https://www.thedailybeast.com/stran...sured-child-actress-into-an-unscripted-kiss-2
https://youtu.be/RUk4Vje_mCQ
This season of Stranger Things culminates at a Hawkins Middle School “Snow Ball” dance. The wintery wonderland apparently proved a rich source of inspiration for the Duffer brothers, who decided to add a last-minute, unscripted kiss between Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and new addition Max (Sadie Sink). While a relatively chaste kiss might seem like fair game for two professional child actors, the circumstances surrounding the scene, which were openly discussed in an episode of Netflix’s Beyond Stranger Things after-show, has raised red flags on social media.
In the relevant clip from Beyond Stranger Things—itself a gimmick that’s only accelerated Stranger Things’ inevitable overexposure—the 15-year-old Sink sits down with her fellow middle school dance attendees and Duffers one and two. Ross Duffer opens a discussion of the kiss by telling a visibly worked-up Sink that the scene was “all [her] own fault.” Sadie points out that “the kiss was not written in the script.” She recalls, “I get there, the first day of Snowball… one of you, I think it was you Ross, you say, ‘Ooh, Sadie, you ready for the kiss?’ I’m like, ‘What! No! That’s not in the script… that’s not happening.’” She continues, “So the whole day I was like stressed out, I was like oh my god, wait, am I gonna have to… and it didn’t happen that day, but then the second day of Snow Ball.” At this point, Duffer explains, “You reacted so strongly to this—I was just joking—and you were so freaked out that I was like well, I gotta make her do it now… that’s why I’m saying it’s your fault.” And no wonder Sink was so “stressed out”; as she goes on to describe, the kiss was filmed in front of a full room of extras, plus “their parents, and the crew, and my mom.”
The entire conversation, in which Sink repeatedly recalls feeling caught off-guard while the Duffers giggle, strikes an odd tone, particularly in light of ongoing conversations in Hollywood regarding the exploitation of underage actors and issues of consent. The Duffers’ response to Sink’s initial pushback against the kiss—to insist upon the unscripted scene and then mine it for laughs during their after-show—feels deeply insensitive, grown men essentially bragging about their decision to ignore a 15-year-old girl’s justified discomfort. As Teen Vogue noted, “Many are now taking to social media to discuss this decision and question why the director didn’t comfort the actress, leave the kiss unscripted, or work with Sadie to capture the scene in a way that was comfortable and worry-free for her.”
https://youtu.be/RUk4Vje_mCQ
This season of Stranger Things culminates at a Hawkins Middle School “Snow Ball” dance. The wintery wonderland apparently proved a rich source of inspiration for the Duffer brothers, who decided to add a last-minute, unscripted kiss between Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin) and new addition Max (Sadie Sink). While a relatively chaste kiss might seem like fair game for two professional child actors, the circumstances surrounding the scene, which were openly discussed in an episode of Netflix’s Beyond Stranger Things after-show, has raised red flags on social media.
In the relevant clip from Beyond Stranger Things—itself a gimmick that’s only accelerated Stranger Things’ inevitable overexposure—the 15-year-old Sink sits down with her fellow middle school dance attendees and Duffers one and two. Ross Duffer opens a discussion of the kiss by telling a visibly worked-up Sink that the scene was “all [her] own fault.” Sadie points out that “the kiss was not written in the script.” She recalls, “I get there, the first day of Snowball… one of you, I think it was you Ross, you say, ‘Ooh, Sadie, you ready for the kiss?’ I’m like, ‘What! No! That’s not in the script… that’s not happening.’” She continues, “So the whole day I was like stressed out, I was like oh my god, wait, am I gonna have to… and it didn’t happen that day, but then the second day of Snow Ball.” At this point, Duffer explains, “You reacted so strongly to this—I was just joking—and you were so freaked out that I was like well, I gotta make her do it now… that’s why I’m saying it’s your fault.” And no wonder Sink was so “stressed out”; as she goes on to describe, the kiss was filmed in front of a full room of extras, plus “their parents, and the crew, and my mom.”
The entire conversation, in which Sink repeatedly recalls feeling caught off-guard while the Duffers giggle, strikes an odd tone, particularly in light of ongoing conversations in Hollywood regarding the exploitation of underage actors and issues of consent. The Duffers’ response to Sink’s initial pushback against the kiss—to insist upon the unscripted scene and then mine it for laughs during their after-show—feels deeply insensitive, grown men essentially bragging about their decision to ignore a 15-year-old girl’s justified discomfort. As Teen Vogue noted, “Many are now taking to social media to discuss this decision and question why the director didn’t comfort the actress, leave the kiss unscripted, or work with Sadie to capture the scene in a way that was comfortable and worry-free for her.”
