I Love Lucy: Retrospect, Supporting and Subverting Gender Roles

Introduction

TV shows of the past might appear to be simply relics of the bygone era at first sight. However, on further analysis, they can reveal a treasure trove of peculiar details and facts about the time slot that it is expected to portray. Moreover, with the fingerprints of multiple people working on the series all over it, any TV show inevitably encapsulates the unique characteristic of the time period in which it was produced. Therefore, despite its humorous and light-hearted nature, as well as significantly aged jokes, the sitcom known as I Love Lucy can disclose a substantial amount of information about the epoch that it depicted, as well as the people who made it and those who were represented by it.

I Love Lucy: Show Description

I Love Lucy was a 1950-1957 sitcom (situational comedy) series that was supposed to represent minor, comedic slice-of-life occurrences in the life of Lucille Ball, the protagonist, her husband Desi Arnaz, and two of her friends (Women in the 1950s). Remarkably, Arnaz was also Balls real-life husband, yet the specified fact did not seem to affect the production in any way (Morgan). The show ran for a total of six seasons, featuring 180 episodes (Women in the 1950s). Opening with a song that eventually warranted an Oscar and a short animation created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, famous animators with cartoons such as The Flinstones, The Jetsones, Tom and Jerry, Scooby-Doo, and many others behind their belt, the TV show

Key Details and Background

The focus on the life of a married couple, Lucy and Ricky, was the main focus of the show. Remarkably, Desi Arnaz, who played the part of Lucys husband Ricky, was also married to Lucille Ball in real life. The show received an Oscar for its opening score. Moreover, the refreshing animation shown while the score was playing was created by renowned William Hanna and Joseph Barbera.

Portrayal of Life: Subversion of Stereotypes

Developing what would become a typical sitcom formula in a couple of decades, I Love Lucy featured an overly simplified model of family interactions while also introducing the element of zaniness that allowed keeping the humorous tone of the show consistent. Specifically, in the course of an episode, Lucy would create a scheme that she expected to help her to explore other roles outside of the one of a housewife, whereas her husband Desi would actively work against the specified scheme (Women in the 1950s). Although the premise of the show might seem slightly unrealistic, it portrayed quite accurately the developing movement aimed at female liberation, specifically, the focus on women gaining economic and social freedom from husbands (Morgan). Thus, the continuous failure faced by Lucy could be seen as an unintentionally grim reminder of the difficulties that women faced in the U.S. while fighting for their basic rights.

Portrayal of Life: When reality Meets Wishful Thinking

The reinforcement of stereotypical family roles designated for women, primarily, the ones of a wife and a mother, are at the center of each episode series. Specifically, the formula, according to which Lucys dreams of becoming something more than merely a housewife and becoming an accomplished person are ruthlessly subverted each episode by her husband, which is portrayed as the proper status quo that must be upheld and supported (Morgan). The specified reinforcement of traditional family roles could be seen as a response to the nascent feminism movement in the U.S., which would reach its full swing in the 60s (Morgan).

Key Signifiers of the Era: The Nascent Feminist Movement

Despite the evident projection of traditional family roles onto the characters in I Love Lucy, the movie, possibly unintentionally, also reflects the gradual formation of the feminist movement in the United States. Specifically, while Lucy is portrayed mostly from a comedic perspective as an opposition to her husband, who is supposed to represent the side of reason, her rambunctious nature indicates the developing focus on womens agency. For example, the famous quote I was going to but then I asked myself, Why? signals the emergence of agency in the protagonist (Lucy) and her desire to take action and initiative, which could be seen as unexpected and even brazen at the time (Morgan). Thus, while striving to focus on the traditionalist approach to family roles, the sitcom unintentionally subverts them, depictingthe spirit of the era quite accurately.

When Patriarchy Meets Feminism: Ushering a New Era

It appears that the show is partially wishful thinking, yet it also discloses some of the crucial characteristics of the era, thus letting the audience know what major transformations were taking place at the time. Specifically, the need to secure the traditional family roles could be observed in the portrayal of the lead characters, from how they were dressed to how they behaved.

What Would Not Have Been Shown Today

Since I Love Lucy was filmed quite a while ago, it represents a substantial number of ideas and tropes that are seen as outdated, ridiculous, and even embarrassing nowadays. For example, the power dynamics between Lucy and her husband Ricky, where Ricky is portrayed as a wise mentor and Lucy as a silly child is one of the aspects of the show that would not be greenlit nowadays. Specifically, due to the tendency to view marriage as support and cooperation between two people of equally high agency and independence, the relationship dynamics between Lucy and her husband would be considered weird, at best, and offensive, at worst. Specifically, the oft-misquoted Lucy, splain places the couple into the roles of a mentor (Ricky) and a learner (Lucy) (Lucy Splain (No Accent)).

What Was Not Portrayed

Similarly, the show did not dare to venture into the areas that modern shows consider as mundane. The portrayal of Lucy as equally smart compared to her husband and, particularly, the interpretation of their relationships as those of partnership rather than of inequality would be quite common nowadays. Indeed, while a couple of decades ago, a complete role reversal would be expected, with wives being depicted as the rational party, and husbands being characterized as of a varying degree of immaturity, such as in Malcolm in the Middle or Family Matters, modern TV shows tend to portray a couple as partners with an equal degree of agency.

Conclusion

Representing the spirit of the era that it portrayed quite accurately, I Love Lucy showed the world where family roles were preset and unmovable, and where conflicts could be easily resolved within the series runtime. Although I Love Lucy reiterates the patriarchal tropes that were prevalent during the 1950s, the propensity toward women gaining agency could be seen in some of the aspects of the show, such as Lucys unbridled imagination and enthusiasm, which could be interpreted as initiative. Although the American feminism movement was at the stage of conception at the time, I Love Lucy signaled an important future change.

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