The new TV show about stan culture

Donald Glover’s new show dives into the captivating world of stan culture.

Transcript

00:00Beyonce's fans are the inspiration behind Donald Glover's new show,

00:04so we need to talk about the phenomenon known as stan culture. Prime Video's Swarm follows

00:08a young woman named Dre, whose entire life revolves around her admiration of a global pop

00:12star. Creators Donald Glover and Janine Neighbors, who are behind the hit series Atlanta, drew

00:16particular inspiration from Beyonce and her beehive. Dre feeds into what is known as stan

00:20culture, or online communities of fans who engage in enthusiastic support and oftentimes defense of

00:26a celebrity. Swarm highlights how celebrity stan culture often creates parasocial relationships.

00:31These one-sided relationships have only been magnified by the internet and social media,

00:36where individuals can follow the public figure more closely and even communicate with them,

00:40thus increasing the intimacy and strength of the relationship. Although Glover's character

00:44takes this idea to a violent extreme, parasocial relationships are often harmless, and one study

00:49even showed that they can broaden one's social network rather than restrict it. Swarm premieres

00:53on Amazon Prime Video today, March 17th.