The Partridge Family Bulletin Board

kiethlives · Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:21 pm Post subject:

Britfan,
You may very well have been calm and collected about the whole thing. But the footage of fans going bazerk and crushing a stage etc. tells a different story. A girl died because of kids being out of control, not because of lack of security. A hysterical gang mentality is a gang mentality no matter how well brought up the individual. The book captures to a T the angst of the prepubescent. The need to fit in etc.

As far as the women writers. From across the sea I'm beating you with a wet noodle.
And offer a small list, off the top of my head, you may want to visit:
Jane Smiley-A thousand Acres
Jeanette Winterson-writtnen on the body
Ann Lamontt-blue shoe
Harper Lee- To Kill a Mockingbird
George Eliot-Middlemarch

PAZ-Thanks for the link!

DeeDee · Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2011 11:08 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the link, Paz!
About the obsessive nature of young crushes, I can tell you that if I had discovered DC after puberty, I probably wouldn't have graduated high school. Britfan, do you really think it's a stretch to believe that DC fans copied him by adopting his favorite things? This is textbook infatuation. Young boys do it en masse when they idolize sports figures. As for young teenage angst, lucky you for having escaped its mark but I remember it vividly (maybe it's something in our water). I haven't read ITILY yet so I don't know how AP portrays all this angst but I kept mine hidden from friends. In spite of my internal drama, I still had plenty of carefree fun during those years. To say that "painting girls as slavish devotees full of self doubt" is fluffy is missing the point of AP's book as I understand it. I think the psychology behind obsession is quite fascinating, actually. Not simple at all and hardly to be dismissed as unimportant. It is extreme behaviour and that's why it needs to be better understood, imho.

Keithlives, love your expression "dude drama". The difference between a James Patterson-type thriller and "chick-lit" is, of course, the readership. Women read both types. Men, not so much. And James Patterson's novels can be as "fluffy" and predictable as novels marketed as chick-lit. In both cases, you know the ending, you just don't know how you'll get there. In any genre though, the reader is looking for an entertaining story. Bestsellers are page-turners and to paraphrase Keith Partridge, it's not so easy to write a hit story.

To Keithlives' recommendation of Harper Lee, may I add:
Margaret Mitchell - Gone with the Wind (I was certain I would hate this)
Alice Munro
Katherine Mansfield
Dorothy Parker

Britfan · Tracy's Sitter Joined: 30 Nov 2009 Posts: 60

I have read Middlemarch and To Kill a Mocking Bird. Didn't recall they were female authors, the names aren't exactly a giveaway.

I dont recall passing any comments on the actual concerts either, just pointing out how much harder it was back then to get hold of tickets. I was referring to day to day stuff and general life and my own experiences and memories. He only came to Britain a couple of times so the hysteria at concerts is understandable.

It was quite common to bring teen mags into school and share since many of us couldn't afford to buy them regularly. We never fully believed everything in them, you'd often say I wonder if it's made up, just like the agony pages where teens write in their 'problem'. You always assumed they were written by the editors, whether that was true or not. We were more cynical. We even discussed David Cassidy, saying he's not as innocent as people make out. We could be quite sophisticated for 12/13 year olds, after all we saw David's mug in the newspapers at home along with Elton John, David Bowie, Alice Cooper etc at parties in London. You knew those guys got up to all kinds of seedy stuff we could only imagine about and there's Cassidy with them. We even tried to find something on Donny but gave up, he really was squeaky clean.

I guess I'm just saying that not all teens behaved in the cliche way portrayed in the book. There are many different levels to teen fandom and we didn't all see it the same way.

Britfan · Tracy's Sitter Joined: 30 Nov 2009 Posts: 60

Thanks for the author suggestions.

kiethlives · Posted: Sun Feb 13, 2011 6:57 pm Post subject:

The folks in America saw DC with Elton John together too etc. We also saw him on the cover of Rolling Stone in the buff. But for the non-DC fan, such as I was, It was all about Bowie for me as a teen, it was assumed he was a twerp based on the show and his looks, and the pop (oh so great) pop tunes.

I've been mulling this over a lot, obviously, and I wonder if the teen age lust of girls is so dismissed, by adults, media and the girls themselves as time goes by, is because it's scary. We like to think of little girls as innocent etc, but when the hormones take over and they've got no were to go and no one to talk to about it (at least boys can sneak a peek at a girlie mag! or online porn, sorry but its true) Girls have to put their sexual energy somewhere too so attach to a 'figure' who will to keep them innocent, and not cause 'worry' to parents. The constant description of the 'teen idol' as being 'non-threatening' is funny because he is non-threatening to parents not the the girls. As DC tells, 14 years olds wanted him to be the first.

It is no surprise that female sexuality is denigrated as mush as possible, terms like 'cougar', 'chit-lit' 'teeny bopper', 'weeny bopper', are designed to minimize the female experience. Because it's scary? There is a great line in the movie version of Little Women, that came out in the 90s. When young Lawrence asks his teacher what goes on next door at the March house with all those girls. the teacher responds with something like, "there is a veil over a women's life that is better left uncovered." That's not the exact line, but the meaning is the same. And it certainly applies.
Let's face it girls are scary. Especially when there are 30,000 teens screaming for their man! And the parents of those girls have no control over it.

I remember what one of the security guards said on the 'Week end at Wembley' tape. Something about how sweat the girls were no doubt at home but as soon as they got near DC they went mad. He mentioned the bites and bruses they had form the girls trying to get past them. And how one had a bolt cutter to cut open the security gate. Scary.

PazJD · Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 9:19 pm Post subject:

Well the Justin B. fans who were upset that he lost Grammy got very nasty to the jazz musician who did win. They sent her insulting tweets and made nasty comments about her on Facebook. So teen girl adulation today is not any different. If there was the internet back in the 70's, I am sure there would be some fans of David who would have posted mean things to someone when David lost to them.