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The Dark Side of Fandom: Lessons from the Possessive Fan Known as The Director
It’s not uncommon to find fans who are deeply passionate about their favorite artists or celebrities. Some go as far as dedicating their lives to studying every detail of their idol’s work and life, collecting every piece of memorabilia and merchandise available, and even creating fan clubs and websites to share their devotion with others. But what happens when this passion turns into obsession, possessiveness, and entitlement? Enter “The Director.” The Director is a self-proclaimed expert on a certain silent film actress, whose name we won’t mention to avoid giving him any more attention than he already has. He has been a fan of hers since the mid-1990s, and he’s…
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Louise Brooks wasn’t just brainy, she was Schopenhauer-brainy
The Unlikely Orbits of Louise Brooks and Arthur Schopenhauer Collide in Time and Space For Every Action… There is an Equal and Opposite Reaction Imagine a silent film actress. Imagine a wildly beautiful silent film actress. Imagine a wildly beautiful silent film star on the set of G.W. Pabst’s lurid, cult classic Pandora’s Box. Between takes, she picks up her worn copy of Schopenhauer’s essays. It is a dense, heady, German Idealist philosophy from the mid-19th century. How does his powerful prose color her experience of the film set? What refractions does she find through that lens? This was Louise Brooks. She possessed a singular drive along with an abundance…
