Our take
Though it begins with the catfishing and hacking incident that affected thousands of Tegan and Sara fans, not to mention Tegan herself, Fanatical dips into the more general topic of fandom and explores both the good and bad of it. Tegan and Sara make for an excellent case study for two reasons. One is that they came into the social media world earlier than most pop stars, and two is that their fanbase back then was uniquely comprised of young queer people. They were vulnerable and eager to connect online, which “Fegan” or the Fake Tegan who catfished their fans, exploited to no end. The documentary does well both as an explainer of fandom and as an exploration of this unfortunate event. Where it fails is as a true crime documentary. Director Erin Lee Carr approaches some of the more unwilling interviewees with a strange sort of aggression, making the documentary feel uneven at times, if not outrightly biased.
Synopsis
Tegan Quin (from Tegan and Sara) has been the victim of identity theft and an ongoing catfishing scam for over 15 years. While investigating, she shares for the first time, how she was ensnared in toxic fan culture that revealed the dark side of fame.
Storyline
Director Erin Lee Carr and Tegan Quinn, of the band Tegan and Sara, dive into the catfishing phenomenon that threatened (and continues to threaten) the musician’s life and relationships.
TLDR
To the people who grew up in 2000s online spaces, get ready for a whiplash-inducing blast to the past.
What stands out
The confrontations that happen near the end. They’re both unnerving and heartbreaking. But also, I wonder what’s preventing officials from tracking the real culprit with today’s technology. Decades ago, I’d understand why, but in an era when amateur detectives can use IP addresses to track people down, I’m curious why professionals are having a hard time pinning Fegan down.