Fan Behavior – 6WS

Is fan behavior a bad idea?

Finding myself highly intrigued by ALIAS;
I have watched all episodes once;
Bought a collectors DVD box set;
I’ve rewatched some episodes several times;
Show motivates me to be stronger;
Though fiction, somehow, I can relate…

ALIAS is my favorite TV show.  The graphic above gives you a short summary of the show’s first episode.  Since it’s about spies, it’s considered what’s called spy-fi, or spy fiction.  It was on the air, on ABC, from 2001 to 2006.  I never saw it then, but I discovered it on Netflix a few months ago and got hooked. I have watched all 5 seasons of the series which includes more than a hundred episodes. I like it so much, I now rewatch episodes.  The best seasons are the 1st and 2nd Season. But the overall story is intriguing from start to finish. The show was created by J.J. Abrams, who is also one of the creators of Lost and Fringe. It’s fun and surprisingly thoughtful and philosophical with action, science fiction, and drama thrown in. To me, the show is about true power coming from love, family, and honor.  Those three values are mentioned by one of the characters towards the end of the series and seem to sum up the moral of the entire unusual story.  The story also questions the concept of free will versus fate through the interaction of the different characters searching for artifacts connected to a 15th century Leonardo de Vinci/Nostradamus type figure.  In addition, the main character’s determination, persistence, and other strengths are both refreshing and personally motivating after a sometimes difficult day at work, school, or life in general.

After being stressed by my day, and everyone has gone to sleep, I watch an episode of Alias for 45 minutes and forget my worries.   Then I pray and go to bed relaxed.  The next day, I’m ready and focused to go and juggle my life, not of a secret CIA double agent and grad student pretending to be a banker, but of an ordinary mom, wife, caseworker, and grad student.  Nearing the end of graduate school, I think I needed a distraction to help me unwind and relax at the end of the day, and I have found it with this series.  Maybe next I can check out Lost or Fringe.  For now, I’ll stick with ALIAS.  It seems to be doing me some good.  By the way, I’ve also bought an ALIAS t-shirt, music I’ve heard on the show, and I considered buying a red wig for Halloween.  Sometimes, I think I like the show a little too much, and I’m being silly to even consider a TV show as being a motiviational tool or some philosophical work.  Or is that my anxiety talking and telling me I can’t have something I enjoy because I must always be serious and be in control of everything.  What do you think?  One thing is for sure, I do feel better after writing this post.  I needed to let out both my excitement and my worry about my excitement.

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Inspired by

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Related Reading –

Field Guide to the Die-Hard Fan – via Psychology Today

Fan (person) – via Wikipedia

Alias Wiki – The comprehensive guide to everything about Alias.

Alias: A Free Agent – Bringing you spy news since 2003

The Psychology of Fan Outrage – via Brain Knows Better blog

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