Every Single Sci-Fi Film Ever*30 Mar 2025

I Married a Monster from Outer Space: Gender expectations in 1958

You can find the podcast on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky.

I Married a Monster from Outer Space was released as part of a double bill (with The Blob) in 1958. The story focuses on newlywed couple Marge and Bill Farrell but unbeknownst to his new bride and the whole town Bill has been replaced by an alien on the eve of their wedding.

Themes of marriage, resentments and gendered expectations are as rife as can be expected in the 1950s. We have two insightful experts help shine a light on these themes.

The Experts

Thomas Doherty is a professor of American Studies at Brandeis University, he is a cultural historian with a special interest in Hollywood cinema on which he has written extensively.

Sherryl Vint is Professor of Science Fiction Media Studies at the University of California, Riverside. She has written/edited many books about science fiction.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:58 Science fiction golden age and the marriage melodrama

05:27 The female led sci-fi film and Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique

08:40 Patriarchal expectations of 1950s men

13:24 Changes in post war America

16:33 The Hays production code and the scandalous double bed

21:19 The Alien: looking good and learning to love

26:14 Marge's dilemma

30:42 Romantic, sexual and gendered anxiety

39:20 Devil Girl from Mars: Aliens are coming to take our men!

41:36 Legacy

45:59 Recommendations for the listeners

NEXT EPISODE!

Next episode we will be hopping slightly back in time and discussing The Mysterians from 1957. The film was made in Japan by Toho studios. It is quite difficult to buy or rent a copy but is available in some regions on FlixFling, The Criterion Channel and some other internet sites.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(70)

Planet of the Apes: Evolution, Supremacy, & the Death of Liberty

As usual there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you have an air of gravitas and money to spend and would like to be a patron of th...

13 Sep 56min

Barbarella 1968: Pop Art, Sex & Space Opera

As always, there are spoilers ahead. You can follow the podcast on social media on Threads, Instagram and Bluesky. If you have an air of gravitas and money to spend and would like to be a patron o...

30 Aug 57min

Je t'aime, je t'aime (1968): Time Travel, Memory and Loss

Translation for the intro: A race against time. Office time against outside time. Who's winning? I don't know yet. Apologies as I am coming down with a heavy cough and need sleep. I am so out of it ...

16 Aug 58min

Destroy All Monsters 1968: Godzilla's Kaiju in Combat

Translation for Intro: "Fire Dragon can reduce Tokyo to ashes in just a few hours." Godzilla ROARS. "It's Godzilla!" As always there are spoilers ahead! You can follow the podcast on social media on...

2 Aug 51min

Sci-fi & Architecture: Visions of the Future

There are spoilers ahead! For many films I'm afraid. I would especially avoid the episode until you have watched Ex-Machina (which you really really should immediately it really is phenomenal) as Jes ...

19 Jul 55min

Quatermass: Nigel Kneale, Hammer and Mid-Century Britain

There is a longer version of the podcast available which includes more tangential topics on Patreon for paid subscribers or for a $3 or £3 fee! The long version is just under one hour and twenty-five ...

5 Jul 59min

The Face of Another 1966: Scars & Identity in Post War Japan

Trigger warning: This discussion includes talk about sexual assault and sexual violence. This is a theme apparent in the film and the source material. It is mentioned a few times. The topic is not spo...

21 Jun 59min

Blade Runner: Paul Franklin's Favourite Sci-Fi Film

As always there are spoilers ahead! Blade Runner was not a huge hit in 1982 but it did gain a fair few fans on its initial release. One of those fans was a teenager from Cheshire by the name of Paul F...

7 Jun 46min