How did you learn that a new pope had been elected?
Were you stuck to a livestream? Maybe you have a push alert. Or, if you are a type of person particularly online, you may have learned from the X @ClubCrave account, a fan account for the film 2024 on a dramatized papal electoral process. In recent days, the account has become a source not only for the same but also for the regular updates of the city of the Vatican.
Susan Bin, a 30 -year -old artist in Dallas, launched @ClubCrave last year after being obsessed with the film, developing a small community of dedicated fans and creating a zine inspired by the “conclave” to collect funds for charity.
On Thursday, white smoke began to escape from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel, MX. Bin, who heads the account with another administrator, was ready to publish the news in a few seconds, sharing a litany of memes, including a stylized cat as a cardinal vaping. (@ClubConcrave, which also goes through Pope Crave, a riff on the popular pop crop culture, beat the Vatican’s official account for four minutes.)
In an interview that has been published and condensed, MX. Bin discussed the improbable path of the Fandom’s fringes in the dominant current.
Distant something. Are you Catholic?
I am not Catholic! I am not Catholic. I went to mass once in my life.
You seem to have a little fascination for the pope. When did it start?
I’m just a little normal in the pope. I am an artist and I studied the Fine Arts-most of the artists who go through a studio system know a certain familiarity with the Renaissance and a large part of it is deeply rooted in the Catholic Church.
What attracted you to “Conclave?”
I generally do not watch these types of dramatic films. I look at a lot of horror and non-fiction. “Conclave” is normally a film that I would watch, but I saw that the trailer was well cut. I then read the novel because I couldn’t find the script. So I knew exactly in which I was going when I looked at “Conclave”, but the way the film transformed the text really took me off guard. In the right direction!
How many times do you think you’ve seen it at this stage?
Oh, probably in the 1940s. I know. Please don’t laugh.
What is its same moment?
I’m going to go for my favorite and just say the noisy Lavazza coffee machine. He’s my favorite. I know it’s not like the final, but it makes me laugh.
You have transformed this obsession into an online community. Tell me how did it happen?
I am obviously not the only person who thought that the “conclave” was so essential and mature to lead. As soon as I looked, I opened Letterboxd and someone had already written as “the most diabolical vaping of all time”. I was as if I needed to talk to the people of the “conclave” period. I kept drawing fans and making memes. Around November, we had a little fandom and I started a “conclave” Zine charity. The community grew up a lot after the Oscars when the film was released in Japan and Korea. And then, you know, the real conclave occurred.
In addition to publishing memes, you also used your @ClubCrave account to give people updates. Are you really in Vatican City?
I am not currently physically at the Vatican, but metaphysically I am still in the Vatican and within their walls. However, we have pope stimulators on the ground. We have a Discord group which was born from Zine and contributors to Zine, and it is therefore really global. There are even people inside the Vatican.
Inside? Do you mean they work for the …
I can’t say.
Why do you think that popular culture, whether memes or cinema and television, is so obsessed with the Pope?
I would say that the aesthetics and patriarchy of the Catholic Church and its institution are as personal. It’s pretty crazy. I also think that tradition … not me referring to a religious institution as traditions, but as if it has a deep tradition. It is an institution that is a bunch of contradictions, it is supposed to be sacred and yet in its history, it was super political. It exists as a state and yet this is not the case. It’s like a video game entity.
Has anyone online gone crazy about your content?
Honestly, no. Everyone was in a good mood. I think this account finds the people she needs. It comes from a place of sincerity and humor. Pope Francis spoke in Italian about the way it is important to have humor and light in life and that many people see Catholic dogma – the institution – as heavy and highly intensity of labor and, essentially, not fun. I go to the file and say that I think Pope Francis would appreciate these memes.
