Wednesday Addams Woe-n’t Blink

“Blinking is similar to breathing. When you do it regularly, no one notices. When you stop doing it, it freaks out everyone around you.” – Jack Doyle

Those that have watched the latest, and by far most successful, Addams family spin-off would instantly recognize the play on words included in every episode’s title. Each one guarantees a creative pun involving the word ‘woe’, based on the iconic line “Wednesday’s child is full of woe.” Similarly, the title of this article alludes to the fact that Jenna Ortega, acting as Wednesday, doesn’t blink a single time throughout the entire series, with the exception of its use for emotional emphasis.

According to the actress, she and renowned director Tim Burton had already decided on the use of the Kubrick stare to highlight the inherent discomfort emitted by Wednesday’s character type. This refers to a technique in which actors will tilt their heads slightly downward and glare intently at other characters from ‘beneath the eyebrows’ in order to portray unsettling personalities. Take, for instance, Pennywise from It. Although the Kubrick stare had already been incorporated into Ortega's role, the idea of refusing to blink entirely was an accident. The actress mentioned performing an entire scene without doing so, and after bringing attention to this fact, Burton became fascinated with its disturbing effects. Of course, this doesn’t mean Ortega was completely forbidden from blinking, she simply couldn’t do so when the camera was on her.

Theories have surfaced as to how she accomplished such a feat in the first place, the most prominent being ‘ghost blinking’, something commonly used in staring contests. When ghost blinking, the person supposedly tricks themselves into thinking they have blinked by imagining it. Professionals say that when it is done correctly, it is likely people are simply minimizing the effect of a full-blink. This is done by only partially activating the muscle that controls the blink impulse, causing it to release enough tears to satisfy the required moisture levels of the eyes for a while, until it becomes absolutely necessary to blink.

Aside from not blinking for eight whole episodes, Jenna Ortega managed to learn numerous other skills, including learning to play the cello and choreographing the incredibly iconic dance scene. Where the series may be lacking in some areas, it compensates with impeccable dedication and attention to detail, something which is only exemplified by Wednesday’s impressive refusal to blink.