As someone who has not previously had the opportunity to watch “I Love Lucy”, it was a pleasant surprise to be so thoroughly entertained by wholesome comedy such as this show. It is no surprise or secret that Lucy is the main selling point of the show (though her husband and other costars are also very funny). There is merit in delving into why Lucy is so funny, and how this was so different than what was popular and acceptable in the time the show was created. While there was many a housewife on TV before Lucille Ball, and countless others afterward, it cannot be argued that she is truly one of a kind, for many reasons.
Lucy’s character compares to other housewives on TV in a few ways, all of which are admirable. Probably the first thought that comes to one’s mind when thinking of “I Love Lucy” is Lucille and her hilarious facial expressions, over the top antics and perhaps her flamboyant way of dressing. All of this alludes at such a colorful personality
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While Ball was older than woman in the media were at the time, she is thin and beautiful. Aside from having a personality and a home that she didn’t spend every waking hour providing for, Lucy didn’t challenge many other norms of the time. She was zany, witty, loud and funny, but she wasn’t overly intelligent, talented or ambitious. Thus, acceptable to society at the time, regardless of being a little different.
Some messages about gender roles that can be found in various episodes of “I Love Lucy” include what is a man’s job as a husband and father, what is a woman’s job as a mother, wife and friend and how those things change with age. This show tells women watching how it is acceptable to act in the previously mentioned roles (according to society at the time). These roles have changed since then, maybe in part thanks to Lucy and her colorful