Skip to content

star struck

2019-07-16 · letter vlog · John · 3:35 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Pop culture (also: Nerdfighteria) · mode: Personal essay

John describes being starstruck on both sides: nervous and blabbering around people he admires, and weirdly surprised when fans recognize him; on either side he mostly wants to say a believable thank you but can't, and he tells fans embarrassed by their encounters with him that it's okay.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — John still gets starstruck: Dan Howell, Zadie Smith, Rebecca Lowe, Roberto Firmino; fame is relative, as Hank's novel explores

  • ★★ At 41 John still gets starstruck: around people he admires he talks too much, feels nervous, and afterwards concludes he made a fool of himself. — 00:00:00 · celebrity
  • ★★ John blabbered to Dan Howell at VidCon last weekend, couldn't form a sentence meeting Zadie Smith seven years ago, and wonders if Rebecca Lowe saw his hands shaking. — 00:00:00 · VidCon
  • ★★ John knows people are just people but can't help himself: put him in front of Roberto Firmino and he will melt. (playful) — 00:00:29
  • ★★ John says part of what Hank explored so beautifully in An Absolutely Remarkable Thing is how weird fame is. — 00:00:29 · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, Hank Green, celebrity
  • ★★ Fame is relative: Hank would probably act calm with Firmino, not from immunity but because to him Firmino isn't that famous, while John knows even his dentist's name. (hedged) — 00:00:29 · Hank Green, celebrity

00:00:58 — The other side: a young fan screams in the cereal aisle; gratitude and the weirdness of being recognized

  • ★★★ In a grocery store cereal aisle a young person started screaming; John looked around in panic for the emergency before realizing he was the emergency. (playful) — 00:00:58
  • ★★ John likes meeting people who like his work and is grateful to them; meeting them at a signing or a Chipotle is a fleeting chance to express that gratitude. — 00:01:27
  • ★★★ Being recognized is inherently weird: the fan saw John Green, but John was experiencing himself as a middle-aged Indianapolis dad seeking the least sugary cereal his kids would eat. — 00:01:27 · celebrity, Indianapolis

00:01:56 — Signing-line nerves on both sides and the thank-you he can't quite say

  • ★★ Even in a signing line the meeting is brief and intense; John doesn't want to disappoint, knowing a bad encounter with someone you admire is a bummer, and fans' nerves collide with his. — 00:01:56

  • ★★★ On either side John mostly wants to say a believable, meaningful thank you but can't: moments are short, he can't articulate it, and thanks must pass irony and cynicism. — 00:02:26

    “the psychic armor of irony and cynicism”

00:02:55 — To fans embarrassed after meeting him: it's okay; thank you; sign-off

  • ★★★ To people who felt embarrassed or mortified after meeting him, John says it's okay, even screaming in the cereal aisle: don't worry about it, there's so much else to worry about. — 00:02:55
  • ★★ John says he is glad to have met them, hopes to meet those he hasn't and be able to say what he feels, and thanks them. — 00:02:55

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: celebrity

Also: People: Dan Howell · Rebecca Lowe · Roberto Firmino · Zadie Smith

Projects: VidCon

Works: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Organizations: Chipotle Mexican Grill · NBC

Concepts: cynicism · gratitude · irony

Places: Indianapolis

← Previous: Why Are We Still Doing This? - Reunion Video! · Next → In Which Hank Consumes the Juice of Over 400 Gushers