SHILLONG:
When Wednesday was released on Netflix, who knew that it would bring back old memories? We were well attuned to the dead stares of Christina Ricci’s Wednesday and Anjelica Huston-Raul Julia’s Morticia-Gomez’s doting love. Something the Addams Family brought out to cinema is what one would call ‘goth’ subculture and the trope of a doting and loving husband-wife where the teenage daughter does not really adhere to the general idea of being a lively, colourful teenager.
Based on Charles Addams’ fictional character Wednesday Addams, Wednesday is an American coming-of-age supernatural comedy horror television series that can be watched online. Jenna Ortega plays the title role in this Alfred Gough and Miles Millar production. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzmán, Isaac Ordonez, Gwendoline Christie, Riki Lindhome, Jamie McShane, Fred Armisen, and Christina Ricci play supporting roles. Tim Burton, who also acts as executive producer, directed four of the eight episodes. Wednesday Addams is the main character, as she tries to solve a monster mystery at her school.
Wednesday had its premiere on November 16, 2022, and was made available on Netflix on November 23. Critics largely gave the film favourable reviews and applauded Ortega’s performance. It rose to the second-most watched English-language Netflix series within three weeks of its debut. For Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy for Ortega, it got two Golden Globe nominations.
After a trip back memory lane, Wednesday is doing the rounds on the internet with the iconic ‘Goo Goo Muck’ dance routine which Jenna Ortega revealed in an interview was her own choreography. Social media is flooded with netizens, as well as celebrities, performing the routine. Aside from the iconic scene, Wednesday, the series, has put a spotlight on goth subculture with Wednesday, the character, becoming the symbol of the goths or so to speak.
The goth subculture is commonly associated with the music industry but if we take a look at its origins and history, its roots emerged from romantic literature and Mary W Shelley as well as Edgar Allen Poe. Gothic literature comprises death, decay, the macabre, mystery, horror and the dark elements of life and the show has incorporated these elements within itself.
But the most interesting of it all is the homage paid to Edgar Allen Poe, a famous American poet and writer known for his gothic stories. He is well remembered for The Raven poem, a raven named Nevermore, symbolising the gloomy disposition of life and loss. Nevermore itself is the name of the school of outcasts that Wednesday attended.
According to the series lore, established in 1791 by Nathaniel Faulkner, Nevermore is a safe haven for young outcasts, a place where they can get a proper education without constantly trying to hide who they really are. Past alums of the school include Morticia Addams, Gomez Addams, Ignatius Itt, as well as the famous Edgar Allen Poe.
Poe was regularly mentioned in the series, even a statue leading to the Nightshades secret library is of Poe itself. This reflects the main theme of the series which revolves around the theme of loss and death as seen from the numerous death scenes in it. The eerie atmosphere wholly reminds us of Poe’s world and we cannot help but assume that the series, while putting Wednesday as the goth icon, has also labelled Poe as the father of goth subculture in American literature and culture.
Wednesday, sitting on the other side of the dorm room with her typewriter is perhaps Tim Burton’s way of paying respects to the writer who has spurred on the gothic and horror genre that has influenced not only other fellow horror writers but also a wave of filmmakers who dabbled in the genre itself.