Kill the Boy Band
by Goldy Moldavsky
I don’t know how I found this book, but I remember thinking that it had the potential to do an in-depth exploration of boy bands and their fans. There’s a lot to analyze. For example, often times boy bands are manufactured and marketed for primarily young girls, intentionally creating a specific parasocial relationship. I'd like to see someone to examine this dynamic with sensitivity and intellect or, sparing that, at least some compassion. This book accomplishes none of that. Worse, it's not even fun.
I don’t even care to mention the characters’ names in this book or get granular with details. Four mega fans find the hotel their favorite boy band is staying in during their city’s tour dates, and they end up kidnapping one of them. The girls disagree on how to handle the impromptu abduction, and the situation worsens while they idle. Their fear of being caught battles with the elation of their celebrity catch of the day.
I’ve been a young girl myself , and while boy bands didn’t capture my attention, I found myself crushing on an equivalent amount of celebrities and fictional characters. It was natural to daydream of a guy to take notice of you and give you the romantic fantasy you’ve longed for. This book gave us caricature of megafans to vilify.
Idolization can be exploitative and harmful. There is a small minority of fans who take things too far with stalking, breakins, threats, and other criminal acts. It is acceptable for a book to play with those scenarios. Stephen King's Misery does exactly that. My issue with this book is that it mocks teen girls who have been groomed into this mania by the boy band they adore. An idol or boy band, can present themselves however they want to make adolescents swoon, and when they do they’ll take any money that kid (or that kid’s parents) have access to and mock their devotion.
In contrast being a fan can be, and often is, inspiring and fun. Some celebrities can bring people together and give them a safe place to emote.
Everyone is responsible for their own actions, but a story about fandom feels incomplete and even damaging, without tangling with the nuances and spectrum of being a fan in the face of a corporate marketing machine.
To me, this was not a fun slasher, somber thriller, or critique of pop culture. It was shallow and uncomfortable. The girls were maniacal. The boys were entitled. That’s it. Even if the text denies that the girls aren't in their right mind, their actions speak for themselves.
It’s possible I missed some deeper message, but I doubt it. It was not the book for me, but if you like would like to read something surface-level, shocking, and dark, perhaps this could be for you.
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