Peripheral Post #3 - Sebastian

    I finally got around to watching the first two episodes of WandaVision, and I couldn’t help but immediately think of the “Betty, Girl Engineer” episode of Father Knows Best. In particular, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed these two episodes in direct contrast to how much I disliked “Betty, Girl Engineer.” It seems to me that WandaVision isn’t just trying to recreate the conventions of 1950s/1960s sitcoms; it’s also trying to make them more palatable to contemporary audiences by scrubbing away the overtly reactionary politics of a show like Father Knows Best. 

    On the one hand, this was part of what made WandaVision appealing to me. In the midst of this pandemic, I found that there was something oddly comforting about the insularity and banality of the 1950s sitcom format. Almost the entire action of the first episode takes place in the protagonists’ house, and the biggest problem they face is pleasing Vision’s boss during a dinner get-together. Likewise, while the pandemic has certainly wrought immense change and upheaval, the day-to-day experience of trying to always stay at home and be responsible can sometimes feel incredibly insular and banal (I should acknowledge that this is obviously shaped by my distinct position of privilege. On any given day, the most exciting dilemma I personally face might be whether or not my sister or I get to use the washing machine next. 

    On the other hand, I wonder if WandaVision is simply repackaging the conservative ideology of 1950s sitcoms without actually changing its core DNA. This is most noticeable when it comes to the portrayal of Wanda as a housewife. Unlike “Betty, Girl Engineer,” WandaVision makes no explicit claims about how women belong exclusively in the domestic sphere. But it also doesn’t really subvert this trope either. Instead, Wanda dutifully occupies the role of sitcom housewife. In fairness, I am only two episodes into the show. Not only will the television reference points change (as I understand it, the next episode will harken back to the 1970s), but the show might eventually explain why Wanda acts the way she does in the first two episodes. But, for the moment, I can’t help but wonder if my own enjoyment of these episodes is making me complicit in the very ideology that I so vehemently objected when it was simply more explicit in “Betty, Girl Engineer.”