As easy as it might be to overlook Wicked as catnip for theater kids and Ariana Grande fans, to see nothing more than the songs and fancy…don’t do that. Within, there’s a lightning bolt of a political statement that’s relevant today, tomorrow, and for many years to come. Let me explain.
Wicked explained
The deeper themes and symbolism
Us vs. Them: Elphaba and the Animals
In theme-driven movies, the opening scenes usually act as a microcosm for the larger metaphor. This can be as simple as a visual that symbolizes what’s to come (like Elisabeth’s star in The Substance) or an extended sequence the establishes a multitude of dynamics (like how The Godfather establishes ideas of America, capitalism, tradition, innocence, and the dirty work that makes the world go round).
Wicked does this well. The first scene shows the people of Munchkinland dance with joy at news that the Wicked Witch is dead. That immediately conveys an “us vs them” dynamic. The second scene is the flashback to Elphaba’s conception, birth, and rejection by her father, a Governor of Munchkinland. Right there, the film illustrates a pattern, a motif. Humans don’t like Elphaba.
Then Wicked immediately adds another layer: Dulcibear, one of the many Animal members on Governor Thropp’s staff, takes responsibility for Elphaba’s care. That detail formally connects Elphaba to the Animals. A concept that’s reinforced once she’s at Shiz and grows close to Dr. Dillamond, the Goat professor of history.
During the demonstration where the lion cub is in the cage, the doofus with the mutton chops says, “Now, one benefit of caging an animal this young is that in all likelihood, he’ll never learn to speak.” The subplot about society’s treatment of Animals becomes another microcosm for Elphaba herself. It’s a second instance of “us vs them”. Elphaba had, in many ways, spent her life in a cage. A second-class daughter who was in service to her own sister.
Elphaba responds: Can you imagine a world where animals are kept in cages and they never learn to speak?
Elphaba was the cub. There’s a world where she spends her entire life under the thumb of her father, muted, limited, disconnected from her potential and her power. Except Shiz unlocked her cage. And her time there has seen her gain in confidence and capacity (in all things). She grows more forceful by the day. Which the film demonstrates in two ways: her popularity and magical ability.
The Defiance of Gravity
Ultimately, all these threads intertwine in Emerald City. At first arrival, Elphaba dreams of moving there and being part of society. Her and Glinda both. But once she meets Oz, she discovers the price of it all—the Animals. She would be integral to the Wizard’s plot to subjugate the Animals. We know that the Animals are a simile for Elphaba. And Elphaba is a symbol of everyone society would reject for looking different. If you cage the Animals, they lose their magic. Imagine if Elphaba never went to Shiz, if she was still at home, abused by her father, sad at heart, small in spirit.
That’s what Oz and Morrible want Elphaba to agree to—a new cage. Bigger, prettier, but a prison nonetheless. That’s why Elphaba says to Glinda, near the end, “I hope you’re proud how you would grovel in submission to feed your own ambition.” By refusing to submit, Elphaba becomes an enemy of society. Evil. Wicked. A witch. But by refusing to submit, she also, finally, unlocks her full potential. Which leads to the song “Defying Gravity”.
- Something has changed within me
- Something is not the same
- I’m through with playing
- By the rules of someone else’s game
- Too late for second-guessing
- Too late to go back to sleep
- It’s time to trust my instincts
- Close my eyes and leap
- It’s time to try defying gravity
- I think I’ll try defying gravity
- And you can’t pull me down
- I’m through accepting limits
- ‘Cause someone says they’re so
- Some things I cannot change
- But ‘til I try, I’ll never know
- Too long, I’ve been afraid of
- Losing love, I guess I’ve lost
- Well, if that’s love
- It comes at much too high a cost
- I’d sooner buy defying gravity
- Kiss me goodbye, I’m defying gravity
- And you can’t pull me down
- Come with me
- Think of what we could do together
- Unlimited
- Together, we’re unlimited
- Together, we’ll be the greatest team there’s ever been, Glinda
- Dreams the way we planned ‘em
Later in the song
- So if you care to find me
- Look to the Western sky
- As someone told me lately
- “Everyone deserves the chance to fly”
- And if I’m flying solo
- At least, I’m flying free
- To those who’d ground me
- Take a message back from me
- Tell them how I’m defying gravity
- I’m flying high, defying gravity
- And soon, I’ll match them in renown
There are forces of gravity all around us. It’s the nature of our world. Those can be very personal, like a cruel parent. Societal, like Elphaba’s peers throughout her life. Or governmental, as we see with the “Wizard” and Morrible.
Elphaba’s story transforms into a rallying cry to defy anyone who demands you minimize yourself for their approval. Reject staying grounded, limited, and passive. Yes, it’s scary to be one person against the world, but isn’t the alternative even scarier?
Characters and their symbolism
That’s the tragedy of Glinda not standing with Elphaba. Glinda’s someone who benefits from the current system. Who has been more than okay living a comfortable, diminished life. That’s why she has no capacity for sorcery. No magic. Because she is, ultimately, a follower. She’s scared of what’s different. Of what’s unknown. Of loss. And that’s why she lets Elphaba go rather than joining forces (though I’m sure things change in part 2?).
This also explains Fiyero’s role in the story. He’s someone who pretends to be like Glinda, care-free and indulgent, prioritizing the frivolous over the meaningful. Except, as Elphaba notes, Fiyero only pretends to be that way. He’s more aware than he seems, more rebellious than he lets on. Which is why he doesn’t hesitate to steal the lion cub and take it to safety. That also shows why he’s torn between Glinda and Elphaba. Glinda is who he has pretended to be. While Elphaba is who he wants to be.
Really, Wicked is a movie about revolution. It rejects fascism and subjugators. It wants to inspire the masses to see through powerful figures who would delude them, to become aware of their own misguided views on the world, like who are the heroes and who are the villains, and to cherish and uplift individuality rather than fear, loathe, and destroy anything and anyone who is different only because they’re different.
Wicked’s political message
What’s the famous line? “History is written by the victors.” There’s a reason why Dr. Dillamond was a professor of history and not science, math, or literature. It’s because history, when told honestly, holds the truth. That’s why every dictator finds a way to seize the news. They reshape the immediate narrative and start to warp the reality of the present. After the news, it’s the schools. That’s how they control the future. And, once they have the schools, they can rewrite the past. Then teach it.
And that’s how a land like Oz goes from a thriving democracy to a monarchy based on fairy tales, where a hollow man is glorified for a power he doesn’t possess.
I do really like the idea that the original Wizard of Oz movie is limited in its perspective because the protagonist is a child. Dorothy sees the world as simple and straightforward—so viewers do, too. As a kid, that story makes sense. But the real world isn’t so simple. Which is what made the original Broadway version of Wicked more than a simple reimagining of a classic tale. It’s similar to William Blake’s poems from Songs of Innocence and Experience. The two famous of which are “The Lamb” and “The Tiger”
THE LAMB
Little lamb, who made thee?
Does thou know who made thee,
Gave thee life, and bid thee feed
By the stream and o’er the mead;
Gave thee clothing of delight,
Softest clothing, woolly, bright;
Gave thee such a tender voice,
Making all the vales rejoice?
Little lamb, who made thee?
Does thou know who made thee?
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee;
Little lamb, I’ll tell thee:
He is callèd by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild,
He became a little child.
I a child, and thou a lamb,
We are callèd by His name.
Little lamb, God bless thee!
Little lamb, God bless thee!
THE TIGER
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?
In what distant deeps or skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
On what wings dare he aspire?
What the hand dare seize the fire?
And what shoulder and what art
Could twist the sinews of thy heart?
And, when thy heart began to beat,
What dread hand and what dread feet?
What the hammer? what the chain?
In what furnace was thy brain?
What the anvil? what dread grasp
Dare its deadly terrors clasp?
When the stars threw down their spears,
And watered heaven with their tears,
Did He smile His work to see?
Did He who made the lamb make thee?
Tiger, tiger, burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?
From the innocent perspective, the speaker sees the lamb (and themself) as a reflection of the tenderness and kindness of God. “I a child, and thou a lamb, we are called by His name.” The child loves God for creating such wonderful things. But from the experienced perspective, the speaker asks “Did He who made the lamb make thee?” Which gets at the seeming contradiction that a God who loves us and gives us so much beauty would also allow for death, war, hatred, and so many other wrongs in the world. How can the same hand make both lamb and tiger? Peace and war? Love and hate? Miracles and calamities?
Wicked isn’t so grim. But it contains a similar reminder—the world isn’t simple. And its worth examining our prejudices, our biases, and the labels we place on others. You may be surprised by what you find.
Cast
- Elphaba Thropp – Cynthia Erivo
- Nessarose – Marissa Bode
- Galinda Upland – Ariana Grande-Butera
- Fiyero Tigelaar – Jonathan Bailey
- Madame Morrible – Michelle Yeoh
- The Wonderful Wizard of Oz – Jeff Goldblum
- Dr. Dillamond – Peter Dinklage
- Boq Woodsman – Ethan Slater
- Pfannee – Bowen Yang
- Shenshen – Brownwyn James
- Governor Thropp – Andy Nyman
- Melena – Courtney-Mae Briggs
- Miss Coddle – Keala Settle
- Dulcibear – Sharon D. Clarke
- Emerald City Player 1 – Kristin Chenoweth
- Emerald City Player 2 – Idina Menzel
- Based on – the play Wicked by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman
- Written by – Winnie Holzman | Dana Fox
- Directed by – Jon M. Chu
