Intersection of Mythology and Technology: The Narrative Analysis of ASUR Series

Abstract

The rise of over-the-top (OTT) platforms engender various genres and becoming a significant component of Indian entertainment industry. The proliferation of OTT is propelled by the improvement in internet speed, variety of content and flexibility of the content selection. The pattern of storytelling in video streaming platforms illustrates the landscape that reflects the social issues, digital innovations and cultural mythologies. The platforms skillfully juxtaposed the objective nature of technological sophistication with the subjective aspect of narrative based on socio-cultural milieu. This qualitative study endeavors to understand the narrative analysis of crime and psychological thriller series ASUR. The series consists of 2 seasons and 16 episodes. The thematic analysis broadly illustrates the themes such as Hindu mythology, technological advancement, moral awareness and societal behavior. The web series succinctly portrayed the dystopian use of scientific knowledge that can be traced or linked back to lack of humanistic approach manifested in antagonist’s past experiences. The OTT platforms become a digital culture in which societal beliefs and myths are disseminated. The digital terrains are pivotal to project the nation`s soft power since these streaming services provide legitimization through production of content of narrative with respect to social reality. The findings are beneficial for academic scholars and national security experts to give significant consideration to contemporary technological advancements and digital media landscape. This study provides a framework on the basis of which future research may be conducted to critically analyze the ‘OTT discourse’ in the contemporary global media landscape.