That’s Not Your Close Personal Friend

“Anthony Bourdain would’ve hated the movie ‘Tony’” – a 23-year-old wired earbud and Doc Martens-wearing keyboard crusader types away on his Android, finger hovering over the “post” button in eager anticipation, drool cascading down his intentional porn stache stubble. Okay, maybe this is a bit of a drag, and perhaps a stereotype, and if you are a 23-year-old Doc Martens-wearing porn stache-growing man with an Android, don’t take this as a direct attack. Unless the boot fits. 

Who here decided that if you’ve watched one season of Parts Unknown and smoke cigarettes twice a week that you’re suddenly the medium of communication from the deceased Anthony Bourdain? Right, because what Anthony Bourdain would’ve loved is someone telling other people that they know everything about him because they put “be a traveler, not a tourist” in their Instagram bio. Can he be a figure of admiration and style inspo? Of course! I’d be lying if I said that Kitchen Confidential didn’t change my life when I read it the first time, too. All I’m saying is that no one here is a mind reader for any celebrity ever – yet parasocial relationships developed through the screen seemingly have the impact of that notion being a possibility – all through the act of gatekeeping. 

What I mean to ask, more importantly is this: why are we gatekeeping people who deserve the spotlight? Sure, he may not be around anymore, but needless to say, the impact that Anthony Bourdain has left upon this earth is one to be studied for ages to come. Maybe it’s just me, but I seem to notice this trend every year of the resurgence of a celebrity who has either passed or is no longer in their “prime” – and moreso, what I notice, is rather than the sentiment of shared love over the person, is instead, intense competition for who the biggest fan in the comment section is. That being said, if you really believe that the celebrity, album, or pizza spot is as life-changing to you as it is, wouldn’t you want said person, place, or thing to get its flowers?

Why can’t we like what we like and not have to debate who the “true” fanbase of a mutually admired topic is? Perhaps it is the psychology of superiority complexes when it comes to quote-unquote “niche” interests. Everyone wants to be the first to discover something; hell – maybe it started with Christopher Columbus himself! Perhaps gatekeeping lies in the fear of mainstream-ification – but what’s so bad about being mainstream? Almost every 80s pop song that is seemingly “underground” now was once mainstream when your parents were putting it on their mixtape. The best seasons of SNL were once mainstream. iPods were once mainstream. Just embrace what you love without having to tear other people down in the process. And never, ever order fish on a Monday.