Absorb what you've just watched. A movie about Justin Bieber and his rise to fame. In 3D. You know you're in for something special when the typeface starts coming at you.
In all seriousness, Justin Bieber is one of those fascinating pop figures capable of attracting an equal number of adoring fans and vehement haters. Everything that his fans love - his voice, adorable face, charisma, his bubblegum music - instills a dislike so intense in some that it drives them to action. Wikipedia lists some of the offenses in a section called, "Target for critics, pranksters and parodies":
He has been a frequent target for internet bloggers and message board posters —notably by users of internet message board 4chan, users of YouTube, and various Facebook groups. Pranks have included a successful campaign to push "Justin Bieber Syphilis" to the top of the Google Trends Hot Searches list; hacked YouTube videos that were altered so as to redirect users to adult websites or trigger pop-up messages saying that Bieber had been killed in a car accident; his Last.fm photograph being changed to pornographic images; various rumors circulated, from rumors that Bieber had died, joined a cult, or even that his mother was offered $50,000 to pose topless in Playboy magazine—none of which were true.
Most notable was the campaign to send Bieber to North Korea as part of his world tour. This was carried out in part by 4chan users voting for the country on the tour's website, for the free competition to nominate a bonus country for the tour.
Nick Collins of the Daily Telegraph attempted to explain Bieber's love/hate appeal, noting that the origin of his fame - the Internet - is now the source of his harshest criticism (which should be true for most things, shouldn't it? Where else can the common folk voice their opinion?). Collins' points to Bieber's success at a young age, but also notes that, "Bieber's character also appears to strike a particularly sour note with his internet critics, with many remarks commenting on his youthful appearance, his teen-pop songs, his image as a heart-throb to young teenage girls and his manner of speech."
That phrase right there - that his character appears to strike a particularly sour note with his critics - what is that?? I want to define that particularly sour note because it has proven to be a powerful motivator. Is it just that a girly sounding, effeminate pop star is an easy target? Is it that his music doesn't deserve the praise and popularity it's received (subjective, of course)? He certainly isn't the first youthful looking teen pop idol/heart throb, so what, exactly, is grating these people the wrong way?
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