Marvel & 1950’s?

It’s the end of another week so hello blog! Today I completed milestone three, where I was able to present about a topic related to my podcast and how this topic has changed since the 1950’s. It was a great opportunity to have more knowledge about my topic before writing my podcast script, and to practice presenting which really isn’t my strongest skill so I was glad I got to improve at that. 

In my presentation, one of the things I talked about was how television has been used to communicate news. I feel like television is more well known however, as a source of entertainment. We saw this in class when we watched “Leave it to Beaver”, a popular show from the 1950’s. TV for entertainment has continued into today, especially with streaming platforms like Netflix and Disney+.

Of course I watch TV as well and there have been some movies and shows I’ve been interested in lately. As a creative person and someone who likes Marvel movies, I was pretty excited to see a story from the MCU being creatively told in sitcom styles throughout different decades in the new series Wandavision. Why am I talking about a show I like in a blog post about my current project though? Well like I said, each episode is from a different decade, starting with the 1950’s. Even though this show was actually made in 2020, what can we learn about the 50’s in an episode inspired by it?

The episode begins with a wife and husband who have just moved to the suburbs, and of course it is in black and white and the screen is square shaped. The couple sleeps in separate beds as sharing a bed was something that was avoided in television at the time. The show’s creators drew inspiration from a 1950’s show “I Love Lucy” which also showed a middle class couple who take gendered roles of the working husband and housewife. 

Like many 50’s sitcoms, the episode tells a story that is not very complicated. The couple have forgotten about a special occasion happening that day and they must remember. As they try to solve the simple problem, an entertaining episode is created and once the issue is resolved the episode concludes. The creators of the show also tried to use production techniques that would’ve been used in the fifties, and avoided techniques that use modern technology like CGI. I also noticed inspiration from “Twilight Zone” during a more unusual and creepy scene towards the end. You will have to watch the series to find out why this episode takes place in the 1950’s though. See you next week blog,

-Asha