Major Takeaways

• Propaganda as Power: Wicked exposes how fear, misinformation, and narrative control are used to villainize those who challenge authority—mirroring real-world political and racial dynamics.

• Conditional Acceptance & Tokenism: Inclusion is often performative; marginalized voices are welcomed only when they serve existing power structures, not when they disrupt them.

• Resistance Comes at a Cost: Speaking truth, especially as a Black woman, often leads to isolation, mislabeling, and backlash—but remains necessary for progress and self-definition.

The Politics of OZ: An Editorial Analysis of the Film ‘Wicked’–Part One

From the View of a Black Woman

A Casual Editorial on Controlling The Narrative: Propaganda and Silencing Marginalized Voices

In the film ‘Wicked’ Part One as it played the final scenes, I realized that magic wasn’t the greatest threat in this movie, it was propaganda just as it is in today’s political environment. The Wizard of OZ and Madame Morrible used propaganda to villainize Elphaba, just as misinformation has been used in the past to criminalize black voices that speak out against injustices and for marginalized communities. The same strategy was used with the ‘Black Lives Matter’ Movement.

Their strategies to paint her in a negative light reminded me of some of the tactics being implemented and spewed out in our present day society, tactics such as book bans targeting authors of color, Anti-DEI legislation suppressing discussions of equity, diversity and inclusion, School policies limiting discussions on race, identity, and history and speaking up against illegal policies and practices.

Miss Morrible whom Elphaba mistook to be a friend and an ally, spread lies, manipulated the monkeys and the citizens of oz by public fear with the precision of a seasoned political strategist. The moment Elphaba refused to participate in corruption, She along with the Wizard of Oz turned the propaganda machine against her.

Elphaba’s green skin became the focus, the headline, her defiance became a crime, a scandal. The citizens of Oz didn’t even question it, they accepted and repeated it in efforts to enforce the lies. This is exactly how oppressive systems work to thrive and stay relevant, by making the lie easier to believe than the truth, especially when the target looks like someone society has already been conditioned to distrust.

Elphaba becomes dangerous not because she is green, but because she refuses silence. ‘Wicked’ isn’t just a fantasy film, it is reality, It mirrors exactly how people of color, particularly Black women and men are criminalized, discredited, and silenced in today’s political environment.

When we speak up about injustice and encourage individuals to be ‘woke’ we are labeled as “angry.” Challenging unethical behavior gets us labeled as suddenly being “difficult.” Refuse to play along, and the narrative shifts to make people of color as a whole, the problem.

The scene at the train station as Elphaba waits to go to OZ makes this painfully clear. When Glinda tells Elphaba that Prince Fiyero has been “thinking” she seems to be uncomfortable with that concept that he is forming ideas and thoughts and she doesn’t know what they are.

When Prince Fiyero confides in Elphaba in the presence of Glinda that he has been thinking about the young lion cub in the cage who was put their to train it up not to be able to speak and use it’s voice any longer and the way that Dr. Dillamond, the goat, was dragged from his classroom by officers, placed in a cage and put away, Glinda suddenly changes her stance on these tragic incidents and wants to become supportive.

She previously didn’t speak up about the wrongful caging and arresting of either the lion cub or Dr. Dillamond. She has been trained to uphold the system rather than challenge it, even when injustice is plainly visible. This shows us that even well-intentioned individuals become complicit through training.

Glinda is driven by her desire for Prince Fiyero’s attention, revealing that her act of “resistance” is rooted in performance and self-interest rather than true principle. Glinda’s public renaming herself in “solidarity” is applauded by the students on the train station platform not because they think it is a brave thing for her to do but because now that it is coming from her, a white woman, it is accepted, it is okay and it is celebrated.

Yet, society historically and presently ignores the risk and advocacy of black women daily. Our sacrifice, boldness and power are undermined or overlooked.

In this film, the Wizard of Oz, represents every historical figure that has ever come into power by exploiting the brilliance and labor of people of color. He wanted her gifts, her natural abilities, and her intellect, to use for his own personal and political agenda.

He offered her a look into the possible future of Oz, he offered her a doll that looked like her, and he offered her prestige. All things that were the political equivalent of a photo-op, or a meaningless cabinet appointment, while asking her to uphold a system that would harm the community.

In ‘Wicked’, Part One, the Wizard never intends to dismantle injustice, he intends to use Elphaba’s power to legitimize his own agenda. He needs her to speak the words from the Grimmerie, not because he believes in her liberation or the freedom of the Animals, but because her authenticity, power, and visibility give credibility to a system he already controls.

When she refuses, she is immediately reframed as dangerous, radical, and a threat to public order. Her resistance exposes the truth, she nor the citizens of Oz were ever meant to be helped, She was supposed to be used as leverage.

This mirrors a long historical pattern in which Black people have been positioned as instruments for progress narratives that ultimately benefit others. This is an American tradition, profiting from Black genius while denying Black autonomy.

What ‘Wicked’ Part One ultimately reveals is that being invited to the table does not guarantee freedom, especially when the table was never built with you in mind.

This also mirrors the scene in ‘Wicked’, where the Wizard of Oz offers Elphaba a doll and promises prestige, but only if she consents to further his agenda. The message in this scene was clear to me, acceptance and visibility are granted only on the terms of those in power.

The Wizard of Oz’s claim that people need “direction” and must follow “the road that leads back to me” is not just a cute little phrase, It is authoritarianism. It reflects the poisonous rhetoric of some past and present political leaders who insist only they can “restore order, or make America great again,” all while banning books, gutting DEI programs, breaking laws, overriding constitutional laws and statutes and targeting marginalized communities.

Elphaba recognized the horrible truth as she listens to the lies being fed to her, she realizes that the Wizard of Oz and Madame Morrible are responsible for the suffering and silencing of the Animals. They used fear to keep them compliant and to distract the community from the real corruption taking place behind the golden mask. Communities of color know this tactic very well. We have been and are victims of such a machine.

When Elphaba rejects their scheme, their response is swift and familiar, they turn against her and they turn the public against her. Madame Morrible calls her “the green one,” weaponizing her appearance as a racial slur. She calls her skin tone “distorted,” “repulsive,” “wicked”, terms that remind me of the way Blackness has been looked upon in this country for generations. It is the same verbiage and rhetoric used historically to portray Black people as dangerous, animalistic, or morally inferior. It is purely racial demonization of our people.

Later, when Glinda tells Elphaba, “Why couldn’t you stay calm for once instead of flying off the handle?” the stereotype being focused upon here is unmistakable. It’s the “angry Black woman” reference dressed up as friendly concern. A tactic used to dismiss legitimate anger.

Still, Elphaba refuses to be controlled. “Something in me has changed,” she tells Glinda. “It’s time to defy gravity.” Her ascension is more than symbolic, it is a refusal to let another groups approval be the gateway to the legitimacy of black women or people of color. It is the declaration Black women and people of color have made for centuries; we will not shrink so that you can be comfortable and get things the way you want them for your personal benefit while others suffer.

Meanwhile, Glinda’s choice to stay with the Wizard of OZ and Madame Morrible is not surprising. It represents a pattern that repeats itself in our democracy. When power and privilege are at stake, those individuals who are not African American, side with the system. We saw it in the voting booth during this last election. We saw it during the civil rights movements. We still see it now even in our workplaces and in social settings. It is my personal opinion that Solidarity means nothing when someone else’s self-interest takes center stage.

And finally, I must highlight Elphaba’s bravery. Her final decision, to fly alone, is the emotional core of the film and a reality for many Black women. Sometimes, we go forward not because we have support, but because we have no other choice.

Her flight is for every Black girl who has been told she isn’t capable, she isn’t qualified, she isn’t beautiful enough, or strong enough. For every Black woman whose excellence was ignored, minimized, or stolen.

In a country that has spent centuries telling Black children they are less than, Elphaba reminds us of the truth, we are unlimited. Our value is not up for debate or a vote, our brilliance does not require the permission of others, and no matter how many lies are told, no matter how frequently they are repeated and shared, they cannot bring us down unless we let them because we are capable of defying gravity!

In conclusion, the film ‘Wicked’ Part One isn’t just a great musical, it is a political commentary on how societies police appearance, regulate bodies, control narratives, and silence those who refuse to allow them to erase or remove their footprint in this country.

Elphaba reminds us what marginalized communities have always known, Propaganda is powerful. It is a desperate attempt born out of fear and arrogance to silence us. Our survival as a people depends on us remembering the past blueprint and resisting the current.

#DefyingGravity