Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
The cinematography, music, and dancing in the wildly popular new movie, Wicked, are truly spectacular – but don’t let the stunning visuals fool you. This film is riddled with mixed messages about good and evil that should concern parents.
The Universal film, directed by Jon M. Chu and featuring the witches of Oz, Cynthia Erivo plays Elphaba the “bad witch” and Ariana Grande plays Glinda the “good witch,” is a visually stunning production that tells the backstories of the good and bad witches before and after Dorothy’s trip down the yellow brick road.
Even though the singing and dancing are top-notch, the film’s distorted moral compass comes into view at the very beginning when Elphaba is presented in the most sympathetic terms. The offspring of her mother’s adulterous affair, she was born with green skin, causing her to be shunned by family and friends. Glinda, on the other hand, is presented as spoiled, vain, flighty and shallow. The two witches meet and become friends while being schooled at Shiz University which teaches sorcery to aspiring witches and wizards.
Of the two of them, Elphaba is the more compassionate and caring. It’s her idea to take up the cause of animals who are being silenced in Oz. She decides to go to the Emerald City to confront the great Wizard of Oz about the situation. When she gets there, she discovers that the Wizard is responsible for forcing the animals into silence. He offers them a deal – to go along with his plans and gain prestigious positions for themselves in the land of Oz, or fight against him for the sake of the animals. Glinda, the good witch, remains in Oz while Elphaba chooses the much more selfless path of defending the animals.
The presentation of evil in a much more appealing light than goodness is carried throughout the movie, including the dramatic finale while features Elphaba, who is now possessed of enormous magical powers, mounting a broomstick and making a glorious departure from Oz to help the embattled animals. Amidst a soaring music score, where she’s clothed in witch’s hat and billowing black robes, her figure reeks of power and purpose, glorifying the witchcraft she intends to use for this noble purpose.
It’s not hard to imagine the impact this scene has on young teen girls who are already far too enchanted with the glamorous way witchcraft is presented on social media. Especially at that age, when the idea of controlling spiritual powers is the perfect antidote to the feelings of powerlessness that are so typical of the teenaged years, the idea that they can acquire the power they crave through witchcraft is a dangerous message to send to young girls.
These are just a few examples of the mixed messages this movie – and the Broadway play that preceded it – sends to young audiences about magic, goodness, and evil.
Ten years ago, when the play debuted on stage, Dr. Brian Howell, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Wheaton College said it was precisely this problem that lies at the heart of the message of this production. “Goodness and wickedness are largely perceptions; true goodness is found in being true to oneself. It is a beguiling message that reflects some of the deepest yearnings of the (post)modern person,” he writes.
The play places the emphasis on authenticity rather than “black and white absolutism, but can ‘goodness’ be so conflated with authenticity?” Howell asks. “Or does that trample on the absolutes of Scripture? Can Christians embrace a show like Wicked, or do we need to stand resolutely against such confusions?”
This Christian review had a similar lament about the movie. “. . .[E]ven if the story helpfully praises the costly pursuit of justice and fighting for the marginalized, in the end its rejection of moral absolutes leaves audiences without real hope or clarity. In a ‘trust my instincts’ world where subjective authority reigns, questions of what’s just and unjust, good and evil, are ultimately unanswerable. Heroes and villains are constructs; ‘wicked’ is merely an arbitrary label imposed by one group over another as propaganda to consolidate power.”
While acknowledging that certain elements are worthy of praise, such as its storytelling and creativity, and its pleasant vibes, “The moral ideas—however well intentioned—are ultimately incoherent and unhelpful.”
While I believe this presentation may have benefits for older children who can discuss these deeper meanings with their parents, does anyone really think a youngster is going to grasp all this? The only thing they’re going to see is a bad witch acting like a good witch and a good witch acting like a bad witch – which results in turning the moral order on its head in the mind of a child.
I would have misgivings about taking young children to see this movie.
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