Ummm, so like…who’s your favorite artist???
Amazon Prime’s new limited series called “Swarm” created by Janine Nabers and Donald Glover has been on the rise over the past couple of weeks. The genre is described as horror, comedy, and drama all into one. The amazingly star-studded cast includes Dominique Fishback, Chloe Bailey, Damson Idris, Rickey Thompson, Paris Jackson, and Billie Ellish. Swarm follows the character Dre who is an obsessive stan of an artist called Ni’Jah, who may allegedly be loosely based on Beyoncé.
There are plenty of crazy fan bases in our culture today, and “Swarm” sets up someone who goes past that mindset to murder. The series dives into the dark side of what it means to glamorize someone's life and get themselves trapped into developing a parasocial personality.
!! Spoilers Ahead !!
In most cases when someone is obsessed with a celebrity, it’s shown there are some qualities in celebrities that are not in their lives presently but wish they were. People that are delusional like the protagonist or antagonist, Dre, need to remind themselves that celebrities are showing the world whatever type of persona they want. Fans or in this case, “stans”, develop antisocial traits and isolation - which is displayed well throughout the series. Dre has tendencies to lash out at anyone who speaks negatively about her favorite artist and it seems that the love Dre has for Ni’Jah overpowers any other love connection she can form with anyone else.
While the horrific series comments on the obvious psychotic effects we know about “stan culture”, it simultaneously gives these stans a backstory instead of a hectic Twitter profile many have seen and even dealt with. The complexity of this story is amazing because it makes the audience pay attention to every single detail the show provides, which makes room for different perspectives and interpretations.
This shows an accurate reenactment of an obsession with how stan culture is in real life. Every interaction you may have with someone can leave a long-lasting effect on them, and the audience may be careful with things they say and do on the internet.
The series accurately reflects the current space of stan culture and the state of society as these online spaces.
Written by Daniel Rojas