When I blogged about the efforts to save Veronica Mars last week, they were fairly insignificant. There was no real momentum, no real content, no real drive, and it felt like an attempt to copy the successful campaign for CBS’ Jericho. However, while there is certainly inspiration to be found within Jericho’s triumphant defeat of network executives, the two situations are not the same, and Veronica Mars fans are likely fighting a losing battle. Despite what is perhaps a cynical perspective, I want to make something very clear: I believe that fan movements are never valueless. And as the campaign formed into an extensive Mars Bar, Snickers and Marshmallow Fest over the weekend, I guess I became a bit more nostalgic about it.
BarsForMars Campaign Info
Website: http://www.barsformars.com
Stage One: Purchasing Mars Bars from The Indian Food Store, later becoming Snickers bars when Mars Bars ran out (Note: We in Canada have plenty, and they’re good. Really good). Later, deciding that Marshmallows tied in with the series, fans began to send the poofy treats as well.
Stage Two: Fans are instructed to order the show’s season finale, ‘The Bitch is Back’, on iTunes on Tuesday June 12th in an effort to raise it to the top of the charts and show support for the show. There are no current plans to bulk purchase David Bowie’s ‘Life on Mars?’, but considering that it is both an awesome song and that international viewers can’t buy TV shows from the store, I think it might be cool.
There has been criticism that fans are “wasting their money”, or squandering their time; I would argue that this could never be the case. Television is a medium that people connect to in a way that just doesn’t occur with movies or books, and the result is often a sense of fan support that creates a community. That community is something that, for better or for worse, has been part of those people’s lives, and television is something you talk about. Chatting about an episode, a character, is something that brings people together with a common goal in a way that politicians can only dream of.
Cultural Learnings 