What kind of reflections on a wicked world can be made after reading or seeing The Wizard of Oz or Wicked?

Answer 1

From seeing the play Wicked, a viewer may believe that things aren't as bad as they seem in a wicked world. For the play gives us another point of view, which is the self-defense of Elphaba Thropp, as the subsequent Wicked Witch of the West. Play enthusiasts see the reasons behind the bad reputation that Elphaba has in The Wizard of Oz. It's a reputation that those who don't like her, and aren't like her, give to her. Within her own family, Elphaba is abused by her stepfather. And so people are given the impression that she's the far less than perfect stepdaughter, and that his favorite Nessarose, the subsequent Wicked Witch of the East, can do no wrong. As a student at Shiz University, Elphaba doesn't abandon her lifelong concern over the rights and well-being of animals, and of those Animals who stand out because of their power of speech. This is in direct opposition to Madame Morrible, University headmistress. And it's in direct opposition to her biological father, and Supreme Ruler, the Wizard of Oz. For the Wizard wants to turn caged simians into Winged Monkeys, to become his spies. Like likes like, and so Elphaba now has the enmity of her father, of her headmistress, of her stepfather, and of all those under their sway. How can she be other than normally flawed to her friends, and abnormally wicked to her enemies? From reading the original book, or seeing the 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz, readers and viewers may believe that things are as badas they seem. For the viewpoint is the judgment of the omniscient narrator, who groups characters into heroic and villainous categories, with little in the gray area in-between. And the omniscient narrator isn't impartial. For the storyline is stacked in the favor of the perceived heroes: Dorothy Gale, her dog Toto, the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion.