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A Hitchcock Reference in Netflix's Wednesday We Bet You Never Noticed

A Hitchcock Reference in Netflix's Wednesday We Bet You Never Noticed
Image credit: Netflix, Universal Pictures, United Artists

Wednesday's child is full of nods to classics.

Summary:

  • Netflix 's Wednesday has plenty of pop culture references, as well as classic movie and literature Easter eggs
  • One particular character's costume took inspiration from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds

Tim Burton's Wednesday took Netflix (and the entire world) by storm, marching straight to the platform's top charts and remaining there up until this day as the network's second most-watched show of all time.

While Wednesday managed to gracefully nail modern trends and introduce the new one (yep, the Bloody Mary dance still haunts us all), it also nodded to many classics — from the original Addams family projects to less obvious gems.

Naturally, there were plenty of Edgar Allan Poe Easter eggs for the true connoisseurs of the genre. Besides, true movie fans smirked when Wednesday got covered in blood at the school ball — that was, of course, a nod to Stephen King 's Carrie.

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Also, eagle-eyed viewers noticed that Principal Weems, portrayed by Gwendoline Christie, has a little skull under a glass dome on her desk. Could that be an homage to Burton's Beetlejuice ending? Absolutely!

Speaking of Christie's character, that's not the only Easter egg she hides (or should we say "hydes"? Sorry, we'll stop).

Weems' Costume Is a Hitchcock Reference

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Gwendoline Christie's characters are almost always recognizable mainly because of their impeccable fashion. Principal Weems is no exception: the first moment we see her we know the queen has entered the room. Okay, sorry, the boss.

Weems, who clearly prefers light colors, sports a buttoned-up look, sometimes with a long silver coat.

But if you remember the main character from Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, her attire will immediately become more familiar.

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Wednesday costume designer Colleen Atwood admits that was exactly the inspiration.

"I bought this vintage poster of Tippi Hedren in ‘The Birds.’ I showed her a picture of it. I said, ‘This is who I think you are. And she was like, ‘I love it,’” Atwood recalls, calling Weems “her own kind of misfit, in a totally different way,” Atwood told Variety.

Wednesday Fashion

Pretty much every character in Wednesday is a style icon (and Atwood is to be thanked for that). Aside from Principal Weems and Miss Addams herself, the show is a feast for the eyes of those who love colorful looks (enter Enid Sinclair) or those love messy looks that are creepy in their own way (yes, Marilyn Thornhill, we're looking at you).

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Ricci, who appeared in the Netflix adaptation as a "normie" teacher of the Nevermore Academy with a lot of skeletons in her closet, sported a bizarre vintage look that immediately becomes eerie the longer you look at it. As Atwood herself puts it, there is "something kind of childish about her taste and her style, but in a creepy kind of way."

If you want to check out Wednesday for yourself and maybe spot a little reference or two with your own eyes, the first season of the show is available for streaming on Netflix.

Source: Variety