I’m Exhausted by the Addams Family Discourse
There has been some “particular” discourse around the casting of the new Netflix series “Wednesday”; I’m tired.
The new Netflix series “Wednesday” presented us with new cast images and behind-the-scenes reels of Jenna Ortega introducing us to her Wednesday Addams. It seems as if between the photos and the reel everyone has an opinion and it has started a discourse on the Family. Some haters on the internet say they are upset about the family being played by Latino actors. There are also expressions of certain castings that do not “look the part” they are portraying.
In light of the discourse, I would like to give present some historical facts about the spooky family.
It was in 1938 that the family was introduced to the world by American artist Charles Addams in a comic strip. They were originally published in the New Yorker and continued to circulate over a course of 50 years.
The Addamses were a wealthy family of gothic spooks, trapped in the Aristocratic Victorian era, dressed in black, and found comfort in the macabre. After being published for so long in the New Yorker, they arrived on television in 1964, airing on ABC.
When the series was in development, Charles Addams suggested naming the patriarch of the family either Repelli or Gomez. No member of the family up until this point had a name. Charles left the final choice up to portrayer John Astin, who chose Gomez. Morticia’s name was inspired by the word “Mortician” and Wednesday’s was inspired by the nursery rhyme “Wednesday’s child is full of woe”. Pugsley’s name was originally Pugbert however ABC felt it was too sexual since it was a play on the word puberty. That was when they changed it to Pugsley.
It was confirmed also in 1964 by Charles Addams that Gomez Addams is of Spanish descent hence the reason why he speaks Spanish at times. Though first played by John Astin, the role thereafter had been played by several Latino men such as Raul Julía, Oscar Issac, and now Luis Guzmán. Puerto Rican actor, Raul Julía was the first representation of the Addams Family being canonically a half-Latino family. Raul insisted at the time of filming that he was able to bring his Puerto Rican culture to Gomez. This was a very important milestone for the Addams Family history and representation of the Latinx community.
2022 will be the first time that Wednesday at the center of the family and will be played by a Latina actress (Jenna Ortega). This is not only the first time Wednesday will be a Latina, but Pugsley will be played by a Latino actor Isaac Ordonez. This is also a big step for Tim Burton who has been under fire in the past for casting predominately white actors.
The Addams are historically a spooky half-Latinx family and this representation matter to a lot of people. Feeling seen in a piece of media is important.
There are people who are upset that the roles are being played by Latino actors and some who are challenging the casting by saying The Addams are Spaniards. However, most Latin countries and islands were affected by the colonization by the Spaniards. With these countries being colonized, there is a small percentage of Spanish that can be traced back to Spain among most Latino people.
The skepticism is valid considering when any role is rebooted/recast etc., we have a sense of protection of the characters and get nostalgic for what was. It is however different when the discourse is coming from a hateful place. These conversations of race and “looking the part” over this new Addams Family series are quite telling to those voicing their opinions.
