“I don’t know what I was so worried about. It wasn’t so hard to fit in after all.”
WandaVision Episode 2
“And all we had to do was be ourselves.”
“Well, with a few modifications.”
It is entirely possible that I am wrong about the direction of WandaVision but I am enjoying it so far none the less. Between the trailers and a familiarity with the comics I knew going in that they were going to be playing with making the change in genre and cinematography diegetic. I hoped that they would be using Wanda’s reality shifting powers as a way to explore trauma, PTSD, and C-PTSD—but I also got a vague sense of queerness from the trailer which I couldn’t quite explain. I assumed that it was just due to Vision’s status as an android which can have easy parallels to a trans experience, however, by my view, it was even deeper than that.
One can not deny that there has been a dearth of queerness and clear LGBTQ2IA representation in Marvel’s cinematic properties; no matter how they may address this issue moving forward, successfully or not, it has inherently become part of the text of their extended universe. Marvel is too self-interested in its own stranglehold on the zeitgeist for it not to be. After all, they craft this show around the viewer’s knowledge of their products. Nothing about the construction of the first two episodes has the feel of the theatrical canon—until it does. This tacit admission that there is a particular Marvel style of film-making draws a sharp line between the old-school Nick at Nite sitcom aesthetic and the unwelcome intrusions of their theatrical oeuvre.
So, why make such a clear delineation and why make their own style feel like such a trespass. As Roxana Hadadi said in her review for rogerebert.com,
““WandaVision” makes an initial commitment to playfulness, but the realization that this experimentation remains in service of a larger, continued narrative rather than fully standing on its own removes (at least in these first 90 or so minutes) any real sense of narrative stakes.”
https://www.rogerebert.com/streaming/the-tv-homages-of-wandavision-are-an-amusing-unfulfilling-distraction
I can’t truly disagree with this assessment but I can argue that the lack of narrative stakes is, in fact, the point. But first, let’s talk coding.
To exist in the closet or to go stealth always requires hiding part of one’s self—which part exactly and how, however, depends on the particular flavour(s) of queerness one possesses. Bisexuals and other polysexuals can experience descrimination from both straight and gay monosexuals; like Wanda they do not have to pretend to possess something they don’t rather they need to not express an element of themselves. Passing as cis when trans is a whole other kettle of fish. Everyone has both a different level of ease and a different level of desire in passing—some have no interest at all but try their best for their own safety and to make their life simpler. Vision does not possess the body of a cis man yet specifically chooses to present as one when leaving the house—yet not when he is alone with Wanda. I’m sure that some may claim, perhaps correctly, that my interpretation a bit of a stretch but I feel as though they both can be read as queer coded to some extent and that therein lies what I view to be the entire point.
They both choose to show themselves in a different way or as Wanda puts it in episode two “with a few modifications” in order to be able to participate in this calm, happy world where they are able to be together. In this calm, happy world where they can exist with no narrative stakes. Even if one has no interest in putting up that kind of pretense it is quite easy to see the appeal—being able to live one’s life without the drama society forces upon a queer existence.
But it’s all a lie. The perfect sitcom life never really existed—not even for the cishet white audience it was crafted for and traditionally portrays. Just like the reality warped world Wanda and Vision are living in, it is a fantasy; it can be seductive.
The thing is, just as “sitcom” is a particular style, so is “Marvel” and by diegetically explaining the shift we become more aware that everything outside of their reality is just as much of a construction allowing us to become more invested in their little slice of happiness—we know it is no more false than all the movies proceeding it. As a result we are left with an allegorical choice. Assimilation and the loss of identity that comes with it or living openly and all the pain and trauma that comes with that.
If Marvel had LGBTQ2IA representation and acceptance on screen this way of looking at WandaVision would not work. After all there is no need to retreat into assimilation if the other choice is acceptance. But it is not there—and while (if the trailers are to be believed) we may know which side our two protagonists will choose, at least for a time, I truly hope that WandaVision lives up to the potential of exploring this idea.
Now your mileage will vary on how much you enjoy these first two episodes. If you do not have a soft spot for old sitcoms the themes might be stretched a bit thin to be entertaining enough on their own but at half an hour each they are breezy enough that if you are even a little interested I would recommend maintaining a queer eye and checking them out.