- Screaming is a bodily reaction to a stimulus, according to sociology professor Michelle Janning—and since the 1950s, it's also been something girls do at concerts. Here's a look at the phenomenon and psychology behind screaming fans. (Photo: Getty Images) (Jayne W. Orenstein and Kate M. Tobey/The Washington Post)
This article strikes me as shoddy. It seems to be saying that this phenomenon started with Elvis, and suggests that girls do it now because they've seen other people do it. This comment on the article was pretty enlightening:
http://www.neatorama.com/2012/08/27/Music-Idol-Causes-Women-to-Swoon/ After reading that, it almost seems as if it's a natural human reaction! It seems strange to me, though. I've never seen that happen at a concert, nor have I wanted to do it myself. I mean, I shout out between songs to show appreciation, but to continually scream for an hour and a half sounds pretty weird."In the year 1842, five years into the proper Victorian Era, and that's when Lisztomania swept the land. [Hungarian musician Franz] Liszt was 31 years old the year he landed in Berlin. He'd established a new mode of performance — the solo piano recital — and new kinds of non-narrative music that people compared to musical poetry. He also developed a violent playing style that broke strings and sometimes brought down entire pianos. The Berliners were enchanted. At his concerts, they worked themselves up to screaming, fainting ecstasies. Women followed Liszt down the street and picked up his old cigarette stubs, made bracelets from his broken piano strings — and tried to rush him en masse, and pull out or cut locks of his hair. The craze spread outward from there, getting Britons and Italians as Liszt moved around"
We had friends staying with us this weekend. They're great and I really enjoyed spending time with them but there are certain things that they value that I find puzzling, celebrity is one of them. We sat around talking late saturday night about the famous people we've all met. I couldn't think of many, but not because I haven't met many celebrities/actors/athletes/musicians, but because I just don't care that much. Our conversation got me thinking about why it is people get so excited to meet a celebrity or get an autograph/photo with someone that is famous? I think it's the same reason that people like diamonds.... they're rare and they're often beautiful. My friend pointed out that celebrities are also equalizers, in the sense that you can be at a party and say you met Julia Roberts and everybody there will know exactly who you are talking about. Like you, I've never had the "swooning" reaction at a concert. I have been moved to applaud loudly and yell etc. but no swooning. Imagine being the Beatles and being at the center of this: