Personal Ramblings

Agents of SHIELD and Agent Coulson death theories

As part of my University curriculum, I had to write an article based on a story that was circulated on Twitter and other Social Networking Sites (henceforth referred to as SNS). I had a couple of ideas for the same which from burning topics in the field of technology to the murky grounds of politics. But, I decided to write about something that really matters to me and that is Agent Coulson from Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate or better known as S.H.I.E.L.D. (henceforth referred to as SHIELD)

I know, its fiction but that is exactly what spurs conversations online. Sadly, I did not see anything awe-inspiring with the social media reaction to the new series Agents of SHIELD. Rather, I am a little surprised at this.

Let’s rewind…

May 14, 2013, this happens:

Undoubtedly, the marketing push was immense and the Agents of SHIELD has over a million likes on FB, strong presence on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. But, does it have a burgeoning trending on any social media? Nada.

Not that there are not attempts at this. Captain America is going to be on SHIELD and that is a big deal. Considering cross-franchising.

And then there are desperate appeals to the audience by the cast members to help them ‘blow up’ a news:

Now, as I write this… I am reminded of Henry Jenkins. While the concept of Avengers was well-received it was backed by a huge marketing campaign. The studio took a lot of effort to introduce all the super-heroes which was thoroughly boring for me. But, was necessary. According to Mr. Jenkins and the convergence culture, the participatory culture is in play here.

*Spoiler Alert*
The TV show mentioned here has got the attention of some of the hardcore fans of the Avenger series and Marvel due to Agent Coulson. The interesting thing is that, he is dead. So, this a TV show with a dead man in the lead and that spurred the initial interest in the TV show spin-off of the movie.

I think and this just a thought, after the initial hoopla around the movie (Avengers) died down. So did the interest in the TV show. This basic assumption that I’d got more credibility as I scoured reddit for theories for resurrection of Agent Coulson and voila! I found the threads but also know that the show is a dud.

Before that, the death of Agent Coulson

And the speculation:

And this is something Jenkins would be really proud off, fan made video:

The reddit threads are very generic and the biggest thread has only 126 comments (one of which is mine) The initial one talks about Avengers and the launch of the TV Show. There is a detailed theory by a fan and a darker script written by yet another fan. That’s it, there are 4 active reddit threads dedicated to the show.

Now, if the theory of Convergence Culture is appropriate in its predictions then the show producers would want to ‘boost’ the ratings of the show. Get more involvement from the mass audience and then try to be more inclusive of hardcore fans. If sci-fi TV history has taught anything then that would be a HEROES* mistake.

How bad is the show in garnering any traction? Well, there is one active thread on the Sci-fi section of stack exchange, one! And that place literally crawls with nerds and geeks. There is one decent article on the death and resurrection of Agent Coulson.

I’ve been following the show for quite sometime and have been seeing Agent Coulson’s proximity to collecting old cards and memorabilia, referring to Tahiti as a magical place and the general curiosity around the character portrayed by Skye. I’ve read most of the theories and I’m sure I am going to be underwhelmed. The only sincerest hope that I have is that they do not stretch out the whole thing into How I Met Phil Coulson sort-off a thing.

HEROES* A TV show that was immensely popular but imploded due to a need to dumb down the story for a broader audience… Loosing its Oomph! Factor and moreover leaving the early adopters of the series flummoxed at the changes.

Standard

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