Wickedness Amongst the Wicked

In 2013, I went to Richmond, Virgina for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History conference. It was my first time going to an academic conference outside of campus, and my first time in Richmond. While there, I wanted to take in the sights of the city and find something fun to do. I was used to solo domestic travel as I’ve not only lived in different cities, but I’ve taken the Amtrak to various cities for the purpose of a concert, The Nutcracker, or a comedy show. I looked into the featured events of Richmond for the week I would be in town for the conference. I decided I would take in a musical I’d heard about many years prior from a former co-worker. That musical was called, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.

Unless you’ve been under a rock and never heard of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, then perhaps you’re not familiar with Wicked as well. Wicked is based on The Wonderful Wizard of Oz two witches who start out as friends, Glinda and Elphaba. It takes the audience into their lives before and after Dorothy’s infamous tornado ride into the Land of Oz. The plot is quickly summarized as, two witches who have two different personalities, two different viewpoints, and the same love interest. It begins with the people of Oz celebrating the death of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, and Glinda flashes back to tell the story of their childhood friendship and up to the present day.

Now, when I went to the musical in Richmond, I remember I enjoyed my audience member participation time. I remember I had an amazing seat. I remember a lot of loud singing. I remember the audience gave it a standing ovation, but I don’t remember a lick of the plot, the stage theatrics, or the production simply because well….it was stale—stale in comparison to my expectations of something along the lines of the Lion King. I had seen the stage musical of the Wizard of Oz as a young girl with Stephanie Mills, so I was looking forward to the advancement of the production, but that was not that case.  This was certainly not the offspring of an Andrew Lloyd Weber musical.  However, my focus was more so on just being happy to be there. I didn’t know what to expect. I only knew the key points of the musical, but I was more wrapped in being out and about in a city I’d never been before.

So, imagine my surprise in late 2024 when Wicked was made into a movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Why? But I can appreciate that the film created a buzz and a circulation of conversations involving social critiques.

Apparently, the film is a phenomenon for adults, although kids enjoyed it as well, but I imagine their take on the film is similar to my take on the theater—in the words of Aretha Franklin, “beautiful gowns.” This is to say, they really don’t know what the hell is going on as far as deeper interpretations and meanings of the film, but they absolutely adore the characters, the dancing, and “Defying Gravity.” The film centers on the question, are people born wicked? Ohhh the number of think pieces from the quasi-scholars ran rampant on social media. The analyses ranged from race relations, interpersonal relationships, privilege, and social norms and values, which is interesting given the sociopolitical commentary at the time was coincidentally paralleled the concerns and issues surrounding the presidential election. This is not to say the election had anything to do with the film script, but it is an indicator that the same issues and concerns we had in 1995 when Gregory McGuire wrote the Wicked book are still relevant and prevalent today. Sadly.

It's also interesting how so many adult themes are embedded in a children’s story, but why should that be any different from Disney. But McGuire didn’t make it for a children’s audience. Hmmmm. So where did we get the idea of marketing this to kids? If these stories reflect our society, then what is the purpose of putting these controversial topics inside an inconspicuous “children’s” story? What are we to learn? Are these conversations we should have and explain to our children? But what better way to get a message across than to put it in plain view like a movie. After all books are banned and not many adults are reading these days. Hell, we barely can get kids to read.  And what better way to make sure a large population of people are going to see and hear the message than to put it in a children’s film. Nothing brings people out on a Friday and Saturday night more than good marketing towards children and nagging by children. 

Perhaps there's something Wicked?