On September 28 Bowen Yang performed one of the most resonant pieces of political theater of 2024 dressed as a pygmy hippopotamus.
Yang was behind the desk Saturday night livefrom the “Weekend Update” segment, dressed as Moo Deng, who at the time the show aired was the current Internet favorite. However, what she was saying sounded more like comments from pop star Chappell Roan, who had recently taken to social media to ask her fans to be more respectful when approaching her in public or saying inappropriate things to her online. “Don’t shout my name or expect a photo just because I’m your parasocial best friend or because you appreciate my talent,” Yang said, wrapped in a rubbery Moo Deng costume.
The part was played for laughs, but in 2024, fans’ actions (with each other, with the people they’re fans of, with the world at large) entered a whole new phase. More than half a century after John Lennon observed that the Beatles were more popular than JesusFandom, fueled by ever-changing social media platforms, has taken on a form that goes beyond religious furor.
During the US elections, it was evident in the manosphere and MAGA hats. Also, on Vice President Kamala Harris’ embrace of the “brat” ethos. In pop culture, it was Taylor Swift’s accounts that left X for Bluesky due to frustrations with Elon Musk’s involvement in President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign. It was also the return of Gamergate, manifested in an entirely new harassment campaign against diversity and inclusion efforts in video game development. It was Kendrick Lamar who turned his beef with Drake into a community event in Los Angeles.
In all media and interests, being a fan of someone or something didn’t just mean buying a t-shirt or a movie ticket, but choosing a side.
Superfans, oversized
according to simón Driessen, assistant professor of media and popular culture at Erasmus University Rotterdam, 2024, more than anything, marks another year in which people recognize, or even come to terms with, the fact that fans have real power.
“The MAGA moment, for me, is rooted in the moment of January 6th. It was almost as if they were disguised as a coup d’état, but it was very real and with very real consequences,” he says. “Brat summer, Swifties for Harris: to me, they are a testament to how these fan skills one develops from being a fan (from hunting Easter eggs to creating a community) can also be politically valuable.”
Proof of this is everywhere. As my colleague Makena Kelly wrote this year, the 2024 campaign cycle was the election of influencers. People with cameras, microphones, and large followings became, he wrote, “trendsetters, meme sharers, video creators, and organizers; “They also wield significant power when it comes to encouraging their followers to vote.” People like Twitch streamer Hasan Piker and conservative YouTuber Ben Shapiro had the power to influence what happened at the polls. Whether or not a candidate did Joe Rogan’s podcast became front-page news. (Trump did; Harris didn’t.)