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Fan mail is
mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...
sent to a
public figure
A public figure is a person who has achieved notoriety, prominence or fame within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own,
In the context of defamation actions (libel and ...
, especially a
celebrity
Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...
, by their admirers or "
fans
Fan commonly refers to:
* Fan (machine), a machine for producing airflow, often used for cooling
** Hand fan, an implement held and waved by hand to move air for cooling
* Fan (person), short for fanatic; an enthusiast or supporter, especially wit ...
". In return for a fan's support and admiration, public figures may send an autographed poster, photo, reply letter or note thanking their fans for their encouragement, gifts, and support. Fan mail sent to public figures can be through
postal mail,
email
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...
,
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
, and other platforms that allow fans and users to communicate with their favorite public figures.
Overview
![Betty Bryant 1941 C19487 0013](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Betty_Bryant_1941_C19487_0013.jpg)
Fan mail may be in the form of letters, cards, artworks, gifts, comments on social media accounts, and so on. People send fan mail to various public entertainers and public figures such as politicians, athletes, actors, artists, writers, singers, bands, coaches of sport teams, bloggers, and social media stars seem to be the main target. Responses can take a great deal of time to come or never come at all. Since a major celebrity or public figure may receive thousands of pieces of fan mail every day, it is usually impossible for him/her to reply to or read them all and as a result his/her or management team, often have the duty of canvassing the incoming mail. Directly after the
2001 anthrax attacks
The 2001 anthrax attacks, also known as Amerithrax (a portmanteau of "America" and "anthrax", from its FBI case name), occurred in the United States over the course of several weeks beginning on September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 ...
, some studios and
agencies have refused to further take fan mail for safety and security reasons, and referred fans to alternate forms of contact.
Entertainment portrayal of fan mail
This gimmick has also been used with
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life perso ...
s; special episodes of ''
Beavis and Butt-head'' featured mail sent to the two, and the ''
Homestar Runner
''Homestar Runner'' is an American Flash animated comedy web series and website created by Mike and Matt Chapman, known collectively as The Brothers Chaps. The series centers on the adventures of a large and diverse cast of characters, headed by ...
''
website
A website (also written as a web site) is a collection of web pages and related content that is identified by a common domain name and published on at least one web server. Examples of notable websites are Google, Facebook, Amazon, and Wi ...
regularly features
email
Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...
s sent to and answered by the cartoon's main
antagonist,
Strong Bad
Strong Bad is a fictional character from ''Homestar Runner'', a series of animated Flash videos, who is inspired by "The Strong Bads" from the video game '' Tag Team Wrestling''. He is voiced by Matt Chapman, the principal voice actor and co-cre ...
. Public reading and answering of fan mail was a common recurring element of the
cult television program ''
Mystery Science Theater 3000'' and the
TechTV
TechTV is a defunct 24-hour cable and satellite channel based in San Francisco featuring news and shows about computers, technology, and the Internet. In 2004, it merged with the G4 gaming channel which ultimately dissolved TechTV programming ...
/
G4 game review program ''
X-Play
''Xplay'' (previously ''GameSpot TV'' and ''Extended Play'') is a TV program about video games. The program, known for its reviews and comedy skits, airs on '' G4'' in the United States and had aired on ''G4 Canada'' in Canada (and briefly on Y ...
'' often featured hosts
Adam Sessler
Adam Sessler (born August 29, 1973) is an American video game journalist, television personality and consultant. He is best known as the host for the video game review series ''Xplay'' and the editor-in-chief for G4's video game section. Upon hi ...
and
Morgan Webb
Morgan Ailis Webb (born October 5, 1978) is a former co-host and senior segment producer of the G4 show '' X-Play''. She was previously the host of the podcast ''WebbAlert'' and a monthly columnist for the United States edition of '' FHM'', whe ...
answering fan mail at the end of episodes, often in a scornful and satirical manner due to respondents deeply disagreeing with the show's video game reviews.
TLC
TLC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Television
* ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2
* TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network
** TLC (Asia), an A ...
's third studio album was named ''
FanMail
''FanMail'' is the third studio album by American girl group TLC, released on February 23, 1999, by LaFace and Arista Records. The album title is a tribute to TLC's fans who sent them fan mail during their hiatus. ''FanMail'' debuted at numb ...
'', and was a tribute to fans, with the names of many fans that had sent them fan mail over the years included in the album's insert.
In Puerto Rico, popular television children's show host, the Spaniard
Pacheco
Pacheco is a Portuguese and Spanish name which may refer to:
General
* Alex Pacheco (born 1958), animal rights activist, co-founder of PETA.
*Ángel Pacheco (general) (1793-1869), was an Argentine military officer trained by José de San Martín ...
was known for personally reading fan-mails, which usually in his case included drawings by children dedicated to him, on his weekdays television show ''Cine Recreo''.
Responses
Many fan mail responses started off as autographed photos but has slowly evolved to communication through social media. Many celebrities and public figures such as
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...
and
J. K. Rowling
Joanne Rowling ( "rolling"; born 31 July 1965), also known by her pen name J. K. Rowling, is a British author and philanthropist. She wrote ''Harry Potter'', a seven-volume children's fantasy series published from 1997 to 2007. The ser ...
have been known to respond to fans, and sometimes
haters, through
Tumblr
Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a sho ...
and
Twitter
Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...
. There have been many occasions in which J. K. Rowling has interacted with fans through her Twitter account. Taylor Swift has also been known to go out of her way to respond to her fans and admirers and even send fans gift packages, a form of fan mail, to selected fans who she had learned about through their social media accounts.
While some public figures have responded to fans via social media, it is often known that responses via postal mail by public figures are scarce or nonexistent and often not personal responses but responses by a public figure's management team.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fan Mail
Fandom