{"id":3949,"date":"2016-05-03T12:31:06","date_gmt":"2016-05-03T11:31:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/05\/03\/iconische-status-van-prince-wordt-na-zijn-dood-nog-groter\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:13","slug":"iconische-status-van-prince-wordt-na-zijn-dood-nog-groter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2016\/05\/03\/iconische-status-van-prince-wordt-na-zijn-dood-nog-groter\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Prince will achieve an even more iconic status now that he\u2019s dead\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Purple Rain, Purple Rain<\/em>. Purple lights shone over the people in the crowd, who were singing along exuberantly and putting their arms around their neighbours\u2019 shoulders. Life-sized portraits of Prince, who passed away recently, hung on either side of the DJ, as did elegant visuals of the star. Last Saturday a memorial party dedicated to the music legend was held at Annabel\u2019s, where several generations\u2019 worth of attendees danced their feet off to the artist\u2019s sexy R&B. Collectively commemorating an artist is a nice gesture \u2013 as well as an excuse for a good party \u2013 but what does it say about a fan? How come super stars can evoke so many emotions, both during their lives and after their deaths?<\/p>\n

\u2018A gathering of people who love the same thing\u2019<\/h3>
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Simone Driessen (ESHCC)<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

According to Simone Driessen, an ESHCC PhD student investigating the role of music in a fan culture, becoming a fan is like a veritable conversion. \u201cIt\u2019s often a sensation: you see a part of yourself, of what you wish to be. A fan is a person who, at least for a certain stage of his or her life, engages in something every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Driessen is looking into the way in which fans keep so-called fandoms (fan cultures) going in the long term. \u201cAs a fan, you\u2019re generally part of a collective. You\u2019re part of a fandom, a gathering of other people who love the same thing you do. In certain respects, you grieve together as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Identification and a T-shirt<\/h3>

The music-loving collective is clearly on the up and up, not just through countless\u00a0tributes, but by purchasing Prince\u2019s greatest hits. The artist currently monopolises Apple Music\u2019s top 3. In addition, fans buy T-shirts of their favourite bands or collect hard-copy bootleg albums. When she was researching fans of the Backstreet Boys, Driessen often encountered such visual expressions of love. \u201cThey used to have band pillowcases and dolls and they used to stick their concert tickets on the wall. Now they may have tattoos of a song lyric.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I think that being a fan is a psychological process as well, a way to identify with something\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Even so, Driessen feels the immaterial developments are more interesting in the long term. \u201cI think being a fan is a psychological process as well, a way to identify with something. You adopt an artist\u2019s viewpoints or imitate his or her way of talking and acting.\u201d In other words, music fans may well continue to identify with their favourite artists in the long term, meaning their idols will always have a special place in their hearts. Driessen encountered this in the Backstreet Boys fans as well: \u201cMany of those girls are no longer really interested in collecting things, but they do find solace in the lyrics. I think that kind of internal sensation comes into play with Prince as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The music of your adolescence helps shape your future\u2019<\/h3>
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Debora, a memorial party attendee, had the following T-shirt made especially for last Saturday\u2019s party: \u201cPrince taught me that it\u2019s OK to be who you are and his ideas on identity and sexuality have always stayed with me.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

This identification greatly motivates fans and appears to be set in motion during their adolescence. \u201cThe music of those years really helps shape your future,\u201d said Driessen. \u201cThe first music you really start listening to on your own, this is a moment that will always remain with you and that you\u2019ll remember later.\u201d<\/p>\n

First-generation fans of music from the 1970s and 1980s will probably confirm this. They grew up with the musical miracles created by Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, and, yes, Prince.<\/p>\n

Yet it\u2019s not just this generation that is taking an interest in the music created by these artists: at Prince\u2019s memorial party, young and old people alike were dancing to his music. Driessen emphasised that children are being introduced to this musician by their parents. \u201cIn this way you create a loop in which this kind of continuity is safeguarded.\u201d And it is like this that Prince has more or less been transformed into a cult phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Legendary status<\/h3>

Of course the era during which these legendary musicians grew into their own significantly contributed to the impact they had on the music industry and people outside the music industry. \u201cThe music world was a little less crowded at the time,\u201d explained Driessen. \u201cNow we\u2019re being inundated with new bands all the time, but because those artists were tall poppies for such a long time, they attained that\u00a0legendary\u00a0status.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mystique of those artists and their deaths only makes them more legendary. \u201cDavid Bowie, but Prince too, released new songs just before or just after their deaths. The fact that something lives on even though the persons themselves are no longer with us increases these persons\u2019 iconic status.\u201d<\/p>\n

Our culture of remembrance<\/h3>

Therefore, it shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise that so many different people should congregate at a memorial party, even though they all have their own reasons to attend it. Driessen has noticed that remembrance is embedded in our culture. \u201cMaybe this is tangentially related to people attending 1990s parties. Since such parties are thrown all the time, this may be some kind of spin-off\u00a0of such parties.\u201d Social media platforms such as Facebook only intensify such collective memorial services. \u201cAfter all, you do feel more or less pressured into taking part in that grieving process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018In a way, you\u2019re connected, and you seek closure somehow\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
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But even if you don\u2019t belong to the exclusive Prince fanbase\u00a0or recognise aspects of yourself in his work, your parents\u2019 memories may suffice to get you involved, said Driessen. \u201cIn a way, you\u2019re connected, and you seek closure somehow. A\u00a0memorial party\u00a0can be a good way to find such closure.\u201d When asked if she herself would be attending any tribute parties soon, Driessen provided an unambiguous reply: \u201cNo, but I will be attending the future hologram tour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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