In anticipation of the duology’s finale, the cast of Wicked: For Good partook in “Wicked: One Wonderful Night,” a musical special produced by NBC.
During the special, actress Marissa Bode, who portrays Nessa Rose in the films, introduced “Defying Gravity” by including the context that the song is an anthem for Elphaba, the film’s protagonist, to stand up to a “power-hungry dictator.”
According to Billboard, the comment garnered a standing ovation during the live taping. However, when the special premiered on NBC and Peacock, Bode’s mention of a dictator was removed.
Bode’s remark was in complete alignment with a key theme of the movie—power and corruption—considering that the Wizard of Oz is a dictator in Wicked. Of course, in the wake of “No Kings” protests attended by seven million Americans across the country, the comment carries a heavier weight.
Dictators often choose a group to “other.” In Oz, it’s the animals.
In the song “Something Bad” from the movie adaptation, a professor at the fictitious Shiz University relays the challenges facing animals who function as humans in the fictional society. The song begins: “We animals are now being blamed for everything that goes wrong. Forced from our jobs, told to keep silent,” and goes on to share that animals have begun to leave Oz as a result.
More than just being told to remain silent, the animals are losing their ability to speak. Doctor Dillamond, the professor, tries to warn Elphaba about the gravity of these events, and she suggests going to the Wizard because “that’s why we have a wizard.”
Doctor Dillamond skeptically meets Elphaba’s optimism, and the song ends with Elphaba reassuring herself that “It couldn’t happen here in Oz.”
Of course, the greater context here is that the Wizard is behind the vilification and dehumanization of the animals. It is later revealed that the animals were captured and caged by the wizard and did not leave on their own volition.
These events have a striking resemblance to recent events in America, and censoring the word “dictator” and the audience’s response is alarming and hauntingly ironic.
Under an administration where journalists are pushed from the White House and television hosts can be suspended for criticizing public figures, it is not a jump to say that there is an increase in governmental censorship.
Unsurprisingly, censorship and dictatorships are closely linked, as dictators abuse the media to control their narratives and limit freedom of expression, specifically criticism.
Just as the animals lose their ability to speak in Oz, the American media has arrived at a place of restriction under the power of our government.
While the natural response to these frightening events may resemble Elphaba’s previously naïve “it couldn’t happen here,” Wicked serves as a timely reminder that we truly do not know what’s going on behind the curtain… or do we?