Netflix's 'Wednesday' and the 21st Century Parody Archetype

Much like most 21st century classic ‘remakes,’ ‘Wednesday’ is full of weird occurrences, unexplainable happenings and corny magic. Though, to give credit where credit is due, the cinematography and the storyline of the show are gorgeously otherworldly. From the mind of Tim Burton, this Addams’ Family reboot does not do his other works any remote justice, to say Burton is in his “flop era” is undoubtedly fact. The show is not entirely distasteful, however. Jenna Ortega’s portrayal of Wednesday is one of the best cinemas has ever seen, she does a teenage Wednesday exactly as she would be in 2022, maintaining her classic apathetic charm and cold, blackened heart; however, the portrayal of family in this version of the Addams is slightly different comparatively to the timeline. Wednesday’s character obviously has a very similar relationship to her brother as previously depicted in the original 1938 comic, and her father is still as in love with his wife as ever and continues his role as a protector of his family. However, the issues start when we delve into the bond present between Morticia and Wednesday. 

Classically, the entire Addams’ family is a massive unit - each member defending the name with their lives, but the ‘mommy issues’ Netflix give Wednesday in this series is a downright mockery. It is understandable that they want to change the story slightly, to make it a 'stand-alone' series; however, there was no need for this transformation to their relationship to be so drastic. Clearly it was altered purely to encourage Gen-Z relatability – it reads as though the writers have spent a bit too much time watching TikTok. 

This is not the only problem seeping its way into the series; another pressing matter is the sardonic love triangle. It is so prevalent in modern media that a show cannot do well commercially without some kind of romantic turbulence and it truly is distasteful in this particular instance. In filming, Jenna Ortega herself spoke to the writers and practically begged for them not to have Wednesday stuck in a puerile love triad, but the writers did it anyway. Wednesday Addams and love are two concepts which unquestionably do not mix and Netflix didn’t even try to make it remotely fit the traditional indifference of her persona.

The changes made by Netflix take the Addams out of Wednesday’s entire identity; without making their rendition a decent homage to the archetype at all. Ultimately, this series deserves half of the hype it gets, and most of that comes from Ortega’s brilliantly choreographed dance scene.

(Article for my school's newspaper which I wrote in late 2022!)

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