As many of our Community Elder’s remind us younger folk day in and day out. We don’t exist in a vacuum, Neither does art. A couple of nights ago I sat down with my mother to watch Wicked Part 1. This Movie has had a grip on me since it came out and this watch through I started to reflect on why it was so powerful to me. Like many In my generation I think we are rightfully angry for the state of the world that we have been given. I also think however that a lot of the people in my Generation do not completely understand the whole human picture behind why we are where we are.
It is interesting to me to look at this and how it is expressed through wickedness, like many art mediums that change interpretation with the time they are produced in. One of the things that I have always loved about theater is the temporality of it. To me it is one of the few mediums in which you can only truly experience it once; no two shows are alike, let alone two different productions of the same play. This forces us as the audience to hold on and be in a moment that is not only enjoyable, but forces us to look at ourselves and each other from a detached position. Seeing ourselves and people we know in the Characters portrayed.
The Movie Wicked Part 1 and presumably Part 2 when it comes out aims to recreate this in a medium that takes the temporality of the moment and freezes it essentially allowing as many people to be a part of this single moment whenever and wherever they are. Most movies and film in while my generation grew up leaned into this aspect but did not quite get it, leaning further into CGI and other methods to produce cool aspects that showed human talent in ways that were behind the screens and made the stories told less personal and real because there literally were no stakes for the actors acting in it.
Not stating that we should actively put actors in danger to produce compelling media, but to allow the feeling that something could go wrong allows a story to have that much more punch. I believe that the Production team for Wicked Part 1 at all levels recognized the need for this in a world where theatrical experience is becoming more and more expensive to participate in. Using what was arguably a failing medium of Movie watching to accomplish a theater like environment but for everyone put the real reason theatre is so special back in the hands of the communities at large.
I have watched many interviews and the like about the film and I truly believe that all of the actors on this production of wicked got that and tried their hardest to make this a true community gathering event. Wicked part 1 broke boundaries in representation and just proved what your “average theater kid” can do with the right training and dedication. I especially look at the relationship between Elphaba and Galinda reaching their individual and communal full potential because the two actresses that played them got this. It is also through this work of artistry between the two of them one is able to see and dissect how we as people in power or people who are marginalized react to a broken system.
After my first watch through of the Movie I was reminded of something I said in College after watching The Woodman. For those who do not know the woodman is an alternative story for the origin of the tin man from The Wizard of Oz that is mainly performance art with minimal dialogue. I said that OZ is the Fairytale world for the US and because it holds that it has the capability to tell stories unique to the American experience that no other fantastical world can.
In this world Silver slippers lead one down a road of gold to the promised land, people can turn green and be discriminated against just like talking animals who are being scapegoated (pun heavily not intended here) for a country's problems. These things directly relate to experience in the US, especially today.. Immigrants are being saddled with the reason why the country is falling apart. According to some, people are still being judged by the color of their skin even in minute ways, yet conversely this is supposed to be the promised land for those very people escaping hardship. This is the backdrop we find ourselves in when we look at the characters of Elphaba and Galinda and it is this that they are reacting to in albeit very different ways.
After the First number the viewer is thrusted into the past of the OZ we all know and love from Dorthy’s time. We are put into the shoes of what is presumably an upper class school, Shiz, that is attended by an upper class group of students (Do not forget that Elphaba is the daughter of the Mayor of Munchkin land giving her a level of prestige over that of average munchkin). We see this through Bok when he later meets the Mayor and greets him with a level of formality.
It is clear from the Beginning that even if many of these students are upper or upper middle class Galinda is in fact much more affluent than the rest of them. Given by how she introduces herself, how everyone seems to know her, and by the fact that she was able to get a private room (or so she thinks). While Elphaba is in a relative state of power that is immediately taken away on the basis of the color of her skin. Cynthia plays her introduction perfectly showing that despite the gawking and pitying (even from Galinda) she still tries to stay true to herself. She even makes self-deprecating jokes reflecting how in US society as a whole whether we like to admit it or not the system often allows and even in some cases forces people of color to apologize just for their appearance and genetics.
Through many of the Ozians we see how Elphaba’s life could have been through her sister Nessa Rose who is in a wheelchair. Many people throughout the movie refer to her as “Tragically Beautiful” Implying a sense of sympathy for her no matter how unwarranted that may be. Elphaba makes a joke about this calling herself “Beautifully Tragic” implying that she sees herself as worthy of the non sympathy she receives.
When you Hear both Arianna and Cynthia talk about their characters they often talk about how important it was for them to convey that the characters see something in each other. Galinda who has been conditioned one way or another to appear to other people a certain way sees Elphaba’s bravery and strength in withstanding the ridicule she does get. This is even explicitly said during the Ozdust when she is talking with Fiyero.
Elphaba on the other hand sees in Galinda the weight that a performance like this can put on a person. Mainly because she herself has to do it even if people around her don’t respond in kind. it , like many people of color, reflects the way we have to cover up parts of ourselves or else drown in the negativity that Society puts on us. Galinda needs to be seen this way because her conditioning is so ingrained that it is no longer a choice for her to pretend, while Elphaba needs to be seen for the choice she is forced to make actively every day without any proof that it is even helping anything.
Like the White world in the US the system is so beneficial and ingrained into people who appear as white little things do not seem like a big deal or a deal at all. Many people might say harmful things and simply not know. It is because of this there is an importance to hearing from people with other perspectives so one can identify those things that aren’t normal. Most of the time Galinda is horribly selfish but the image she is trying to create is that of her being good. Her being good provides her a safety bubble (haha get it) in the same way that acting in a certain way (often out of fear) one gains privileges in a white centered social system.
Elphaba on the other hand because of her skin is put on the disadvantaged end of this system, like many people of color. This means she has to do so much more even at the expense of herself to even get a piece of what Galinda has. Cynthia drills this home by sharing through her own lived experience widening the gap by just being her. As a black woman the skin color allegory is clear as day and opposed to previous renditions of this musical calls attention to this in ways that only those of similar lived experience can connect to and opens dialogue for those lived experiences.
Ultimately at the end of the movie Elphaba discovers that the status quo needs to be changed, and so does Galinda, The tragedy of this is that Galinda can’t see a way out because she is too scared to leave her apparent safety while Elphaba is already on the outside and sees the way much clearer. They both understand each other and respect each other even saying so in defying gravity. They do this with love not malice, realizing that they each need to go on their own journeys, hoping that they are on the right one and the other is not hurt in the process.
I think my generation can learn a lot from these two characters. It is important for us to point out things the other can’t see. But it is also important to know and let them do the work they need to do on themselves to get there. One can do this with love and be there for the other, even if that means that they themselves have to leave for a bit. It shows that white people are just as hurt by this system and need to be treated like one would treat a wounded friend. We are all cultivating the next world together and only through understanding and helping one another can that truly heal the divides we are experiencing now
Jacob Munday
Comments