One Netflix's Wednesday Scene is Already Insanely Problematic
Looks like there is a thin line between Wednesday's dark jokes and actual creepiness.
Before watching the new Netflix show about Wednesday Addams, one might probably want to familiarize oneself with a very specific Addams family sense of humor. It turns out it does not sit well with some people who are taking issue with things that will appear in the show.
After the release of the first trailer, some people took issue with a certain scene that will likely make it to the final cut — when Wednesday unleashes a flock of piranhas in a school swimming pool in order to take revenge on bullies who were attacking her brother Pugsley. One of the bullies actually gets castrated — something that Wednesday is seen smiling at.
Despite the deed falling in line with the Addams family style, some people believe the scene was too much, especially given that the show is targeting a wide teen audience. The main character, however, turns to actual violence against teenagers in a way that certainly seems extremely creepy when you think about it.
Many people argued that this scene alone makes Wednesday "inappropriate" for wide audiences and encourages laughing at "despicable things".
"I'd be ok with it being played for laughs or as a gratifying comeuppance for a bully if this whole thing wasn't so one-sided. We know this wouldn't fly if the genders were reversed, even more if the one getting revenge was a male character against a female one. I can think of very few productions where a male character brutalizes a female one as revenge for something she did," Redditor Deadlocked02 said.
Some fans were excited to see Wednesday — but after that particular scene, they realized they wouldn't be able to watch it.
"This isn't funny. The crime of castration is too serious to laugh about," Redditor F-um reiterated.
Others, however, argued that the scene does not really stand out among other atrocities the Addams family is known for committing and making fun of.
"The Addams family movie involves the kids getting ready to electrocute Fester as "play", and they give no indication that he'd survive it. They [have] always involved out of place extreme violence," Reddit user BitsAndBobs304 said.
The new trailer that arrived in early October does not involve scenes this controversial — although Wednesday does threaten her neighbour to "return the favor" of hospitality "in her sleep", and seems generally less-than-friendly. Netflix has not commented on the backlash against the piranha scene.
Wednesday will be available for streaming starting November 23.