What ‘Wicked’ And The Not-So-Wonderful Wizard Teach About The Power Of Propaganda

THE FEDERALIST– Emina Melonic-

oto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore,” said Dorothy when the great tornado brought her to the wonderful land of Oz. Since L. Frank Baum’s first published novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900), and Victor Fleming’s 1939 film adaptation, the land of Oz has been part of the American consciousness. Dreams are made and shattered on the metaphorical Yellow Brick Road that leads to the Emerald City. 

The new film “Wicked” (2024) takes the story we are all familiar with and asks what happened in Oz before Dorothy arrived. It’s directed by Jon M. Chu and based on the eponymous stage musical, which is based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. Although much of the buzz around “Wicked” has focused on “queering,” it is the concepts of propaganda and tyranny that drive the film. 

“Wicked” opens with the death of the Wicked Witch (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda’s (Ariana Grande) announcement to the people of Oz that indeed, the news is true. She then proceeds to tell the story of the Wicked Witch — that she wasn’t always evil and perhaps had wickedness thrust upon her.

The Wicked Witch, whose name is Elphaba, is the product of her mother’s love affair and is rejected by her parents because of her green skin color. As expected, Elphaba is going through life as a misfit and outcast, but she is highly intelligent and compassionate. Her paraplegic sister gets accepted to Shiz University (a sorcery school), but it is Elphaba who gets more attention from the dean of the school, Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), and is immediately admitted. Her roommate is none other than the Good Witch, Glinda (whose actual name is Galinda). Though they couldn’t be more different, they become friends. 

Not everything is hunky-dory in Oz. Here, animals are persecuted for their differences and put in cages to prevent them from learning to speak. Elphaba has a strong sense of justice to speak for the voiceless and decides to visit the one and only Wizard of Oz to fix the problem. Continue reading…