Annie Christian

Fanaticism

“Annie Christian” from the album Controversy (1981)

Fundamentalism and fanaticism are not the same thing. Fundamentalism is a belief in a religious idea that places a holy text(s) as the absolute truth above science or anything else. Fanaticism is different because it is marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion to an idea (Calhoun, 2004). Usually this devotion is to a religious or political worldview but it can be found in just about every sphere of human activity including social activism, the military and all forms of entertainment (for example, football hooligans in Europe) (Paskins, 2005). Fanaticism can be good or bad depending on the motivations for why the person is acting fanatically. If someone fanatically defends someone's right to free speech (even if the speech contradicts their beliefs) or if someone channels their fanaticism for the music created by an elfin musician from Minneapolis, MN into a psychology blog, those are examples of positive fanaticism. The slave abolitionists in the 1800's and women suffragists of the 1900's are other examples of positive fanaticism. Anne Christian however is a song that addresses the negative forms of this phenomenon.

All fanaticism starts off with a little egoism (Calhoun, 2004) as does this song, Annie Christian wanted to be number 1. The fanatic believes that they have the truth, that their way of thinking is the ONLY right way. Whether it be the sports team they support or the faith they live by. The height of arrogance is for a person to believe that they alone have the truth, all the answers to life and those who think differently from them or not just wrong but are beneath them. This type of thinking can often lead to all types of distorted, unhealthy thinking (Paskins, 2005). The fanatic usually estimates themselves higher than what they actually are, The way Annie tells the story, she's His only son. We see the delusion has begun to take over Annie's mind. I'm not sure if Prince did this intentionally but by saying she's his only son I think he is trying to show us that she has gone off the deep end thinking she is male or more specifically Jesus incarnate.

Fanatics share some similar characteristics, the first of which is an uncompromising conviction about the way they view the world, they believe that their understanding is the absolute truth (Calhoun, 2004). Thinking you are God's only son is a sure sign that you believe you have the ultimate truth. Another similarity they share is actively imposing their convictions on other people. We see this regularly with religious cults, a fundamental goal of all cults is to make the world accept their faith system or else (Lundskow, 2008). The Branch Dravidian and Westboro Baptist Church cults are good examples of this. An us vs. them worldview is common among fanatics (Calhoun, 2004). An example of this is the FBI's ABSCAM (Arab Scam) sting operation. In a nutshell what happened was in the 70's Congress started investigating national complaints of police brutality. The FBI in retaliation targeted members of Congress who were active in this investigation with the ABSCAM. Undercover FBI agents would approach the Congressmen with an opportunity to illegally invest in Casinos in New Jersey (FBI, 2005). The company behind building the casinos was a made up Arabian oil company. The Congressmen took the bait and went to jail, or as this song succinctly puts it, Liar Liar Liar! got ya in a jam, put your head on the block, somebody say ABSCAM! Instead of fixing their police brutality problem the FBI saw this as an attack that justified their us vs. them mentality, their actions prove it. They fanatically defended the shield.

Annie Christian is clearly an amalgamation of many different fanatics but the character nicely demonstrates all the negative characteristics of this group of people. The last trait I want to share is the willingness to die and kill for one's beliefs. Mark David Chapman and John Hinckley shot John Lennon and Ronald Reagan, respectfully. Here, Prince makes it clear that he is using this song to talk about the fanaticism in the world when he ascribes these two shootings to Annie, She killed John Lennon, shot him down cold, she tried to kill Reagan. With those lines the amalgamation is complete. Extremism is like being bite by a poisonous insect. Often times the person doesn't realize that they have been bitten. There might be a rash or some other non-lethal sign of the trouble that is to come. But by the time it is realized that they have been bitten the only thing that can be done is for that person to live with it until they die. This is the fate of a true fanatic (Calhoun, 2004). Annie Christian, Annie Christ!

References

Calhoun, L. (2004). An anatomy of fanaticism. Peace Review, Vol. 16, No. 3, 2004, pp. 349-356.

Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2005). "A byte out of history: Remembering the lessons of ABSCAM." http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2005/february/abscam_020705

Lundskow, G. (2008) The sociology of religion: A substantive and transdisciplinary approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press.

Paskins, B. (2005). Fanaticism in the modern era. Fanaticism and Conflict in the Modern Age. Hughes, M., & Johnson, G. (eds.). London: Frank Cass Publishers, pp. 7-18.