I know that I have just witnessed something too amazing to even describe when I find myself filling with so much emotion that tears suddenly drop from my eyes. So it was when I viewed the movie version of the musical Wicked. I had seen a live performance years before and the story and music had remained among my favorites. I was quite excited when I learned that it had been remastered into a film.
On the week of Thanksgiving I joined my daughters and some of my grandchildren at the local cinema for an evening viewing. A few of us wore pink or green or even both colors as a kind of fun tribute to the characters Glinda and Elphaba. We grabbed our popcorn and sodas and settled into our reserved lounger seats anxious to get through the trivia, advertisements and previews that seemed to last even longer than usual. The mechanism on my seat was not working so I had to sit upright just as I always had went I went to movies in the past. In spite of the little annoyances here and there I was excited and happy when the first scenes appeared on the screen. I knew instantly that I was in for something quite special.
Wicked, the movie, has everything that I enjoy, beautiful music, enchanting cinematography, a clever story and incredible performances from every actor, most particularly Cynthia Evie as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. I was mesmerized from start to finish and felt that I was watching a film that will certainly become an instant epic classic to delight audiences for as long as The Wizard of Oz has done. It somehow seemed to be the inevitable epilogue to that favorite from the nineteen forties that launched the career of Judy Garland. Surely we had all wondered what forces had created the Wicked Witch of the West with her flying monkeys. Had she always been so evil?
As a political junkie and observant educator I am a fan of history. I have found that most of us are influenced and shaped by a lifetime of events beginning with birth and how we are treated in life. The stories of Elphaba and Glinda are as old as the beginning of time when circumstances beyond anyone’s control metes out punishments and rewards based on little more than the ways in which society views certain groups or kinds of people. The politics of who we are and who we become may be a result our good fortune or derive from brutal prejudices over which we have little control.
As we grow and mature we each invent ways to survive with as little hardships as possible. For some growing up takes place in an atmosphere of love and plenty. For others it is a lifetime of unfounded prejudice and misunderstanding. The politics of where we were born and how we appear to the world all too often determines the trajectory of our lives even when we try diligently to overcome the difficulties that make us less than in the eyes of others. Somehow the history of the world continues to categorize people as winners and losers based on many superficial characteristics over which they have little or no control.
Wicked asks us to look beyond the obvious and superficial, to realize that we all too often overlook greatness only because it does not look the way we think it should be. It makes us wonder how often we have followed the superficialities of a crowd rather than learning about the truth of people or situations that are not exactly what they seem to be. It challenges us to ask questions and ferret out truths before making assumptions. it demonstrates how human it is to passively fall for lies and propaganda aimed at controlling us and how sometimes the very person who seems to be the villain is really the one who is doing what is right and just.
I was swept away by the timeliness of the story in Wicked. It is as meaningful today as it would have been hundreds even thousands of years ago. It captures the good, the bad and the ugly of our humanity in an enchanting tale. If we watch it properly we may see ourselves and realize that we have to ferret out the truth on our own or surely we will be mislead. It tells us how we should beware of false promises and patriotism that asks us to turn on segments of the population who are different from ourselves. It demonstrates how powerful it is to make us afraid of others to the point of no longer seeing them as human.
Wicked is not just a fluffy feel good movie. It asks us to think and consider how we ourselves might be creating hate by hating. It is a stunning production that will certainly win many kudos when awards season begins. Everyone will be touched by the great care taken with every aspect of creating this incredible movie. If you have not yet seen it, I recommend that you do so soon. Make it a family affair. Go with people that you love and then ask yourself who the Elphabas are in your life. Think about what you might do to hear what they have to say before shunning them. We each have so many wrongs to right.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 