Parasocial Relationships

First of all what is a Parasocial Relationship and where do we find them?

Basically, a parasocial relationship is a one-way or non-reciprocal relationship with a character or persona. This is therefore the psychological term given to the attachment of 'fans' to characters or celebrities. These relationships can be formed with television characters, video game characters, literary characters or even real people.

Just about everyone with access to different forms of media have established parasocial relationships; from your favourite children book characters, like Harry Potter to your favourite characters on Netflix originals, obviously Piper Kerman, they all fall under the umbrella term of a parasocial relationship.

The most famous case of parasocial relationships in pop culture is the forming of the fan base the brown coats. These are the avid fans of Firefly, the Joss Whedon television programme cancelled after only one season. These fans petitioned and met regularly at conventions and shin digs in order to raise awareness of the loss of their favourite television show. Ultimately this led to a successful blockbuster film Serenity being made, picking up where the last show left off. This captures just how extreme parasocial relationships can actually become- which is amazing considering they are only enforced by one person. It also showcases the implications of these relationships, as actors jobs were apparent again along with an entire work force used to create a large blockbuster movie.

So now if you're watching TV, reading a novel or comic and think wow! They're my favourite character, well now you know why. You have a strong parasocial relationship with the character in question.