Abigail De Kosnik Quoted on Fauci-Fandom
A fandom has emerged around Dr. Anthony Fauci, the scientist leading the Trump administration’s novel coronavirus response. BCNM Director Abigail De Kosnik is featured as the fandom expert in this timely piece around our need for a calm, stabilizing presence.
From the article.
“It is the moment to exercise and practice fandom,” Abigail De Kosnik, director of the Berkeley Center for New Media and a fandom specialist, told The Verge. De Kosnik says fandom around Fauci is thriving right now because it’s one of the only ways we can “connect to the outside world” and interact with strangers since we can’t see anyone physically. “Fandom is what remains.”
In a moment like this, Fauci has become a comforting figure for those who are struggling. “He’s kind of like this kind, old, wise mentor figure that we’re thirsty for right now,” Scott T. Allison, a professor of psychology who specializes in heroism and leadership at the University of Richmond, told The Verge. “He’s the grandfather who will tell it to you straight and tell it to you lovingly.” And Americans agree. According to Business Insider, Americans trust Fauci more than President Trump and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to handle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the Verge article here.