The adepts at "raulseixismo": a reflection about idolatry and conversion based on speechs of Raul Seixas' fans

Abstract

The singer and composer Raul Seixas has a wide and diverse public named “raulseixistas”. The raulseixistas not only admire the rock singer but transform their lives, by establishing relationship with friends, getting apart from others and creating their own social networks, very specifically articulated. In order to understand the experiences of being a fan and the process of identification with the idol, we analyzed three hundred letters randomly picked amongst those ones sent to the fan club Raul Rock Club. The stories in the letters allowed us to make an interpretation about the relationship with the idol and the subjectivity relation based on admired and admirer. Discussing this relation provides some support on the reflection about celebrity creation and idolatry, phenomena sufficiently visible in the contemporary society.