The Psychology Behind Oz’s Homegrown Terrorists
“Are People Born Wicked? Or Do They Have Wickedness Thrust Upon Them?”
Glinda, Wicked
The Wicked movie is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. It is a prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L Frank Baum in 1900 and tells the back story of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba. Whilst the story itself is entertaining and funny in parts, Maguire explores the concept of evil in the character of Elphaba. The nature of her conception and skin color give rise to preconceived notions about her character. Maguire looks at how the system through self-fulfilling prophecy can thrust individuals into boxes which they would otherwise not have chosen for themselves. The underlying premise being, without a firm foundation in Christ, we are nothing but hackable characters, mere pawns on a chessboard easily manipulated and programmable according to the system’s desires.
Elphaba was born from her mother’s affair with a traveling salesman. Her mother’s husband (non-biological father) rejects her instantly because of her green skin, leading to neglect from her mother as well. Plagued by deep insecurity, feelings of worthlessness, and distrust, Elphaba is profoundly affected by her family’s abandonment. She is a product of her circumstances, judged by her skin color and her mother’s infidelity. Society’s treatment of her is equally cruel, subjecting her to constant rejection and ridicule. Elphaba is also born with special powers which manifest when she feels anger and fear. She is powerless against them and has not yet learned to deal with them consciously. One could argue, her magical powers are coping mechanisms for unresolved abandonment trauma.
Elphaba’s special powers and skin colour attract the interest of Madame Morrible the Dean of Sorcery at Shiz University. Morrible takes her on as an apprentice in order to train Elphaba into controlling her powers, to channel them more effectively for the benefit of the land Oz. Elphaba is eager to work under Morrible’s tutelage as she believes this will gain favour from the all-powerful, benevolent Wizard whom she hopes will rid her of the colour of her skin.
In stark contrast to Elphaba, there is Galinda the “good” and popular character. She is labelled as such because of her fair skin, beauty and basically “normal” appearance. She is also seen as attempting to befriend Elphaba at the start of the film hence acquiring the “good” label. Surrounding them are a host of mindless sheep who recoil at Elphaba’s presence yet reluctantly accept her only because the popular Galinda feels sorry for her. In a heartbreaking moment of the film, we see the two characters engage in a dance, symbolizing an effort at mutual understanding and unity. It’s an emotional sequence that instills hope in viewers about the possibilities when individuals embrace humility and vulnerability.
Unfortunately, the system could not allow the two to genuinely reconcile their differences. In a series of events, Elphaba realises quickly that the Wizard is a pathological megalomaniacal Luciferian with no real powers of his own. He offers her a safe place and sense of belonging only to exploit her magical powers for his own nefarious agenda. It is also later discovered that he is Elphaba’s illegitimate father. Little wonder he goes from adulterer salesman to deceitful, treacherous dictator. Elphaba refuses to take part in her father’s schemes and decides to go rogue. She is forever destined to be enemy of the state, a terrorist to be used for the glory of Oz and its Wizard.
“The Best Way to Bring Folks Together Is To Give Them A Real Good Enemy.”
The Wizard Of Oz
The movie concludes with Elphaba riding off on a broomstick to the tune, Defying Gravity. It is a symbolic liturgical performance of lyrical prose and physical prowess, portraying her as a loose cannon being tossed every witch (pun intended) way by the powers that be. The audience will see this as Elphaba liberating herself from the system’s oppression and abuse, however what they fail to understand is that she is further enslaving herself. Ultimately, she becomes no better than her father, imprisoned by the label attributed to her from birth. Galinda on the other hand, chooses to stay behind as the “good” citizen and work with the system as controlled opposition, also accepting her destiny.
The story speaks of a system set up to manipulate individuals into doing its bidding. By capitalising on their weaknesses, vulnerabilities, narcissistic tendencies and mental illnesses the system creates its own slaves and enemies to give itself and its flying monkey spies, legitimacy. It is a system set up to divide the masses under the guise of uniting them. It lies to the people on a daily basis from the time of birth to accept their sinful natures and everyone else’s. Diversity, equity and inclusion is the rocky foundation from which it hails. It propagates the lie that diversity is our strength, through the fake stream media and the degenerate entertainment industry. However, all it does is cause more division. Society cannot be forced into accepting the “other” as we saw in the case of Elphaba. She was rejected and cast out because of the obvious differences and severe psychological issues. The color of her skin was a manifestation of this difference. She stood out as something neither the masses nor she herself could ever understand. Enemies of the state are found in the depths of their own psychological trauma, forced into isolation and victimized to the point of becoming home-grown terrorists.
Eventually, Elphaba goes on to become the wicked witch, living up to the system’s expectations and her own inherent evil. She could be anyone of us, sufferring from all kinds of mental health issues and continued cycle of intergenerational sin. It would have been refreshing to see her refuse the labels, seek help for her maladaptive spergish behavior and become a better person, even if that meant taking down the system from the inside and working with her father in a positive way. It would have also been nice to see Galinda step outside her comfort zone, work with Elphaba and leverage her popularity to challenge the evil Wizard and his accomplice Morrible, in a revolutionary way. However, it is a well-known fact that dismantling existing power structures often leads to the emergence of another, potentially more corrupt, system. Without a strong identity in Christ, people will simply adhere to the system or fall into its traps. People need Jesus.
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”
Ephesians 2:14-16
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