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Post by amidala64 on Aug 1, 2006 15:40:45 GMT -4
There's no point in my obsessing about this man if I can't gain some personal insight or fuel my creative mania in the process, except for the sheer joy of it of course  I wish to undertake a psychoanalytic view of my compulsion surrounding Michael Emerson (albeit an armchair psychoanalytic view, as I am not a doctor and I won't have my Master's in Counseling till January). First, some of the diagnostic criteria for fan obsession: -One becomes "hooked on the look" of another (or an Other in the case of LOST....lol)
focusing on the person's physical characteristics while having little or no real grasp of the person's actual behavior, personality or the lack of a 'real acquaintance with him.
-Unrealistic fantasies about a relationship with a love interest, assigning "magical" qualities to an object of affection. Ok, I'm guilty as charged. But, I'm wondering if this is unhealthy? If one acknowledges the 'fantasy' nature of the preoccupation with the celebrity, does the behavior of the obsessor become less suspect of being pathological? |
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Post by flummery on Aug 1, 2006 18:46:49 GMT -4
I'm not much for psychological analysis, but... Personally, I wouldn't be quick to call it unhealthy. (But then, I don't think I've ever been an obsessive fan...info about acting, film, theater, have always just been a hobby). Unhealthy, to me, is just those unusual times when people go nutso and stalk celebrities and that sort of thing.  People become obsessed for a lot of different reasons. Maybe some reasons are inherently worse than others, or maybe it's just the end products that can be not so good. Either way...I think, for most relatively sane ( though not necessarily normal  ) people, it never becomes a big deal; it's simply an interest, even if it's an intense one. I have happened to see people online (regular chat message boards) who seem to need to be constantly obsessed with someone...and that worries me a little. It's like the drive to be obsessed with someone is more intense than the actual interest in the person (if that makes any sense). I haven't seen any of that here...except for maybe Drew's Chick. (I'm repeating words too much in this post...it's hot as a Dutch oven today, I can't think.) |
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Post by pez on Aug 1, 2006 19:40:40 GMT -4
Having an interest in sumpthin' is perfectly cool. Having many interests is even better.  <3 If you have a person's name carved into your arm or you begin sculpting large lawn statues in a person's likeness out of raw meat while screaming thur' name.. . not so good. |
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Post by flummery on Aug 1, 2006 20:25:06 GMT -4
*Somberly crosses meat sculpture off Weekend Fun list*  |
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Post by red on Aug 1, 2006 23:52:01 GMT -4
I'm not much for psychological analysis, but... Personally, I wouldn't be quick to call it unhealthy. (But then, I don't think I've ever been an obsessive fan...info about acting, film, theater, have always just been a hobby). Unhealthy, to me, is just those unusual times when people go nutso and stalk celebrities and that sort of thing. People become obsessed for a lot of different reasons. Maybe some reasons are inherently worse than others, or maybe it's just the end products that can be not so good. Either way...I think, for most relatively sane ( though not necessarily normal ) people, it never becomes a big deal; it's simply an interest, even if it's an intense one. I have happened to see people online (regular chat message boards) who seem to need to be constantly obsessed with someone...and that worries me a little. It's like the drive to be obsessed with someone is more intense than the actual interest in the person (if that makes any sense). I haven't seen any of that here...except for maybe Drew's Chick. (I'm repeating words too much in this post...it's hot as a Dutch oven today, I can't think.) Yeah, if just thinking about a person all the time is unhealthy then I am guilty of it on several counts. I am frequently finding people absolutely fascinating, but the few times I've met semi-famous people I have handled myself pretty well, I think. Managed not to asct like a total nutcase. I once saw Kevin Bacon in person at a concert, though I didn't get close enough to talk to him. He seemed like a really nice guy. Here where I am, we had a pretty good rainstorm with thunder and some lightning. It was beautiful. Made me try to find some sounds of thunder online. Not greatly successful. Most sights watned me to pay for it and it was only seconds worth of stuff. |
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Post by amidala64 on Aug 2, 2006 1:15:12 GMT -4
flummery, For someone who's not much into psychoanalysis, you did a fine job of putting things in perspective. I think that I'm just a hair's breadth away from carving the giant meat puppet on the lawn....lol. It gives me calming satisfaction to accumulate pics of Michael, all the stuff he's ever done, and check this and other boards daily (besides the actual enjoyment of his work, of course.) It never occurred to me to consider it a hobby!! I feel vindicated. Thanks. |
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Post by pez on Aug 2, 2006 2:28:56 GMT -4
*Somberly crosses meat sculpture off Weekend Fun list* Haha! Somberly. Oh man, that hit me .. I had ta' giggle. xD |
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Post by red on Aug 2, 2006 17:09:20 GMT -4
It gives me calming satisfaction to accumulate pics of Michael, all the stuff he's ever done, and check this and other boards daily (besides the actual enjoyment of his work, of course.) It never occurred to me to consider it a hobby!! I feel vindicated. Thanks. I also like to collect such things. He has his own folder on my computer. Well, two of them, one in my pic section and one in my vids. |
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Post by amidala64 on Aug 2, 2006 18:07:47 GMT -4
Hmmm........you may have given me some direction here. I've been a collector of certain types of movie memorabilia, Nightmare Before Christmas for instance. When a new piece came out on the market I would feel this compulsion to own it, an unsettling anxiety....sort of attached to a vague hope that owning it would do something, fill a void, bring happiness...something.
Maybe fan-dom has a similar psychological component, well, my version of it; the collecting, researching, having to watch/ own everything he has ever done, etc.
Is the habitual (or 'compulsive' in more extreme cases) wanting part of a certain personality type or do all people have that 'wanting' component hardwired into their psyches?
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Post by flummery on Aug 2, 2006 20:00:48 GMT -4
Wanting to experience and understand a persons talents, personality, parts of who they are and what they do...that's part of being human. It's an interest. Taking it a step further by adding an element of collecting just makes it into a hobby, in my opinion. The collecting makes me think of consumerism, too. In all sorts of ways, we're reminded every day that we should 'have' things. It reaches into other parts of our lives...if you're online and see a picture you like, you could just look at it, or you could save it to your computer.
As long as that doesn't take up a person's entire life, it's an activity, a distraction, and something to learn from. Our thoughts can be occupied by something/someone for quite a while and we can still be well-rounded!
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Post by pez on Aug 3, 2006 5:18:05 GMT -4
.. . and of course everyone knows that the meaning of life is to own or collect as much crap as possible.
..or
"Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations.
..And, finally, here are some completely gratuitous pictures of penises to annoy the censors and to hopefully spark some sort of controversy."
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Post by flummery on Aug 3, 2006 14:33:14 GMT -4
Because, as everyone knows, penises are "the only way, these days, to get the jaded, video-sated public off their fucking arses and back in the sodding cinema". |
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Post by pez on Aug 3, 2006 19:27:31 GMT -4
Because, as everyone knows, penises are "the only way, these days, to get the jaded, video-sated public off their ****ing arses and back in the sodding cinema". ;D <3 |
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Post by amidala64 on Sept 10, 2006 12:45:21 GMT -4
As the LOST Season 3 approaches, it's time to swoon and sigh over the magnitude of the hott-itude of Michael. So, even though you've seen this pic by now, I must ask.....HOW HOTT IS THIS PICTURE???  |
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ezila
Full Member
Posts: 56
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Post by ezila on Sept 10, 2006 13:53:24 GMT -4
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) people, it never becomes a big deal; it's simply an interest, even if it's an intense one.
<3
