blog for business as well as for pleasure. No longer does news travel just by the old print media or televised broadcast, as it now zips along online to anyone with a computer or PDA with internet access. Pictures and videos are posted from every source thinkable including the cameras fixed onto ATMs, traffic lights, stores and from the consumer’s cell phone, all of which are then viewed on YouTube, the news or sent out in e-mail.
There are places for shopaholics to shop, and celebrities to stalk. There are fans of religions, and of political figures. It's all very curious. One area in particular that I zoom in on is the forums and sites for fans of comic books and the various subsequent forms of media such as the animated television series, and, of course, the coveted feature film franchise. The term “fan boy” conjures up an image of a passionate fan of various elements of geek culture: science fiction, video games, hobbits and comic characters. Fan boys maybe even move past addiction and into zealotry — but it's a fine line. Filmmaker George Lucas even has an homage paid to him in the film titled “Fan Boy,” where a group of fans break into Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch to get their hands on the next Star Wars film before its release. In the far reaching world of fandom, feeding an addiction can be very costly, but it's a cost these fans willingly pay, for not only can you be a fan, but if you are talented (and these fans believe they are) you too can become just like George.
The obsession for these folks could have been started by Steam Boat Willie, or by the Marvel Comics down at the corner store, or by the DC Comics on the Saturday morning animation channel which began back in the 1960s. If the bug didn’t bite then, then maybe it happened in the theater. I’m talking about the films and franchises of Superman, Batman (and all of his incarnations: Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Val Kilmer and now Christian Bale), Spiderman, Popeye, X-Men, Daredevil, The Phantom, The Hulk, The Pink Panther, The Fantastic Four, and of course the juggernaut that is Transformers. Transformers will have its own annual (yes, been having them for years) convention for collectors and fans called “BotCon," held in Cincinnati Ohio April 24-27th, 2008. This convention is sponsored by Transformers Collectors’ Club and Hasbro (toy maker and rights holder). I called to ask how many people went to last year’s conference, and if they had an estimate on this year’s tally and was told, “They do not give out numbers. But it will be in the thousands.” I don’t know about you, but any addiction with a product line that includes plush stuffed toys, key chains, an Optimash Mr. Potato Head, as well as the original line of toy, an animated 1980s television series, and a feature film would have me think thousands would be close to six digits, but I could be wrong. The fans don’t all have to attend in person. They just have to go online.
Other comics to film that are currently in development include: Voltron, Wolverine, Justice League, GI Joe, Transformers 2, and Akira. Already in post production and coming to a theater near you in 2008 are: The Dark Knight (Batman), Iron Man, Hell Boy II, and Speed Racers. Not from the comic world, but interlaced with the genre, there will be new feature films coming out in 2008 and 2009 based on the television series, The X-Files and Star Trek. These shows have fans spanning decades of loyalty. The film Galaxy Quest is part spoof, and part homage to Star Trek, where a like film has the fans of the show play an integral if not heroic supporting role in the story line. It gives you a glimpse into the world of fandom and the how and why it feeds. Because, in this world, fans become part of and interact with the very thing that feeds that addiction and is what keeps them coming back for more.
As for who and why we feed the beast, you have only to look at Transformers. The film was released in July of 2007 (less than a year ago) and has grossed over $700 million dollars worldwide. That’s a lot of dedicated fans who are also known as consumers, and that is one bell many people hear. It sounds like ka-ching!
Entertainment industry executives have been paying attention all along to what these people are drawn to, and they have missed no opportunity to push the envelope. With just a month before release, there was virtually no advertisement for the film Cloverfield. Publicity was scant, and then as if to chum the water for sharks, information was aptly and maybe subliminally placed online. People posted in forums that it was the worst media advertising campaign, smoothly followed by the planting of blurry pictures and film footage alluding to what the film was about: there was much speculation that it included a Godzilla like creature. This kind of thing required fans to engage in the hunt, and it flummoxed the curious as to what the monster was and kept forums going with conversations and speculation. With only days from the opening, people scoured the Net for details, until it was just one frenzied voice demanding satisfaction. Produced for just $25 million dollars, Cloverfield made $46 million dollars domestically at the box office on its opening weekend in January. Beyond the number of hits on an Internet site, this is perhaps the next best way to see physical numbers based on a web presence. It is also perhaps a very simple cautionary note to the power of the Internet and to the strength of an addiction.
Call it fandom, call it addiction, what it really is about is community. It is the Elks Lodge in cyberspace. Everything else is simply a façade under which lies the reality that the most alluring addiction is the bond and need we have for each other. That there is money to be made off of all of this, well, that’s something else altogether. But it's another addiction, too.
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