On Friday 22nd November 2024, Wicked (Part 1) premiered, opening to $164 million globally. Almost a year later, on Friday 21st November, the second part, Wicked: For Good, was released, trumping its predecessor by earning $223 million worldwide at the box office as of the release weekend.
This immense success has thus meant that Wicked has now reached widespread popularity, so that even those who were not familiar with the stage musical have now at least to some extent become aware of the story and its characters. In particular, last year, an interviewer saying that people were âholding spaceâ for the song Defying Gravity when speaking with the filmâs stars – Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande – went viral. Many people online have also been fascinated with the way this duo act in their interviews, and their interactions have attracted significant social media attention as a result. As a result, both parts of the Wicked film have entered the pop culture zeitgeist since becoming more mainstream. The films were based on the 2003 stage musical by Stephen Schwartz, which many have dubbed âfanfictionâ, as the origins are complex – the show itself was based on a 1995 dark fantasy novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire, which in turn was based on the widely popular 1939 film The Wizard of Oz (which was itself based on the 1900 book âThe Wonderful Wizard of Ozâ by L. Frank Baum). This means that the different iterations of the Wicked franchise were all written within different contexts, however have remained politically relevant.
Ultimately, Wicked is a universal story of how authoritarian, extremist government can take root and scapegoat others. The posters used to portray Elphaba as a witch are incredibly reminiscent of Nazi-era propaganda, and indeed many have interpreted Elphaba in the stage show especially as being representative of Jewish struggle, helped by the fact that Jewish actress Idina Menzel originated this role. Additionally, the way the animals are gradually stripped of their rights such as to teach and finally rounded up and put into cages or into labour roles is very reminiscent of the way that Nazi Germany implemented anti-Jewish legislation.
The way that this story of discrimination, propaganda and dehumanisation can (unfortunately) be seen as consistently relevant can be seen through how both parts sparked debate and discussion about what was going on at the time of release. Wicked Part 1âs release was very timely to be viewed through a political lens, as it came out less than three weeks after Donald Trump was elected as US president for the second time. Many pointed out the parallels between the way that the animals in Wicked as well as Elphaba herself were demonised systematically, with Trumpâs rhetoric about immigrants. There was particular discussion online about how many people assume themselves to be Elphaba, fighting for minorities, but are in reality closer to Glinda who do not fight against a flawed system and are therefore arguably complicit.
In the year that has passed between part one and two, the Trump administration has been publicly increasing their deployment of ICE agents, and many noted the way that the second part seemingly echoed this situation. This is particularly seen in the scene where Boq tries to leave Munchkinland to go to the Emerald City, as he is told that Munchkins now need a special permit to travel. Boq is visibly upset and angry by this decree as well as how he witnesses Munchkins being treated violently by guards, which creates a chilling reflection of real-world events. This scene was added into the film, and although the filmâs creators have not explained why they added it in, many found the parallel difficult to ignore. Ironically when considering how these films explore the harm of discrimination, the official White House account recently posted a TikTok captioned âwhen that deportation feeling hitsâ to the audio of Elphabaâs riff in âDefying Gravityâ, a song she sings to express her desire for freedom from an oppressive government.
The way that Elphaba stands up and fights for the animals consistently throughout both films highlights the importance of allyship between different marginalised groups in society. Indeed, many have pointed to Elphabaâs original portrayal by a Jewish actress and the role now being adopted by black actress Cynthia Erivo as extremely relevant, as the story is not simply about literally being green, but acts as a metaphor for those who feel âotheredâ within society. By making this âdifferenceâ a fantastical one – green skin, it does not claim to speak about any one group and therefore can offer a more general comment on societal prejudices and indeed whether BAME, Jewish, trans, queer, many minorities relate to Elphaba, and her feeling of ostracisation from those around her.
Elphaba is not the only one who is seen as different in Oz, as they also explore a real-world prejudice held against disabled individuals. Elphabaâs sister, Nessa Rose, is disabled from birth and in a wheelchair, leading to others to treat her differently and thus she is also sidelined. In the musical, Elphaba casts a spell that âhealsâ her by making her walk. However, Wicked director Jon M. Chu expressed his determination to deal with this plot point differently, with the storyline in Wicked: For Good instead being that Elphaba uses her magic to make her sister levitate for a few minutes. By doing so, it avoids the message that disability can be âfixedâ, showing that despite Wicked being somewhat of a universal story, there is a need to adapt elements to a society that has progressed beyond harmful narratives about disability.
Overall, both the original musical but especially Jon M. Chuâs directing of the films illustrate how Wicked is not just a fantastical piece about singing witches, but a critique of oppressive, discriminatory regimes, as well as a celebration of difference.