Are you a fanatic, too?

I consider myself to be an ABBA fan, but what exactly does that mean? The word fan is a derivative of the word "fanatic." According to the Merriam-Webster Online dictionary, a fanatic is defined as a person "marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion."

Let's look at that dictionary definition. Starting with the second half of the definition which states "often intense uncritical devotion." In my case, I'm less willing to claim my fanaticism about ABBA is without some criticism. I'm not afraid to admit I personally can't stand a handful of ABBA songs and think a few songs are total crap, but despite that overall, I really like ABBA. But when we come to the first half of the definition of a fanatic which states the "fan" is marked by excessive enthusiasm, I'm more willing to claim being guilty, but how excessive is excessive? Where is the line drawn between being enthusiastic and being excessively enthusiastic?

I don't personally feel the need to buy every item I see with the ABBA Logo or photos of the members of ABBA, but I do have all the official albums in LP and CD format (a few times over in both formats), a number of compilations, bootlegs, a couple of posters, some books, some miscellaneous stuff and an official fanclub membership, but that pales by comparison to what others have. About the most expensive thing I've ever bought that was ABBA related was an airline ticket to Australia to attend the Mamma Mia premiere in 2001. Granted there were other reasons why I wanted to go, but quite literally it was the most expensive thing I've ever done ABBA related and I even got interviewed on Aussie TV for doing such a crazy thing.

But while in Australia I was invited to see an "ABBA shrine" that had taken over a room in a house that was loaded everything from posters to lunch boxes, pillows, empty trading card wrappers, buttons, magazines, books, and pretty much everything ever printed with the ABBA Logo in Australia since the dawn of time. All that was missing was the set of dolls which were undoubtedly in a high security area because of the insane prices you find those hideous looking things on eBay. I definitely felt like my "excessive enthusiasm" was not excessive enough. I had to photograph it just so I could prove that my enthusiasm is firmly under control to any people who thought my excessive enthusiasm for ABBA warranted psychiatric evaluation. And living in the United States, I knew no one at home would believe me without the photos that there would be enough ABBA stuff to do a room like the one I had seen.

I could personally never have a room with that much ABBA stuff. Mainly, I would never want that much stuff, and secondly, I consider myself a fanatic of a lot more music groups and other things than just ABBA. If I bought and owned enough memorabilia for everything I've considered myself a fan, I'd have to own a hotel with each room being a themed room of collectables. I simply don't want the burdened with the task of running a museum dedicated to all the things I've been "excessive enthusiastic" about in my life.

Having also been a Star Trek fan for a great number of years, and having attended a number of Star Trek conventions, I was always repulsed by the fans who dressed up in the costumes and walked around talking "in character" because a lot of them took their fanaticism as if it was a competitive sport and going to great lengths to put down other fans who didn't own as much memorabilia or couldn't identify the plot point of an episode just from what episode number it was. I've always considered it the "Loser Olympics" when fans take their excessive enthusiasm that level. How low does your self-esteem have to be that can't feel good about yourself until you know your excessive enthusiasm is more excessive than someone else's enthusiasm?

The documentary film "Trekkies" is movie that puts the spotlight on some excessively enthusiastic Star Trek fans and follows them around and interviews people in their lives under the premise of trying to understand the phenomena of Star Trek fandom. But the critical praise for the movie featured on the packaging of the DVD indicates it's viewed as a comedy outside the realm of Star Trek fans. You feel sorry for people who live and work with the excessively enthusiastic fans featured. One of the extreme fans highlighted was a woman who gained some fame in the US for sitting on a Jury wearing a Star Trek uniform and refusing to not wear the costume in the courtroom. This woman also goes to work wanting all her co-workers to refer to her as "The Commander" while she comes in to work wearing a communicator pin and a toy phaser (ray gun for you non-Trek fans).

Star Trek fans have traditionally been picked on as the most excessively enthusiastic of all fans, with even the word "Trekkie" now admitted as a word in a high profile dictionary of the English language. Whether they are truly the most excessively enthusiastic is debatable because the general public tends to devalue fanaticism of fictional works like Star Trek as opposed to sports, music groups, and other mediums that people get excessively enthusiastic about. But to their credit, the most excessively enthusiastic Star Trek fans wear the public shame like a badge of honor and make the world safer for the less extreme excessively enthusiastic fans of all kinds.

While I may never have been the kind of person to put on a Star Trek uniform for a convention or create an ABBA shrine encompassing a whole room, and I can't even define how excessive is excessive, but I do know I am a fanatic. Are you a fanatic too?

Ryan Cameron