Binge-watching and mental illness versus comfort TV and mental health in WandaVision
Publication Name
Critical Studies in Television
Abstract
WandaVision launched the Disney+ subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform by blending the sitcom and the superhero genres in a nostalgia-inducing fusion of Marvel comics, cinema and television. The series represents the canonisation of Marvel media into a single cohesive narrative ‘multiverse’, yet the story focuses on the personal experience of the character, Wanda, and her struggle with loss, grief, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In this article, we explore how WandaVision presents a unique examination of the tension between the role of screen media as comfort TV and the pervasive fears over the obsessive escapism of binge-watching. The article also assesses the potential risks of excessive media consumption through the framing of American sitcoms and superhero families from the 1950s and onward.
Open Access Status
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