Cult following
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- This article does not discuss cultist groups, personality cults, or "cult" in its original sense of "religious practice". See cult (disambiguation) for more meanings of the term "cult".
A cult following is a group of fans devoted to a specific area of pop culture. Cult followings most often develop around television shows, films, and books. Some comic books, video games, musicians and writers also gain cult followings. Non-media items may also have what could be considered cult followings, for example the soft drink Tab.
Cult followings are often dedicated enough that many people of similar interest are familiar with one another due to convention gatherings, concerts, message boards, Internet chat rooms, word of mouth, or shops featuring related items.
These dedicated followings are usually relatively small and pertain to items that don't have broad mainstream appeal. An exception is Star Trek, whose followers call themselves "Trekkies" or "Trekkers". Star Trek has an extremely large following but can still be considered 'cult' due to the intense loyalty the franchise inspires. Conversely, many things with cult following may not have experienced much commerical or critical success upon their initial release or run. Star Trek can be used as another example of this, since despite it's current status as a huge franchise, the initial run of the original series was not considered successeful, and the series only found true success in syndication.
"Cult following" is also used to describe the more obsessive fans of established mainstream performers. For example, many persons have been interested in Michael Jackson's music or in Disney films, but some fans take their interest to extreme levels, hoarding vast amounts of collectables. Some such "cult fans" occasionally veer into obsessive-compulsive disorders or stalking; however, cult followings do not necessitate that individuals partake such activities.
Cult followings establish their own canons and cherish the notion of cult classics, which are individual items with cult followings. Cult followings are usually generated through a film or television show having targeted a particular genre, such as fantasy, sci-fi, comedy or horror, but other types of films or TV series can produce a cult following, too.
While cult followings are unquestionably more prevalent in pop culture, examples of this phenomenon exist in serious culture as well, especially among certain sub-segments of the public, such as homosexuals and other cultural minorities. Thus we find cults of certain writers, such as Yukio Mishima, Colette, or Simone de Beauvoir; composers like Erik Satie or Edgar Varèse; or performers, like Maria Callas or Magda Olivero
Cult band
A cult band is a term often used to describe a rock and roll band with a dedicated base of fans whose appreciation of the band goes beyond merely enjoying their music.
Some of these bands may also be, or may have been at one time, mainstream commercial successes (examples: Radiohead , The Beatles, Oasis, Rush, R.E.M., King Crimson, Steely Dan, the Grateful Dead, Mike Patton, and The Doors.
Many other cult bands have not been commercially successful in the mainstream sense, but have acquired a strong, albeit small, fan base (examples: CKY, Captain Beefheart, X, Hawkwind, Kyuss, Tub Ring, Atticus, and John's Children.)
Some cult bands may be known as one-hit wonders within the broader popular music scene, but have a following which appreciates all their music, not just their hit (examples: Bloodrock, Slade, and The Pursuit of Happiness.)
Cult bands often have a unique conception or musical style which has led to their cult status. It is this uniqueness which sets the band apart from others and which fans find attractive. This also has prevented some cult bands from achieving wider success, as some cult bands are known for experimentation or musical styles outside of mainstream tastes. Often, cult bands are no longer performing and recording, but continue to have a following. Indeed, the following today can be larger than when the band was still together.
Specific musical styles may also have a cult following of the entire subgenre, including ambient music, garage bands, grunge, heavy metal, new wave, progressive rock, psychedelic music, punk rock, ska, southern rock, techno, and surf music.
Cult fiction
Cult fiction is a term used to denote literature that has attracted a cult following.
Literature that tends to attract a cult following include banned books, transgressive fiction, controversial books, erotic literature and genre fiction.
There are three main categories of cult fiction.
- Books that attract a cult following after being published in a different medium - e.g. TV; Film. Examples include Red Dwarf and Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy.
- Books that expand or 'spin-off' from another another medium. Examples include the Star Wars novels.
- Books that attract a cult following in their own right. These appear to arise less frequently than cult followings in other media. Examples include The Chronicles of Narnia.
Closely related are writers that may attract a cult following. Examples may include Guy Ritchie and Jane Austen.
Cult figure
A cult figure or cult icon is a person who attracts the attention of a small band of aficionados. Some cult figures are well-known to the general public (Christopher Walken, Christian Bale, Edward Norton) while others are mostly obscure outside of a subculture (Ed Wood Jr., Vanessa Duriès). The notoriety of cult figures may be contrasted with that of pop icons.
In most of the cases, the work of a cult figure is unusual or exists outside current trends in his or her field. Thus, his or her appeal is limited to only a small group.
Although most cult figures are artists and entertainers who are genuinely recognized for their talent, others gain a following mostly for strange behavior (Wesley Willis, Ellen Feiss) or particularly memorable 15 minutes of fame (William Hung, Clara Peller)
Who is a cult figure?
The term cult figure is difficult to define and different people may or may not qualify as cult figures by different standards.
The term usually refers to someone who is admired by a small group of fans and not by the general public or at least not for the same reasons he or she is admired by the general public. For example, Christopher Walken and Crispin Glover are both known for their acting abilities to the general public, but to their cult followings Walken is better known for his recognizable mannerisms and Glover for his strange behavior and distinctive poetry.
Actor Bruce Campbell, best known for his starring roles in the Evil Dead movies, a notable cult film series, has become a major cult figure, especially in Sci-Fi circles.
The term usually does not refer to a person who is both a widely celebrated figure in culture at large and the object of the acute interest of many dedicated fans, such as Johnny Cash, J.D. Salinger or George Lucas. The term also usually does not refer to a widely significant figure who is particularly important to a subculture, such as Madonna in gay culture or John Lennon in hippie and neo-hippie culture.
In some cases, a cult following is so large or so infamous that the figure becomes a household name. Examples include The Grateful Dead, Bruce Lee and Elvira. Still these people are usually considered cult figures because a relatively small group of fans are responsible for their fame.
Cult film
Cult film is a colloquial term for a film that has acquired a highly devoted but relatively small group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside of this small group (however, there are a few exceptions.) Some cult movies have gone on to transcend their original cult status and have become recognized as classics, others are of the "so bad it's good" variety, and are destined to remain in obscurity.
Cult television
Cult television, like cult figures, cult film and cult radio, attracts a band of aficionados or appreciators, known as a cult following, devoted to a specific television series or fictional universe.
Although the most obvious cult-TV programs are science fiction shows such as Star Trek and Doctor Who, many pilots or short-lived shows such as Lookwell and TV Funhouse have also developed strong followings.
What exactly makes something a "cult" is widely debated. Some popular and strongly interconnected definitions are:
- A genre, covering all series that play with widely held beliefs and perceptions. This covers most shows in genres like science fiction, fantasy fiction, horror fiction and some forms of sitcom (especially most forms of British comedy). Most adult animation series (like much anime) are included.
- Any series that has a strong loyal audience that thinks a lot about the show, especially the world in which it is set. Such shows generally have a much higher than average level of intensity. Most such programmes are of the "cult" genre. This interest and support by fans is seen by some as being similar to religions and cults, hence the term.
- Any series made for television that encourages its viewers to do more than just sit and watch it. This can be in the form of interacting, debating and partying with other fans, either via Conventions or Online Communities, or through activities such as writing series-related fiction, costume creation, replica prop and model building, or creating their own audio or video productions based around the formats and characters. This is the definition of choice of Cult TV [1], a group of appreciators who are also the owners of the Registered Trademark "Cult TV" in the UK.
- Any series that has achieved a moderate level of popularity, but not a large one. This is what is usually meant when a series is said to have "achieved cult status". Even if a group of people agree on this definition of "cult status", arguments on a show's status within this type are common as the "moderate" band has two highly subjective borders.
- Any unpopular or obscure series. This definition encompasses the fourth one, but also includes shows with only a small level of popularity. This definition is also used by those conferring "cult status". It is easier to reach consensus on this definition than the other because only one subjective boundary is involved.
Obscurity often makes shows more popular with intense fans. Many series that some people found strongly compelling were not hits in their original runs, and quite a few well-loved shows had only a season (or less) worth of material.
Recent developments
Since the late 1990s, cult shows have increasingly been available on DVD (Such as Invader ZIM), leading to many formerly niche series (such as Futurama, Family Guy and Freaks and Geeks) becoming popular as new people discover them. Cartoon Network's adult oriented "Adult Swim" programming block in the USA shows cult television quite often. Before the DVD and internet file sharing, cult shows were often much harder to obtain and spread. Success in syndication and DVD sales even influenced Fox to bring back Family Guy, and then later Futurama, a rare phenomenon in television. Other creators refuse to release DVDs into the mainstream as it may be a threat to the cult status of a show (such as The Bronx Bunny Show).
The internet has also been instrumental in growing TV series cults through inter-fan communication. Previously, a cult required enough people to support local clubs, conventions and book publishing to raise fan communications beyond the monthly newsletter level. Now many fans communicate daily with others about the series they are fans of. They can access vast stores of information on websites, even if there are only a few dozen people worldwide interested in a show.
The internet is also increasingly a platform for publishing cult shows. Programs like Happy Tree Friends and Queer Duck both went from online hobbies to broadcast cult TV. Others like Homestar Runner are immensely popular without any traditional TV presence.
As it has become easier to make, distribute and promote TV shows, there has been a correlated increase in material of very modest support. This correlation is partially explained by the Long Tail theory. According to the theory, if these shows become yet easier to create and access, we will see yet more niche programming produced, and mainstream material will eventually make up a substantially lower proportion of all viewership.