Idol chatter

Fans play a special role in pop culture and the entertainment industry. Not only do they spend heavily on their idols and evangelize for them, fans often assume the positions of attackers and defenders as if in a blood sport.

Han Haoyue belongs to a consortium of critics who review and score major film releases. When he gave a "Not recommend" to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, he expected an army of loyalists throwing mud at him on his micro blog.

He got a pleasant surprise: It didn't happen. "Not a single crazy remark so far," he wrote, "which shows that the Star Wars franchise has Chinese fans who are very mature and rational, perhaps above the age of 40."