\u201cAre people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?\u201d A line from the opening song that cements a popular theme that drives the narrative of \u201cWicked\u201d throughout the film. The line itself is sung by Glinda (or rather Galinda), the Good Witch of the North, which is in reference to the Wicked Witch of the West, otherwise known as Elphaba. Fans of the musical have often debated many of the lyrics of this opening song, claiming that once you understand the full story then it’s clear that the wicked one Galinda is talking about is herself. Others claim that this is not possible, that Galinda is just singing about this tragic event while trying to hide her grief. This is because fans of the musical now film tend to separate themselves into two categories: are you an Elphaba or a Galinda? Are you someone who stands up for what\u2019s right even when people turn on you for it? Or are you someone who lies in wait to see all their options before making their decision? See, the music, storyline and characterization of the two is what people use when talking about this.<\/p>\n
\u201cWicked\u201d is directed by Jon M. Chu, who is known for his films \u201cIn the Heights\u201d and \u201cCrazy Rich Asians,\u201d and was a stage musical long before it was introduced to the cinemas. It follows the story of Elphaba Thropp, a young woman who was born with green skin and remarkable powers, who was outcast by the people around her until she took her sister NessaRose to Shiz University, the backdrop for most of the film. It\u2019s there where we met Galinda, riding into Shiz on a pile of luggage and waving hello to everyone she passes. Once Galinda enters, greeting her friends and listening to opening ceremonies, Elphaba enters and the pair meet. It\u2019s a shock for Galinda and nothing new for Elphaba who has to deal with students gasping and whispering about her green skin. When dropping off Nessarose, Elphaba shows off a display of intense power, scaring the student body and catching the eye of a witch who controls the weather, Madame Morrible. This is a turning point for both of them, where Elphaba is noticed by someone, Madame Morrible, for her talents and intelligence while Galinda who wants that attention is ignored by said professor. This kicks off a rivalry between the two, where Galinda has everyone on her side and Elphaba has no one.<\/p>\n
Galinda treats Elphaba poorly; filling up their dorm with a majority of her things, encouraging others to treat Elphaba badly and going as far as getting Elphaba humiliated in front of the entire school. In \u201cLoathing\u201d everyone sings about how \u201cDear Galinda you are just too good \/ How do you do it I don\u2019t think I could \/ She\u2019s a terror \/ She\u2019s a tartar \/ We don\u2019t really care about her but Galinda you\u2019re a martyr\u201d which Galinda appears to be very pleased and flattered by during that section of song. It\u2019s the people around her that give her this inflated sense of self. Specifically Pfannee and ShenShen who spend most of their time on screen egging Galinda on, telling her she\u2019s right to be upset in how Elphaba is treating her, how she deserves the best and how it\u2019s unbelievable that Galinda hasn\u2019t done anything to be rid of her yet. When getting ready for the OzDust Ball with Pfannee and ShenShen, Pfannee pulls a very familiar looking witch\u2019s hat from Galinda\u2019s wardrobe. Galinda explains that her grandmother made it and that she would give it away but she \u201cdoesn\u2019t hate anyone that much.\u201d Only for Pfannee and ShenShen to encourage her to give it to Elphaba. They are the ones that plant the seed that support her acting in a bitter way.<\/p>\n
However it\u2019s at the OzDust when Galinda\u2019s character begins to deepen, when Madame Morrible approaches her and informs her that Elphaba convinced her to take the pink girl as a student. There\u2019s a clear moment where Galinda begins to change, where she softens towards Elphaba and realizes that she had misjudged her roommate. And then the realization that she had been a horrible person, is quick to follow a trend and that she\u2019s not been as nice as she\u2019s been claiming is something that rattles her. When Elphaba appears, clearly full of hesitant excitement only to be mocked and ridiculed, Galinda stands up for her despite being told by others to stand back. She dances with Elphaba, showing that she wishes to make amends and that she is going to try to make it right to the green witch. That right however, is that she wants to make Elphaba \u201cPopular\u201d as the song states.<\/p>\n
Galinda is a complex character in the way that while she is viewed by the audience as someone who is shallow and only cares about surface appearances, this isn\u2019t the case. See, Galinda\u2019s character wants to do the right thing and does what she believes is right, but only when it can keep her in a good social standing because she is afraid of what would happen to her if she\u2019s viewed in that negative light. She\u2019s seen how people treated Elphaba and has acknowledged that the other is a much stronger person than her. It\u2019s something that sticks with the viewer the whole time while watching the film, that Galinda believes that change can only happen when everyone listens to you, when everyone around you sees you as something to admire. When you are popular. But that also leaves one open for the opposite to happen, which is that she becomes a symbol for the side that Galinda is against. But even when this is the case, Galinda is smarter than the truly wicked (and the audience) gives her credit for. She might not be as academically intelligent as Elphaba but Galinda is emotionally intelligent, something the green witch lacks.<\/p>\n
Elphaba on the other hand, is Galinda\u2019s opposite. While the lead, Elphaba isn\u2019t as popular but she\u2019s equally as harsh to Galinda: retaliating when she takes up the dorm space, scaring Galinda when she can and sharing her distaste about Galinda with others. However, it\u2019s clear that she\u2019s more open to change as someone who has been mistreated often. But that\u2019s not to say she treats Galinda with outright kindness as well. Again, the pair have established a rivalry that isn\u2019t one sided, Elphaba doing plenty of cruel things such as cramming Galinda\u2019s items into a crushed stack and scaring the pink girl for a quick laugh. But when Galinda gets NessaRose, Elphaba\u2019s little sister, a date to the OzDust, it sparks a change in Elphaba as she begins to see Galinda in a new light. One that changes as she takes the invitation to the OzDust Ball that the audience knows is a joke as something serious. It\u2019s something she decides to reciprocate by getting Galinda a chance at something she desperately wants: private lessons with Madame Morrible.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a trend with Elphaba that can go back to that idea of finding kinship with others like her. As in, the talking animal population of Oz. Elphaba sees herself in them because in this time period of the film, talking animals have started going missing around Oz and one of the professors at Shiz, Dr. Dillamond is getting nervous about it because he\u2019s a talking goat. It\u2019s then she learns there\u2019s a problem with discrimination against talking animals and this strikes a cord with her. Elphaba understands them because she too is different and because Elphaba was raised by a talking animal herself, so she sees them as people and not just animals. It\u2019s a part of her character that sticks out because it drives her into doing what is right, it\u2019s why she\u2019s desperate to seek out the wizard.<\/p>\n
Once she realizes the wizard cannot help her and instead is against all of which she stands for, Elphaba doesn\u2019t step aside and submit to the wizard\u2019s will. She stands up and that\u2019s when we get \u201cDefying Gravity\u201d where she announces that she\u2019s \u201cthrough accepting limits \/ ‘Cause someone says they’re so \/ Some things I cannot change \/ But ’til I try, I’ll never know \/ Too long I’ve been afraid of \/ Losing love, I guess I’ve lost \/Well, if that’s love, it comes at much too high a cost.\u201d These lines alone are the focal point of her character, that she will always try her hardest to do the right thing even when everyone else tells her she\u2019s doing the wrong thing. She is ready to sacrifice comfort, family and love for what she believes in. Something Galinda isn\u2019t prepared to do. It\u2019s a faster demand to bring change.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not to say that Elphaba doesn\u2019t have her own flaws as well. As Galinda (now dubbed Glinda) points out in the same song, whenever something goes against Elphaba\u2019s beliefs, the green witch is quick to \u201cfly off the handle.\u201d It\u2019s another thing that both separates and complicates the characters. It shows that while Elphaba is someone who will immediately judge and fight because of her own hardships and struggles, Galinda is more cautious and willing to hold back for a moment to see all the options before making a decision.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what makes \u201cWicked\u201d such a masterpiece of a film. It takes a concept that one would think would make two characters enemies and shows the audience why they are two sides of the same coin. They take this idea and show the audience that they can become friends, that they can gain a close relationship from someone that\u2019s unlike themselves. It encourages the audience to think about their lives and their beliefs, to evaluate them and then look at those they surround themselves with. Not just that, but \u201cWicked\u201d shows how people can learn from each other to eventually become better forms of themselves. Galinda watches Elphaba choose to leave everything and become the villain that unites the people for the betterment of her cause and learns how to stand up for herself from it. While Elphaba watches Galinda grow into a social figure that everyone adores and listens to, and learns how to gather a reputation to back her cause, even if it\u2019s a negative one. They both are catalysts for change at the end of the day, one form of change is just faster than the other. So, are you an Elphaba or a Galinda?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"