‘Wandavision’: A successful show in demonstrating Genre Hybridity

Genre hybridity according to Bignell (2004) occurs when a programme blurs boundaries between genres and intertextually takes different parts of these genres to create the show. Wandavision combines science-fiction and sit-com to create a narratively complex show through these polar opposite genres which are hybridised to the point where the boundaries that Bignell mentioned are virtually non-existent as the genres are blended so well. Mintz describes a sitcom as a “half-hour series focused on episodes involving recurrent characters within the same premise” (See Wallace and Stevenson, 2009, pg. 28). Science-fiction on the other hand can be defined as a genre which has elements that don’t exist in the real world (Masterclass, 2021). The episodes ‘Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience’ and ‘We Interrupt This Program’ best represents the success of Wandavision’s genre hybridity

Before the show even begins, audiences have some expectations regarding the genre as the network itself (Disney+) defines it as a science fiction show with romance and drama. Although sit-com is not explicitly mentioned, mainly due to create mystery and confusion when the show does actually begin, the audience can begin to piece together parts of the genres mentioned and form some idea that the science fiction element comes into play somehow. As Creeber (2015) suggests genres aren’t just defined through the text but equally through the practices of TV stakeholders such as the network or fans or the critics, and these conversations help to shape the text of that particular genre. Not only are ‘pure’ genres exposed to these discursive practices but also hybridised genres whereby Mittell (2004) infers that these evaluations and definitions comes from not only the text but from all types of media related to genre and TV shows. If we take Mittel’s thesis and look at Wandavision, we are aware it’s a Marvel show, mainly through it’s use of established Marvel characters (Wanda Maximoff and Vision), the audience have assumptions as to what to expect from a Marvel text, superheroes, Fantasy, and most importantly Science-Fiction; the audience therefore expects science-fiction to make an appearance in the show, it’s just a matter of how Marvel incorporates this genre into a show with a presiding genre of sitcom. Wandavision’s sitcom aesthetics and tropes are easily recognised by the audience as they mainly come from previously well-known sitcoms throughout the years, which is how we come to identify Wandavision as a sitcom since we see these tropes take place within the episodes. Taking a closer look at the first episode (Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience) it draws on classic 1950s sitcoms such as I Love Lucy and the Dick Van Dyke Show. One key element is the production design whereby the house has a similar layout. In the following shots of the set design, it’s clear to see Wandavision took inspiration from these sitcoms and therefore as an audience we connect Wandavision to the genre of sitcom since it looks similar to famous sitcoms from the era it’s portraying in this episode. (top: Wandavision, Middle: Dick Van Dyke Show, bottom: I Love Lucy)

We can easily identify a sitcom programme based on the length of the show, normally half an hour, Wandavision particularly in the more sitcom centric episodes follows this distinct pattern. This half an hour format has been utilised by many networks and producers over the years to convey a sitcom, it is very rare a sitcom will go over this time unless it’s a special episode which requires more narrative time. However sci-fi shows require more time to conclude the narrative of the episode due to having a more complex narrative than the typical sitcom does; on average a sci-fi show will run between forty to forty-five minutes without breaks. The episodes in Wandavision that are more centred around the sci-fi narrative tend to have a longer runtime than the sitcom ones, for example the first episode has a runtime of thirty-one minutes but compared to episode eight (Previously On) which is based more around Wanda’s backstory and how she came to get her powers, the episode runtime is longer at forty-seven minutes. By having these runtimes for specific episodes shows how Wandavision blends the tv genres together in a way that the audience will subconsciously know which genre is foregrounded more as these scheduling practices have been consistent across networks and decades.

The episodes themselves are filled with hybridised narratives where in which we see the science fiction and sitcom genre blended to create an overall compelling and unique story. The identifiable format of the sitcom whereby a situation arises within the episode and is resolved by the end of the episode so the next episode can take its place and repeat the same structure (Allen, 1992)can be identified particularly in the first episode, where the problem arises that neither characters remember that Vision’s boss is coming to dinner and they have to get a meal ready, they end up resolving this problem and returning to the “familiar status quo” that Marc suggests happens within the cyclical narrative of a sitcom (See Creeber, 2015, pg. 101). However, many problems aren’t solved within the one episode, allowing for this episodic narrative to take place and instead take the form a more serial narrative, commonly found within science fiction shows. Episode four (We Interrupt this Program) sees this multi strand narrative begin to take form when we see outside of Westview and the introduction of Monica and SWORD (Secret government agency) storyline take place, as a viewer of the show this evokes confusion as we’ve been used to seeing this sitcom world with an element of science fiction throughout but now the sitcom has been removed and we’re left with just science fiction to show us what’s been happening in the world outside and we begin to realise that Wanda is in fact controlling the town in order to have her sitcom life with Vision. Even though the sitcom aesthetic isn’t as dominant in this episode nonetheless the show effortlessly blends these genres in order to help the audience understand why the show has been sitcoms and the answer is something science fiction (Wanda has been using her powers), showing one genre (science fiction) caused the other genre (sitcom) in this diegetic world. Where a sitcom narrative serves to leave us with a happy and satisfying ending whereby the audience isn’t confronted with moral choices and forced to look within ourselves and our values (Allen, 1992), science fiction narratives, as Scounce suggests (See Creeber, 2015, pg. 63) throw the audience into these morally ambiguous storylines where the audience is forced to ask themselves what they would do in the character’s place. In the case of Wandavision there is this theme of grief of Vision’s death and how Wanda copes with it, where in which she refuses his death and creates this world where he is alive, as an audience we look in ourselves and perhaps makes us look at how we deal with grief or our emotions in general and whether we too live in denial when it comes to certain events in our lives. Equally the final episode where Wanda must decide whether to save the town or her family is a typical sci-fi trope used to create this morally informed narrative, where the audience too think whether they would save the many or sacrifice them for the protection of their loved ones. The mixture of these narratives show how Wandavision successfully incorporated both genres by having this more episodic contained narrative to have the typical sitcom problems solved, compared to the overlying narrative within these episodes whereby the audience is constantly wondering what is going on and want to continue watching since many questions aren’t answered within an episode and also bringing their morals into the foreground and forcing them to look at their selves in relation to Wanda in particular.

Looking at the use of style throughout the show, it’s clear to see that these genres boundaries have been blurred. Looking back to episode one once again, we see Wanda making dinner using her powers, this visual blend of genre further supports Wandavision’s success in blending these genres because a typical sitcom and domestic situation has this sci-fi element to it whereby, she is using her powers. However, this science fiction element takes inspiration from 1960s sitcom Bewitched where instead her powers being expressed in the red glow we are so used to seeing, it is instead replaced with jump cuts accompanied with chiming bells and levitation special effects used in the 1960s to create this illusion of floating items. By using a similar effect used in an already established sitcom further ties the genres together ,and especially to fit in with the decade they were emulating in that episode, because it doesn’t make the science fiction genre seem out of place and make the whole episode seem disjointed, instead it blends seamlessly and to the audience it seems almost natural and plausible that something like this could happen and helps to add more to the comedic effect that a sitcom seeks as they’re trying to conceal the fact that not only they forgot about this dinner but also Wanda using her powers to make the meal.

The dinner scene also presents a science fiction concept within this sitcom world, whereby the boss starts choking and the wife is pleading Wanda to stop but remaining upbeat in a typical sitcom way and then Wanda commands Vision to help and then the scene returns to normal. The scene leaves the audience uneasy and confused as the scene and offers no explanation as to what happened, reinforcing this serial narrative sci-fi shows possess, as you have to continue watching to find out why this happened.

The production methods of the show interestingly combine these genres, a key method of a sitcom tends to be that it’s filmed in front of a live studio audience, this means that a more theatrical approach to acting is used (Creeber, 2015) and the show tends to be more aware in itself that it is a show as the audience is watching them in real time and therefore it is much like a theatre production. As seen in the Making of Wandavision the first couple of episodes were in fact filmed in front of a studio audience to influence this type of acting, a laughing track equally accompanied this which is something that is a quintessential sitcom trope particularly in the earlier decades. Creeber (2015) further states that sitcoms are often brightly lit often to represent transparency and revealing detail, which is ironic in Wandavision since details are continuously left out to create intrigue. The science fiction aesthetic equally has its place in the show; the use of dark lighting restricting us in seeing everything and favouring obscurity. Below it’s clear to see that Wandavision utilised both sitcom and sci-fi aesthetics to blend two worlds and genres together within the show, and help the audience distinguish between Westview and the ‘real’ world. More important it perhaps lures us into a false of security where we think the sitcoms are more revealing when in fact, they are the ones shrouded in mystery the most.

Overall Wandavision blends the sitcom and science fiction genre on a number of levels which is what makes it so successful. By playing on established practices such as the length of episodes or the typical mise-en-scene we see in each genre helps the audience subconsciously know which genre is foregrounded in the particular scene. Not only this by incorporating a mixture of narratives and tropes from both genres aids the show in creating a story filled with references from both genres but still have a unique story which blurs genre boundaries especially boundaries which are often polar opposites since one’s about the real world and the other is more about imagined worlds. By successfully blending these genres Wandavision shows that any genre can be blended no matter how much they may be different, if blended well it can produce a show never seen before in TV history and Wandavision will be a show that will be seen as a success in genre hybridity.

Filmography

Wandavision, 2021. [TV] Disney+, 15th January 2021

‘The Making of Wandavision’, 2021, Marvel Studios Assembled, Season 1 Episode 1 [TV], Disney+, 12th March 2021

Bibliography

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