To listen to this post on Youtube, click here
It’s been four years since I saw a movie in the theater, and “Wicked” was the one that finally got me out of my living room. I waited YEARS for this musical to hit the silver screen and I didn’t want to wait any longer to see the adaptation. I’m a true fan of the story. I read the book and saw the musical on Broadway, and my Tiktok algorithms are currently 99% Wicked press interviews, behind the scenes footage, and other fans posing at screenings. But I will say that although it came out ten years after its entry on IMDb, I think the timing is perfect. I was scrolling the other day and came across someone’s rant that said something along the lines of “The movie got the story wrong. Elphaba is too nice and normal. I don’t buy her turning into the Wicked Witch of the West. They ruined the classic story of “The Wizard of Oz”. As you might have guessed if you know anything about Wicked (or Gregory MacGuire’s other stories), people were quick to comment with “You just don’t get it dude. Wicked asks the question “what if there is another side to the story?”.
History is taught from the perspectives of those who won the wars- in other words, those with the bigger weapons. We grow up learning that we are on the good side, fighting our evil enemies, and those of us who grew up in the twentieth century have seen dozens of Disney movies that reinforce the idea of heroes vs villains, where the goal is for the hero to take down the baddies.
Nowadays, in the age of social media, we are divided more than ever. We see good vs evil everywhere, including in misinformed members of our own families, even if they are only guilty of consuming different media, and buying into it.
“Wicked” isn’t about good vs evil. It’s about perceived evil vs perceived good. It’s a story that forces you to ask yourself what you would do in a situation where fighting evil makes you seem like the baddie. It’s a lot closer to real life problems, where issues aren’t usually black or white.
But not everyone is comfortable with this kind of story. I often see posts complaining about stories being “too political”. This always makes me think of one of my college professors who taught us that all art is political. If a story doesn’t seem to be a political commentary, it is, in fact, saying that everything is fine, and reinforcing the status quo.
Many people also want catharsis in their stories. If there is a clear villain and a clear winner of the battle, we get some nice closure that we don’t get in real life. We definitely don’t get much of this from part one of “Wicked” (or even in the entire musical). However, what we do get in this particular production is fantastic choreography, fabulous stunts, sets, and costumes, and “wickedly talented” performers. I think that most of the people who would otherwise complain about the story being “too political” are likely still coming away thinking, wow, that movie was great! Just like telling fairy tales to kids is a way to teach morals in an entertaining way, the lessons in the movie “Wicked” are extremely relevant to our current climate and will reach a huge audience of people, including those who have a hard time watching films that makes them think. This is what good art does.
We, as a society, need more empathy, and I think “Wicked”’s morally gray characters delivered through a stunning cinematic experience help us to learn this.
Thanks for reading!
Rebecca H. Lee
Visit my website at becksvoice.com!
Follow me on social media!
https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-h-lee-audiobook-narrator/
https://bsky.app/profile/beckcentric.bsky.social
https://www.youtube.com/@RebeccaHLee
https://www.instagram.com/beckcentric
https://www.facebook.com/beckcentric
https://www.tiktok.com/@beckcentric
