Reflection and Conclusion

I would identify myself as a long term fan of the Marvel franchise, and have followed the story of The Avengers for years now. Having previously engaged with a lot of the Marvel texts, I find it interesting going back and watching each of the hero’s individual movies and seeing how they all link together within The Avengers films. I can also see how (for those new to the franchise) Marvel use the references within The Avengers films, in order to encourage viewers to go and engage with the many other Marvel texts in order to be up to date with the narrative. Having seen all of the Marvel films myself, I found it interesting going back and looking at representation within the vintage comics, and seeing just how different it was back when comics were the main texts for Marvel. It was amazing to see how much transition Marvel and the characters had gone through, in their journey from comic book, to trading cards, to action figures, to films and to video games. I think this level of cross-platform media really shows in itself just how successful the franchise really is.

Through researching deeper into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), I have found it interesting to learn just how effective these paratexts have been as a way of creating hype around the movies. I found myself using Facebook, YouTube and Instagram in a way that I haven’t really done before by using them to find fan made paratexts that break down the narrative and give more detailed insights into what the future of the MCU could contain. I was also able to see just how imperative representation is within the media industry. Looking at how a negative representation of a certain groups within a media text can ultimately lead to catastrophic fan paratexts thus leading to a hugely negative reception for the media text. Looking at female representation in particular, and the huge effect that it can have on the success of films was really interesting to see.

As a fan myself, I know on a personal level the effect that merchandise can have on an audience. As someone that poured money into Marvel’s toys as a child, I can completely understand how buying the merchandise to the films can allow for the development of a personal connection. Even though I stopped buying the merchandise as I grew up and matured, I still carry those connections that I made when I was a child and those connections still have a huge part in my reasons for being a fan and enjoying the texts to the extent that I do. I think that overall the MCU and their audience will continue to grow exponentially. Even though the Avengers series has come to a close with End Game, I feel that Marvel will continue to use the paratexts that they are so famous for using, in order to produce the next generation of action films and grow their already enormous fanbase. Considering Marvel have been such a huge success for over 80 years, and more and more films are being announced every year, I don’t see the fanbase decreasing anytime soon.  

In conclusion, although I feel that there are alternate reasons for utilising paratexts to the extent that they do, I would say that I stand by the idea that Marvel use these paratexts and representations in order to push their texts as far as they possibly can and to achieve as money commercial success as possible. This, however, is not necessarily a negative thing, as these paratexts give the audience a topic to create their own original content around, and platforms such as YouTube and Instagram allow new creatives to share these paratexts with the world, paratexts are a key to a worldwide discussion, allowing individuals to debate and contrast ideas. Sparking their imagination and in some cases inspiring the next generation of creatives and film makers, to someday create their own Avengers series. While these paratexts do benefit the media company to the biggest extent overall, they do also play a massive role in the success of individual creatives and content creators within the audience, as without the paratexts, they wouldn’t be able to share ideas and create content. As social media platforms become a playground for advertisers, creators are able to monetise their paratextual content and therefore not only enjoy the main text as a fan, but also financially benefit from consuming it.