Tom Felton meets the superfans
Kept hearing Tom Felton tweet about this documentary on BBC3 and I have to say I was surprised by it.
Gutted I missed his tweet asking for fans to send in their stories many months ago because I would've sent him something. Obviously I don't expect him to respond to what I write but it would've been an opportunity to spill my fan experiences from conventions and being a fangirl who used to occasionally dabble with cult tv culture.
So this documentary goes into the heads of obsessed fans. In this case it's Harry Potter fanatics which is perfect footing for Tom. He goes to meet a few special ones across the UK and America. Would this be more interesting if he managed to pick out those who were POC? Or should that be for another person to do? should I do that?.
First person he meets is a hardcore fanboy Steve who has a basement of Harry Potter goods and even dresses like Harry himself, resembling Daniel Radcliffe quite a lot and not just relating to the character. Tom asks how this fanboying began and the fan explains it was what helped him deal with bullying because he was different (being a nerd). However the fanboying doesn't drive anyone away from him.
Second fan meet is with a girl who said HP helped her battle depression. Jade met Tom at a Comic Con in America and says the cast and characters inspired her to get out of her dark space. The next meet up is with a guy named Brian who collects autographs and manages to grab selcas with famous people. This is something I tend to fail at doing and the slight envy I feel when I realise this guy even managed to get two books of short stories published is inevitable. He doesn't make money out of these autographs, he just gets them because it's the thrill. The excitement of accomplishing such a task is huge too. I remember feeling that way when I managed to wait in the freezing cold, rainy night outside Hammersmith Apollo for Franz Ferdinand to show up after their gig.
Throughout this documentary Tom explains how he can often get recognised at conventions and is overwhelmed with the cosplayers in all corners but also notices how people get star struck when they spot him in real life, even saying if it means something to you it means something to me.
Being a guest at a comic con also meant meeting other well-known faces in scifi. He even tried to put his interview skills to the test on William Shatner who was like asking Tom questions to retaliate. Now I know William Shatner has a reputation for being quite miserable or blunt according to the con-goers who post at the Showmasters forums. That's when I first heard some negative feedback on him and I'm sure hardcore Trekkies were disappointed at the previous cons. So to see Tom feel flustered and embarrassed with how his interview went with William didn't really surprise me much but I certainly felt sympathetic.
There are moments where you don't know how a famous person will be when you try to talk to them at a public event. Oddly enough I remember hearing someone say Tom was a bit of moody guy at a past convention organised by Showmasters and this scared me a bit when I was on the way to Collectormania Milton Keynes many years ago to meet him and Philip Glenister. Surprisingly Tom was down to earth and happy to take a photo. Perhaps his first con experience gave him a shock. I wouldn't know.
After his Comic Con experiences we then get coverage of his visit to Birmingham Comic Con which got the Twitter world crazy and so many retweets from Tom himself. He went to this comic con with two sisters and cosplayed as Heath Ledger!Joker. Only they knew who he really was underneath the costume. It was funny how he then went to get Vic Mignogna's autograph (Vic is a popular voice actor in dubbed Anime and I remember going to his talk in LFCC 2009. He's not into Yaoi at all) and Vic said he wasn't sure if it was Tom underneath the Joker costume.
The two sisters who accompanied Tom at Birmingham Comic Con gave Tom some tips on what to do as cosplayers such as be complimentary on other people's costumes, if they want a photo then take one with them. These experiences make Tom realise that fans are (mostly) united in a mutual community and you are not judged for being a super crazy fan.
The last fan meet is with one of Tom's biggest fans. An elder woman named Tina who seems to know where Tom goes for events, always asks for autographs and a photo - think fansite noona. It's gotten to the point where even Tom's girlfriend and family know who this woman is. On the outside you might think ugh Ahjumma fan with a creepy sugar mum complex but she says being a fan of HP is like watching your family grow up. I guess she had a thing for Draco but also for Tom as an actor. Will I be labelled in the same way if I manage to reach 40-50 years old?
I enjoyed Tom's chats with JK Rowling, Rupert and Daniel. They all explain their experiences of meeting super fans and know who some of the super fans are by name (the recognition and acknowledgement by your favourite star is a treat let's be real) but also how they get star-struck by big names too. Rupert's story with the drag queens...gold.
This entire documentary does not paint everyone as a weird person for daring to obsess over something. It shows you why people are fans. Sasaengs are overboard and they taint the picture of how fans are presented in public yes no doubt about it however if you dare to bypass the crazies, you may be surprised.
I wish I could 100% relate to these big nerds and geeks but my fangirl level is ridiculously low. I need tips on how to find people at events or special goggles on how to celebrity spot. I've just been held back by my personal insecurities as a WOC and much, much more. But Tom deserves a massive gold star for showing us why super fans are the way they are. You can't judge people for being obsessed with a cult fandom. Watching this documentary reminds me of the days where I wasted a ton of money had some nice encounters with actors and actresses from a few of my favourite US/UK series but also the joy of seeing good cosplay or amazing merchandise of the geeky kind.
Gutted I missed his tweet asking for fans to send in their stories many months ago because I would've sent him something. Obviously I don't expect him to respond to what I write but it would've been an opportunity to spill my fan experiences from conventions and being a fangirl who used to occasionally dabble with cult tv culture.
So this documentary goes into the heads of obsessed fans. In this case it's Harry Potter fanatics which is perfect footing for Tom. He goes to meet a few special ones across the UK and America. Would this be more interesting if he managed to pick out those who were POC? Or should that be for another person to do? should I do that?.
First person he meets is a hardcore fanboy Steve who has a basement of Harry Potter goods and even dresses like Harry himself, resembling Daniel Radcliffe quite a lot and not just relating to the character. Tom asks how this fanboying began and the fan explains it was what helped him deal with bullying because he was different (being a nerd). However the fanboying doesn't drive anyone away from him.
Second fan meet is with a girl who said HP helped her battle depression. Jade met Tom at a Comic Con in America and says the cast and characters inspired her to get out of her dark space. The next meet up is with a guy named Brian who collects autographs and manages to grab selcas with famous people. This is something I tend to fail at doing and the slight envy I feel when I realise this guy even managed to get two books of short stories published is inevitable. He doesn't make money out of these autographs, he just gets them because it's the thrill. The excitement of accomplishing such a task is huge too. I remember feeling that way when I managed to wait in the freezing cold, rainy night outside Hammersmith Apollo for Franz Ferdinand to show up after their gig.
Throughout this documentary Tom explains how he can often get recognised at conventions and is overwhelmed with the cosplayers in all corners but also notices how people get star struck when they spot him in real life, even saying if it means something to you it means something to me.
Being a guest at a comic con also meant meeting other well-known faces in scifi. He even tried to put his interview skills to the test on William Shatner who was like asking Tom questions to retaliate. Now I know William Shatner has a reputation for being quite miserable or blunt according to the con-goers who post at the Showmasters forums. That's when I first heard some negative feedback on him and I'm sure hardcore Trekkies were disappointed at the previous cons. So to see Tom feel flustered and embarrassed with how his interview went with William didn't really surprise me much but I certainly felt sympathetic.
There are moments where you don't know how a famous person will be when you try to talk to them at a public event. Oddly enough I remember hearing someone say Tom was a bit of moody guy at a past convention organised by Showmasters and this scared me a bit when I was on the way to Collectormania Milton Keynes many years ago to meet him and Philip Glenister. Surprisingly Tom was down to earth and happy to take a photo. Perhaps his first con experience gave him a shock. I wouldn't know.
After his Comic Con experiences we then get coverage of his visit to Birmingham Comic Con which got the Twitter world crazy and so many retweets from Tom himself. He went to this comic con with two sisters and cosplayed as Heath Ledger!Joker. Only they knew who he really was underneath the costume. It was funny how he then went to get Vic Mignogna's autograph (Vic is a popular voice actor in dubbed Anime and I remember going to his talk in LFCC 2009. He's not into Yaoi at all) and Vic said he wasn't sure if it was Tom underneath the Joker costume.
The two sisters who accompanied Tom at Birmingham Comic Con gave Tom some tips on what to do as cosplayers such as be complimentary on other people's costumes, if they want a photo then take one with them. These experiences make Tom realise that fans are (mostly) united in a mutual community and you are not judged for being a super crazy fan.
The last fan meet is with one of Tom's biggest fans. An elder woman named Tina who seems to know where Tom goes for events, always asks for autographs and a photo - think fansite noona. It's gotten to the point where even Tom's girlfriend and family know who this woman is. On the outside you might think ugh Ahjumma fan with a creepy sugar mum complex but she says being a fan of HP is like watching your family grow up. I guess she had a thing for Draco but also for Tom as an actor. Will I be labelled in the same way if I manage to reach 40-50 years old?
I enjoyed Tom's chats with JK Rowling, Rupert and Daniel. They all explain their experiences of meeting super fans and know who some of the super fans are by name (the recognition and acknowledgement by your favourite star is a treat let's be real) but also how they get star-struck by big names too. Rupert's story with the drag queens...gold.
This entire documentary does not paint everyone as a weird person for daring to obsess over something. It shows you why people are fans. Sasaengs are overboard and they taint the picture of how fans are presented in public yes no doubt about it however if you dare to bypass the crazies, you may be surprised.
I wish I could 100% relate to these big nerds and geeks but my fangirl level is ridiculously low. I need tips on how to find people at events or special goggles on how to celebrity spot. I've just been held back by my personal insecurities as a WOC and much, much more. But Tom deserves a massive gold star for showing us why super fans are the way they are. You can't judge people for being obsessed with a cult fandom. Watching this documentary reminds me of the days where I wasted a ton of money had some nice encounters with actors and actresses from a few of my favourite US/UK series but also the joy of seeing good cosplay or amazing merchandise of the geeky kind.