I Love Lucy Analysis

I Love Lucy: Female Roles in Entertainment On October 5, 1955, The Variety, a weekly American entertainment magazine with a broad coverage of movies, television, theater, music, and technology, written for preferably top-level entertainment professionals since 1905, covered a television review on one of America’s most beloved comedians labeled as the Woman of 1,000 Faces, the master comedienne of expression. The woman, Lucille Ball, was an American actress, comedienne, model, film-studio executive, and producer, who was known to star in her self-produced sitcoms, and particularly known for her iconic television show, I Love Lucy, that originally aired from 1951 to 1957 during primetime programming on CBS . The show is still replayed in different
The review also illustrates one of the plots of a new episode which involves Lucy trying to steal a block of cement and ends up getting her leg stuck in the cement. It’s obvious that Herm, the author of the review, admires Lucille Ball as he mentions she’s an expert at any role she plays. The language of the article, as a present-day reader, seems appreciative but old fashionably sexist by flaunting Lucille Ball’s gifted acting with gender stereotypical terms and phrases like “zanier half of the Racardo family”, “gag-laden script”, “out-and-out silly”, and more. The author even mentions how incredible it is to see a couple of “grownup women” effectively perform a “slapstick routine” when Lucille Ball gets her leg stuck in the cement. The author ends the review by saying Lucille Ball successfully plays her role from the support of Miss Vance, her sidekick who is comparably goofy to her, and Frawley, Miss Vance’s wife. The review does not address any social, political, or cultural interest of the show, only parts of Lucille Ball and other women
Rather than thoroughly discussing how Lucile Ball and Desi Arnaz, the owners and stars of I Love Lucy, believe it’s a bad idea to alter the series format, the author decides to focus on the characterization of Lucille Ball’s role in the show. The author does not offer any more information about how these two decided to develop the new season, even though the entire first paragraph is focused on their opinion of their shows format. The author does give a quick illustration of one of the new episodes, but instead of focusing on the plot, the author ends up concentrating more on women’s acting in the show. In the second part of this essay, I will analyze this artifact and examine Lucille Ball’s gender stereotype in I Love Lucy and why she might be known for a major figure in entertainment