Binge-watching and mental illness versus comfort TV and mental health in WandaVision

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5682014
AutoresChristopher Moore (0000-0003-3149-1140, University of Wollongong), Christopher L Moore (0000-0002-6972-2787), Chris Comerford (0000-0001-5000-7807, University of Wollongong, autor correspondente), Ren Vettoretto (0000-0001-6168-570X)
Ano2025
Volume20
Fascículo2
Páginas185-204
Data de publicação2025-06-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCritical Studies in Television The International Journal of Television Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1749-6020 • E-ISSN: 1749-6039
EditoraSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/17496020241229038
OpenAlexW4391300358
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas27

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

Mental health · Mental illness · Psychiatry · Cinema and Media Studies · Clinical Psychology · Comics and Graphic Narratives · Nostalgia and Consumer Behavior · Psychology