Wednesday Addams’ Thanksgiving speech goes viral 29 years later
Wednesday Addams’ iconic Thanksgiving speech is going viral once again, almost three decades after the 1996 movie premieres.
One of the most talked-about series of the past week has been Netflix’s Wednesday series, which focuses on the upbringing of the daughter of woe herself at Nevermore Academy, having made its global premiere on November 23.
Yesterday, November 24, also marked the 2022 Thanksgiving celebrations in the United States.
Thankfully, these two go hand-in-hand as fans around the world remember Wednesday Addams’ iconic Thanksgiving speech from the 1996 movie, but what did Wednesday actually say in the lecture?
What was Wednesday Addams’ Thanksgiving speech?
The now-infamous Wednesday Addams Thanksgiving speech occurred during the Addams Family Values movie from 1996.
During a re-enactment in front of parents and classmates, Wednesday Addams decides to go off-script and deliver one of the most iconic Pilgrim-Native speeches in TV history.
“We cannot break bread with you. You have taken the land which is rightfully ours. Years from now, my people will be forced to live in mobile homes on reservations. Your people will wear cardigans and drink highballs.
We will sell our bracelets by the roadsides. You will play golf and enjoy hot hors d’oeuvres. My people will have pain and degradation. Your people will have stick shifts.” – Wednesday Addams, via YouTube.
The speech ends with, “The gods of my tribe have spoken, they have said do not trust the Pilgrims, especially Sarah Miller.”
Interestingly, the 2022 Netflix series had a similar on-the-nose Thanksgiving speech when Wednesday attempts to sell fudge to a group of German tourists.
“Enjoy your ‘authentic’ pilgrim fudge made with cacao beans procured by the oppressed indigenous people of the Amazon. All proceeds go to uphold this pathetic whitewashing of American history…Also, fudge wasn’t invented for another 258 years.” – Wednesday Addams, via Netflix Twitter.
- SPOILERS: Does Thing Die in Netflix’s Wednesday?
Fans react to poignancy of speech almost three decades later
As soon as the Thanksgiving festivities began popping up, fans around the world began to re-share their thoughts on the original Wednesday Addams speech.
One user wrote, “On this thanksgiving i am thankful for wednesday addams’ personal vendetta against pilgrims.”
Another added, “It’s not really Thanksgiving until Wednesday Addams sets fire to Camp Chippewa.”
“The way Wednesday addams dragged the Thanksgiving holiday will always be relevant,” posted one fan.
The Wednesday Twitter page even got in on the joke themselves, writing “In the Addams house, we don’t believe in Thanksgiving traditions. We do, however, believe in sharp knives, carving things and painful conversations around the dinner table.”
As noted by Distractify, “This speech is not only an example of Wednesday standing up for others, but an extremely apt social commentary that’s still relevant today, almost 30 years after the film’s release.
“Thanksgiving was taught to us as a holiday of peace and collaboration, but when in history, it included lots of slaughter and racism, the latter of which we are still battling today.” – Distractify.
By Tom Llewellyn – [email protected]
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Tom Llewellyn
@https://twitter.com/Tom__Llewellyn
Tom Llewellyn is the Head of World Content, Anime, and Comics at HITC Entertainment and also helps oversee all things deemed ‘nerd culture’ at Forever Geek. After gaining a BSc degree in Animal Behaviour, Tom continued his education with a Master’s degree in Science Communication (MSc) and post-graduate research; with his own independent project being published in the Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens in 2021. Since joining GRV Media in early 2020, Tom has amassed over 48 million views on his content and has conducted interviews with various actors and filmmakers from the wonderful world of anime.
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