What do MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, a non-fiction history of the creation and rise of Marvel Studios, and Lessons in Chemistry, a fiction narrative of a lady scientist, have in common? Misogyny and a lot of it.
I had the incredibly good fortune to be in Hall H, at the San Diego Comic Con, when the very first footage of Iron Man was shown in 2007 and have been a Marvel Cinematic Universe fan ever since. MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios came onto my radar from Pajiba, as it was co-written by long time Pajiba contributor Joanna Robinson. I’m an admirer of Robinson’s writing, a fan of the MCU, love finding out how things are made, and intensely like learning about the ins and outs of Hollywood. This book was like catnip for me.
From humble origins as a dream of Stan Lee to the financial juggernaut now controlled by Disney, MCU is the definitive history of what we now call The Marvel Cinematic Universe. I was fascinated from the beginning and eagerly devoured this book. I even got my family sucked in by putting it on to listen to during a road trip. From behind the scenes stories to the nitty gritty of financing details, this book has it all. One of my favorite tidbits was that the famous line by Thor, when he first encounters the Hulk in Thor: Ragnarok, “I know him! He’s a friend from work!”, was suggested by a child visiting the set with the Make a Wish Foundation.
The part that had my blood boiling was learning about how misogynistic and racist Ike Perlmutter, long time head of Marvel Studios, prevented Marvel from having movies staring women and people of color. If you follow superhero movies and wondered why it took so long for there to be a female or POC led Marvel movie, Ike Perlmutter is the reason. He firmly believed that there wasn’t interest in those characters. It’s also why there has historically been a shockingly lack of merchandise featuring female and POC characters. After Disney bought Marvel Studios, Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, had to force Perlmutter to back off for Captain Marvel and Black Panther to be made.
If you are a MCU fan and love behind the scenes info, this book is a must read.
Note: The doll is Ms. Marvel, a female Pakistani American superhero that Ike Perlmutter would have never given a show or movie.
Lessons in Chemistry was highly praised by many sources and friends. Fortunately, in my opinion, it lived up to the hype. Elizabeth Zott is a brilliant, passionate chemist. She’s also no nonsense and determined. Unfortunately, she was born in a time when women rarely worked outside the home and if they did so it was as a secretary, nurse, or teacher. The idea of a woman working as a scientist at a laboratory was incredulous to those around her. Despite her excellent work, Elizabeth faces considerable hurdles due to the misogyny of those around her.
Then she meets Calvin Evans, also a brilliant scientist, who has the world as his oyster due to being a man. When they fall in love it’s a perfect match. However, Elizabeth resists societal norms and refuses to marry him, though cohabiting is fine. She wants to stand on her own without the perception that Calvin is helping with her work. When tragedy strikes and Elizabeth finds herself pregnant and unwed, misogyny rears it’s ugly head, once again, and she is fired from her job.
Turning her kitchen into a laboratory, Elizabeth tries to be a freelance chemist but often finds herself helping her former male coworkers with their work. The situation is financially untenable when an interesting opportunity arises to host a cooking show. She wants to make it a show about chemistry that uses cooking as a tool to teach it. Time and again Elizabeth’s ideas are shut down for not meeting the head of production’s ideas of what a woman’s show should look like. So she works to include and teach as much science as possible and develops a devoted following as a result. However, her heart is not in it.
Elizabeth Zott is a woman to be admired for her calm in the face of much adversity. I particularly liked her dog, 6:30, and the sections where 6:30 is narrating the story from his doggy perspective. I haven’t seen the TV show but am curious how his part of the narrative is portrayed, if at all. I highly recommend Lessons in Chemistry, it is a wonderful read following along with Elizabeth Zott’s journey. If misogyny has ever held you back, you will relate to her struggles and triumphs.
Regarding Narration: The main narrator of MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios, Andrew Kishino, was just okay. However, the narrator of Lessons in Chemistry, Miranda Raison, was fantastic! I would definitely recommend it in audio format if that’s your jam.