FYS 312

Binge-watching and mental

illness versus comfort TV and

mental health in WandaVision

By Hannah Adams Ingram

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 Ended

What questions do you have after reading the abstract? What do you still need to know?

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 Ended

If you were trying to write down something that YOU found interesting in the introduction, what would you write?

Open Ended

If you were trying to write the main point of the introduction, what would you write?

Open Ended

In 2-3 sentences, describe WandaVision from the summary on pg. 4. (What do you need to know to understand this article even if you haven't seen the show?)

Open Ended

The article talks of television as having both good and bad effects. Can you name one of each?

Open Ended

What was interesting about this article that inspires you for your own research project?