Friends,
I have been seeing some of the mails since Endhiran music has been released.
There have been good, bad as well as outright ugly emails. This had me
thinking,
who are we as fans, what role do we have and since we are in a group, is there
a
decorum we need to follow ? Do we just allow all opinions or do we try to
always
be appreciative. I do not know all the answers, but this set me across a
thought
process which I wanted to pen down here.
Since this is a AR fna group, what is the dictionary definition of a fan ?
(reproduced from m-w.com)
Main Entry: 3fan
Function: noun
Etymology: probably short for fanatic
Date: 1682
1 : an enthusiastic devotee (as of a sport or a performing art) usually as a
spectator
2 : an ardent admirer or enthusiast (as of a celebrity or a
pursuit) <science-fiction fans>
If we take this definition, we are more or less (most of us) enthusiastic
devotees/admirers or enthusiasts of AR, right ? And to enlarge this, we should
be admirers of his entire body of work or his body of work over the total
duration. Now, this does not mean we have to admire every song or album that he
has ever churned out. At the very least this means that we need to have a
context of the man, his music and his entire body of work. We need to be
sensitive to the fact that the music is an input of many people like the
director of the movie, producer, context of the movie, scene, emotion etc.
Are we really fans of AR or his music, if we just react to every song and album
as a standalone piece of work ? Isnt that primarily a function of our like or
dislike ? What has AR and his music got to do with our like or dislike ? Let me
give the example of food - I love avakai (kind of pickle in andhra). If I feed
it to my american friend, telling him it is the best thing in the world, he
will
run away ! Now, most of my american friends enjoy steaks (beef), I can never
ever eat one ! Does this mean avakai or beef is good or bad ? Absolutely no, it
is just a function of my like/dislike, my upbringing, my culture etc.
Now, what does one do if you dont enjoy a certain AR album or song ? If we are
just reacting to our like/dislike at that point in time, then we will praise
the
song we like and rip the song we dont like. Infact what is happening is the
individual is just reacting to his/her like/dislike, AR or the song has nothing
to do with it. This will happen for any song or any musician they will hear.
But
if you are really a fan, you will go with a positive intent to enjoy the song,
because you know the musician and his large body of work and know that you can
expect quality stuff. You are patient, you invest more energy as you are a fan
and take all possible efforts to not miss the quality music, you have
experienced in the past. It is possible that you might still not like the
music.
I have not liked many of AR's songs or albums. Many times it is also a function
of how I am feeling at the time. I might be neck deep in work issues and not
find the effort to enjoy the music. Or I might be going through some personal
issues and not be in the right frame of mind to enjoy AR's music at that point
in time. Sometimes when I revisit the song after many years, I start to like
it.
Sometimes being in a forum like this and listening to others opinions helps me
enjoy the music even more and discover other nuances, that I think is the best
part of my being part of this fan group.
So, what is a good responsibility to have as a fan ? If one is really a fan, I
think the following should apply:
1) The fan will take reasonable efforts and invest energy to enjoy each new
piece of work. This is owed by the fan to himself/herself for having known AR
and his music for a long duration.
2) Please be generous with praise. But be a little understated with criticism.
Never be blatantly nasty with criticism, if that is what you want, please go to
some other group.
3) If you dont like the song/album please use decency in expressing it.
4) And finally AR does not owe anything to anyone. So any opinions of what he
is
doing, what he should do and how he should do anything are totally uncalled
for.
At best suggestions/recommendations can be made.
To summarize, if you really believe you are a fan, please act responsibly as
one. If you are not a fan, but just like to listen to some work or AR and rip
some, then please do so with decency. If you are outright malicious and only
intent is to criticize AR or his music (there are some here) please stay away
from this group.
I hope atleast some of you will agree with these views and that too after Gopal
allows this post.
Cheers !
Ram
