Jenna Ortega's Latina Background Has Inspired New Ideas For Wednesday Season 2
The Addams Family is one of the most famous families in fiction, a satirical inversion of the middle-class American family in the post-WWII era, and a gateway into goth culture for many kids around the world. But ever since Puerto Rican actor Raul Julia played the patriarch Gomez Addams in the spectacular 1991 live-action film and its somehow even better sequel, the character has forever turned into a Latino icon. Julia was known for playing stereotypical Latino roles at the time, like the Latin Lover archetype, and he brought elements of that to his portrayal of Gomez and his passionate relationship with his wife Morticia. Since then, other Latino actors have taken on the role, like Oscar Isaac in the 2019 animated version of "The Addams Family," and, most recently, Luis Gúzman in Netflix's "Wednesday."
"Wednesday" is significant because it marks the first time a member of the Addams family other than Gomez has been played by a Latino actor. This time, it's Jenna Ortega portraying the titular Wednesday Addams in the Tim Burton-produced Netflix show, which follows Wednesday at a strange academy for supernatural people as she finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation that threatens the entire town. Though Ortega's Latino background didn't play much into her character in the first season, that will change going into season 2.
Latino goth representation
In the first season of "Wednesday," the character's cultural heritage is more like sprinkles on ice cream — you see them for a minute and they give a pinch of flavor, but quickly disappear in the melting dessert. There is a mention of Día de los Muertos and Luis Gúzman's Gomez says "gracias" at one point, but otherwise, the sole influence on Wednesday's personality and character is the fact that the Addams are different and quirky (and that she apparently has magical powers), not really anything cultural. This is rather disappointing given how much of the plot of the season deals with otherness and with minorities being persecuted and discriminated against. Like many a Disney animated film, "Wednesday" uses "outcasts" with powers as a catch-all term rather than providing any specificity.
In an interview with IndieWire, creators Al Gough and Miles Millar talked about taking advantage of the show's unique position in terms of representation. "It's so rare to find an iconic [Latina] character of this stature," said Millar. "We really try to find ways to [highlight that] authentically." Some of the questions the writers asked themselves is what music Wednesday would listen to growing up and what Gomez would teach her, or how growing up in New Jersey with a Latino parent would impact her. "Certainly this season we're looking for more ways to explore that," Millar added.
As Millar noted, the fact that Jenna Ortega is very popular and able to bring in audiences helps draw attention to the show and the Wednesday character, which gives them a platform to explore a new facet of the Addams daughter that we haven't seen before. Whether they are successful in bringing that cultural authenticity to season 2 or not remains to be seen, but it's good to know they're paying attention.