A timely or timeless film?
November 2024 was the season of comebacks—President Donald Trump, chunky loafers, and obviously, Wicked: the film adaptation of the 2003 Broadway show. In production since 2012, the film managed to survive both COVID-19 and the SAG-AFTRA strike. The finished product is well worth waiting for.
In addition to its well-known soundtrack, some have taken an interest in Wicked from a political angle, seeing its story as particularly resonant of the current political zeitgeist. One reviewer commented, “[Wicked’s] depiction of fascism was not meant to resemble America in 2024, but here we are.” Some see Donald Trump in Jeff Goldblum’s portrayal of a power-hungry oppressor. Others draw parallels between defunding DEI and the silencing of animals in the film.
Yet, despite its use of political themes, Wicked is not itself a political statement. Its scenarios are intentionally separated from current political events and stances, ensuring that no audience member is pandered to or offended. More than just being “timely,” it can rightly be called “timeless.”
Take the film’s theme of censorship, for example. At Shiz University, Elphaba and G(a)linda learn history from Dr. Dillamond, a goat. When he attempts to teach Oz’s animal history, he finds, “ANIMALS SHOULD BE SEEN NOT HEARD,” scrawled on his blackboard. Afterwards, he tells Elphaba that Oz’s animals are losing their ability to speak, before he’s abducted from class and his professorship stripped. Their new professor displays “the cage,” and explains it will keep animals from speaking, permanently. At the climax, we learn that the Wizard himself is silencing animals, because they’re threatening his regime.
Though some have seen Dr. Dillamond’s presence as indicative of events within the current political scene, censorship is nothing new, and Wicked’s treatment of this is not directly connected to 2024. Several movies have created allusions through choosing specific phrases, jokes, or symbolism to point to the present, but Wicked doesn’t do this.
Note: I’m not saying this scene lacks real-world parallels; I’m saying this is temporal coincidence, not intentional allusion. Historical censorship includes Zuckerberg’s pandemic post purge, YouTube’s removal of videos criticizing transgenderism, the punishment of students and teachers protesting the Vietnam War, and the 1798 Sedition Act.
But Wicked’s society is more similar to authoritarianism than fascism. When Glinda and Elphaba travel to the Emerald City, they hear how the Wizard rose to power (in song form). When he arrived, he could read their “Grimmerie” spellbook, making him the chief wizard. This magical ability is later revealed to be false, leading the Wizard to suppress rebellious speech, using others’ abilities to maintain his charade. Regardless, he doesn’t create a sense of nationalism, take away electoral democracy, or create hierarchy.
Propaganda is most obvious in the finale. Madame Morrible (professor and the Wizard’s coconspirator) announces Elphaba’s “betrayal” to the Emerald City: “Citizens of Oz … there is an enemy who must be found. … Believe nothing she says. … She is evil. Responsible … Her green skin is but an outward (manifestation) of her twisted nature. This distortion, this repulsion, this wicked witch.”
For context: The Wizard and Morrible asked Elphaba to make the monkeys levitate; casting the spell with the Grimmerie, Elphaba gave the monkey wings accidentally. Afterwards, she overheard them discussing the monkeys’ potential as spies, and Elphaba discovered their plot against animals.
The language here is classic, broad, dystopian propaganda. It’s Orwellian in tone, but it declines to parallel recent events. The language here is nonspecific, yet deadly serious; imperative, and emotional. Sentences are simple, lacking detail. While it’s reminiscent of political discourse today, it’s merely an imitation of the general trend, not a comment on specific political besmirching.
In conclusion, Wicked: Part 1 is not a politically aligned film, though it uses political themes to tell its story. In an era of political hysteria, it’s easy for the news-obsessed to assume that a film is “about” or “for” them, but we must not make these proclamations hastily. Wicked declines to use its scenes to comment on, parody, or retell recent events. It is a great strength of a film that’s released in such a polarized culture that we can all laugh at the jokes, make some popcorn, and sing along.
Katiebelle Thompson is a senior who studies. She once played the Wicked Witch in a school play. For further information (on this article, her hobbies, or general lore) reach out to cthomp23@nd.edu.
Photo Credit: Universal Pictures
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