A Stalker Haunted Tegan and Sara for Years. Now the Duo Is Speaking Out
With their new documentary Fanatical, the duo investigate a hacker who upended their lives for years and interrogate fandom’s role in the modern music industry.
I can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of theirs (though I like a couple of their synth-pop songs), but wow, this story is wild and fucking scary. I will absolutely be watching this documentary when it is released – stan culture is toxic and with all the drama surrounding Chappell Roan in the news as of late, I think it will be incredibly relevant in a discussion that needs to be had.
ektachrome_ on
I only liked a couple of their songs, but growing up young (like 11-12) around that time period of Livejournal, MySpace, and message boards, there were so many weird fake accounts of celebs, and it was far easier those days to fall for them, especially if the person sent you photos you hadn’t seen before. Catfish wasn’t a word commonly, if ever used, before the documentary came out, and internet literacy just wasn’t there. If you were a young person and naive, that added an extra layer. I was a big fan of the various emo bands from then, and I just remember seeing so many fake accounts of members from those bands or other “scene models” (basically influencers, but we didn’t use that word then either) in the emo scene that people fell for. I’m sure many were stupid teens on the internet, but there were also real creeps behind them too.
darlingstamp on
Thanks for sharing!
It’s kind of giving “Perfect Blue,” but terrifyingly real
IAppearMissing05 on
I’m very interested in watching this documentary. I’m curious if it will cover any of the roots of why parasocial relationships have intensified so much in the last 20 years.
People have been going mad about celebs for ages, we’ve all heard the stories of fans sneaking backstage or hiding out near hotels to manufacture a run in with their fave celeb, but it’s so different now! In general, I feel like things like our society’s move towards individualism, the elimination of third spaces, and the monetization of hobbies and leisure time, people are more isolated these days and I think that this coupled with the increase of access to celebs via social media humanizing them and making them less like rare, untouchable creatures is all a breeding ground for this kind of behavior, especially if you’re mentally unhealthy.
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[Non-PW](https://archive.ph/0mEaK)
I can’t say I’ve ever been a fan of theirs (though I like a couple of their synth-pop songs), but wow, this story is wild and fucking scary. I will absolutely be watching this documentary when it is released – stan culture is toxic and with all the drama surrounding Chappell Roan in the news as of late, I think it will be incredibly relevant in a discussion that needs to be had.
I only liked a couple of their songs, but growing up young (like 11-12) around that time period of Livejournal, MySpace, and message boards, there were so many weird fake accounts of celebs, and it was far easier those days to fall for them, especially if the person sent you photos you hadn’t seen before. Catfish wasn’t a word commonly, if ever used, before the documentary came out, and internet literacy just wasn’t there. If you were a young person and naive, that added an extra layer. I was a big fan of the various emo bands from then, and I just remember seeing so many fake accounts of members from those bands or other “scene models” (basically influencers, but we didn’t use that word then either) in the emo scene that people fell for. I’m sure many were stupid teens on the internet, but there were also real creeps behind them too.
Thanks for sharing!
It’s kind of giving “Perfect Blue,” but terrifyingly real
I’m very interested in watching this documentary. I’m curious if it will cover any of the roots of why parasocial relationships have intensified so much in the last 20 years.
People have been going mad about celebs for ages, we’ve all heard the stories of fans sneaking backstage or hiding out near hotels to manufacture a run in with their fave celeb, but it’s so different now! In general, I feel like things like our society’s move towards individualism, the elimination of third spaces, and the monetization of hobbies and leisure time, people are more isolated these days and I think that this coupled with the increase of access to celebs via social media humanizing them and making them less like rare, untouchable creatures is all a breeding ground for this kind of behavior, especially if you’re mentally unhealthy.
Someone was creeping out [Sara](https://youtu.be/jsyuhA0rvUs?si=K_r-mkj60zlUFdue) or maybe it was Tegan.
Am I missing it or does it say when/where this is going to be available to watch? I’ve been waiting for it.