An Evening with Jenny Tinghui Zhang
Jenny Tinghui Zhang on Superfan
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52m
When does adoration become obsession, and where is the line between fan and fanatic?
Join Jenny Tinghui Zhang as she presents Superfan, a seductive exploration of K-pop fandom, online community, and the dangerous allure of parasocial relationships that speaks to our times in the way Yellowface and The List have done for publishing and cancel culture.
One boyband sensation with a tragic secret. One adoring fan determined to uncover it...
Lonely college student Minnie feels invisible until she stumbles upon HOURglass: America's new K-pop inspired boyband obsession. Soon she is memorising the lyrics to every song and staying up late to watch their livestreams, hoping that her favourite member, bad-boy Halo, will see her in the comments.
On the other side of the screen, Halo is also becoming addicted to the adoration from his fans, using their love to paper over the cracks of the tragic past he is determined to keep hidden. But when Minnie is drawn to a shadowy fan community who believe they need to protect the band members from a dark conspiracy, the line between fandom and obsession begins to blur...
In conversation with journalist and author Sarah Shaffi, join us for an evening exploring the loneliness that drives online obsession, the allure and danger of parasocial relationships, how fan communities can turn protective into possessive, and what happens when the people we worship turn out to be just as lost as we are.