Wednesday 23 September 2015

Wednesday Wednesday Wednesday





Sundog Rising!
Reflections on living the life literary by the Urban Sundog





Wednesday Got Moves!





It only seems natural that as I always post these blogs on Wednesday that I would eventually get around to writing a piece on that wonderful example of style and innocence that I would love to have as a role model for my own daughter if I ever had one.



Wednesday Addams.


Wednesday has been portrayed by many actors, many ways, in many formats in popular media, but I always return to three main depictions as my favourites. The original Charles Addams cartoons — Wednesday’s a product of Chas’s mind, after all! — Christina Ricci in the 2 Addams Family movies from the early 90s, and, of course, the immortal Lisa Loring in the original black and white Addams Family television show from the sixties.





When the show originally ran I was actually the same age as Wednesday, and I admit to having a bit of a crush on her. Why couldn’t the girls in my school be more like her? Life would have made so much more sense … Now that I’m old enough to be her grandfather, my feelings are of course, more paternal. Or even avuncular. After all, Wednesday always had such a special relationship with her uncles.

“Hello, Uncle Fester. You still alive?” (TV show — 1965)





Let’s take a look at how Wednesday’s creator thought of her. In the words of the immortal Charles Addams, Wednesday is the “Child of woe … wan and delicate … sensitive and on the quiet side, she loves the picnics and outings to the underground caverns … a solemn child, prim in dress and, on the whole, pretty lost … secretive and imaginative, poetic, seems underprivileged and given to occasional tantrums … has six toes on one foot”.





Ah, yes. Recall the heartwarming Chas Addams cartoon from July 21st, 1945, set in Wednesday’s bedroom. Morticia is leaning in the doorway as only Morticia can lean, looking on approvingly as father Gomez performs the age-old rhyming ritual with sweet daughter Wednesday on her bed: “This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home, This little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none, This little piggy went wee wee wee all the way home, And this little piggy …





Wednesday always had that sibling rivalry thing going with her brother Pugsley as well. In the Christina Ricci movies, Wednesday is much more the aggressor, of which I approve. In the Charles Addams’s originals, she was much more the oppressed, and occasionally needed a stern word from her mother to prompt her to stand up for herself.

Morticia: Well, don’t come whining to me. Go tell him you’ll poison him right back.





Charles describes Wednesday as “secretive and imaginative”, qualities which of course are both highly appealing. But what I admire most in Wednesday is her innate introspective quiet. Such a well mannered obedient child, when not suffering one of her tantrums concerning feeling lost.





It is probably Wednesday’s creative side that I love best, however. Addams described Wednesday as “poetic”, but it took Lisa Loring to bring that facet of her character to life on television in 1966.


I have a gloomy little spider;
I love to sit down close beside her.
She never knows where she has been
'cause all she does is spin and spin.
My spider's quite a busy roamer,
which is why I called her Homer.
She loves to work and spin all day,
and then at night she likes to play.
Her web is like my mother's hair;
her eyes have got my father's stare.
She may not jump or twist or bend
but a spider's a girl's best friend.


Wednesday may be one of the great outsiders in life, but she knows where her heart lies, and is ever loyal to those who love her best in return. Such as the Addams’s butler, Lurch. Wednesday is always open to looking out for Lurch’s best interests.

Wednesday: (finds Lurch hiding) Just because we want you to go to The Butlers' Ball? It'll be fun.
Lurch: I like being miserable.
Wednesday: You might find a nice girl to be miserable with.
(TV show — 1964: “Lurch Learns to Dance”)

Ever the true artiste in the family, Wednesday does take it upon herself to teach the forlorn Frankenstein’s Monster-like Lurch how to dance.





As it turns out, Lurch is no slouch at the old not-so-soft-shoe. But watch carefully. Because on top of all her other seemingly endless charming qualities, Wednesday Addams got moves. (She’d probably come up with some way to remove the commercial on this video beforehand too. Or replace Mr. Clean with Uncle Fester. Endure. The wait’s worth it.)




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KZYiB7a3YU


Ah, yes. And one can only imagine what Wednesday might have been like when she finally hit adolescence …







*****





Photography by Renee Beaubien, at Beyond the Prism
on Flickr, at:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/128997372@N08/




*****

REALITY FICTION AND BEYOND!

The Big Mosquito continues, getting thoroughly back on the wagon after my holiday break with 3 postings this week. Numbers 13, 14 and 15 of 49 go up Monday September 21st, Wednesday September 23rd, and Friday, September 25th. Back to 2 a week through to the end next week. As always, at:

http://realficone.blogspot.ca/

Events in the dream lab take a surprisingly bloodless turn, Edward MacNiece tries to save the Kent Wesley mega-production, and Jason goes totally King Lear for Conrad Moberly.

Featuring:

23.   crisis in the dream machine
24.   miss bunnybloom and the police inspector
25.   who loves ya?



Sink Decomposition Series
by Fandango Moberly
#16 of 50

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