Wicked

This film is an adaptation of the revisionist woke Broadway stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz, which was based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a book that was unsucessful until the Broadway musical made it famous.

Author Gregory Maguire is Gay and married to a man; they have adopted 3 children. His beliefs include moral relativism, intersectionality, animal rights, etc.

His revisionist woke allegorical novel portrays the traditionally Wicked Witch of the West as the good guy, not the bad. He has said that his novel Wicked is primarily about identifying with someone who is ostracized and labeled evil. She is initially treated poorly by common people due to her skin color. He uses her journey to explore the “nature versus nurture” debate, as well as themes of propaganda, terrorism, and life purpose.

Singer and LGBTQ+ activist Cynthia Erivo stars as Elphaba, Wicked Witch of the West. Erivo self-identifies as “queer” and “bisexual”. The GLAAD organization praises her as a “queer powerhouse.” According to the film’s distributor, Erivo plays Elphaba as a “passionate political activist”.

From her viewpoint, “Elphaba’s story is the cautionary tale of what it can sometimes mean to have to stand in your individuality, your otherness, even when systems of oppression are set against you. …I encourage you to keep rebelling…” (Hollywood Reporter).

Cynthia Erivo recently received an award from the Los Angeles LGBT Center, at a gala that raised $1.6 million for the organization. During the ceremony she said, “‘Wicked’ is the reclamation and the reimagining of all the labels that are used against her; it is the proclamation of her right to exist in all of her power–if that sounds familiar to you, colourful, magical people in this room, it should.”