Idol worship and related concepts

This chapter introduces idol worship and its related concepts, such as celebrity worship, fans and fandoms, and so on. It also discusses how idol worship can be divided into three broad categories: religious idol worship, ideological idol worship, and recreational idol worship. Through discussion of various past studies, this chapter introduces how idol worship evolved in Chinese history and its most popular current forms in Chinese societies. It also discusses how idol worship is perceived by people in Hong Kong. Media stars are idolized for being extraordinary, passionate, romantic, or irresistible; in contrast, role models are revered for being worthy, realistic, practical, and successful. Idols and role models can be differentiated according to a hexagonal model comprising three pairs of contrasting concepts: idealism versus realism, romanticism versus rationalism, and absolutism versus relativism. Lastly, this chapter concludes with a discussion of how Hong Kong youth tend to idolize “three-star” figures because students are highly aware of society and of people around them.