WICKED (part I)

A couple of years ago, I went to go see the musical WICKED in Chicago with my father. It was an incredibly exciting experience, as I had been obsessed with the show and its music (but not the book) for months beforehand. It was thrilling ang magical and even better than I'd imagined. And, like many people, I got from it this message: Things aren't always what they seem. There are two sides to every story.

This past Friday, I went to see WICKED again, this time with my whole family. It's a close call, but this performance may have been even better than the first one I saw. G(a)linda was even funnier than she had been, Elphaba's singing was perfect, and I was seated closer so I could see everything better.

But what was so interesting is that I learned something I hadn't understood before: Not only are there two sides to every story, there are two points to every story.

As I understand it, most people take the lesson, "Don't jump to conclusions" from WICKED. But there is another lesson that is stated even more clearly, multiple times, within the musical. Here are a few examples:
"Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?" (Glinda)
"The truth is not fact or reason. The truth is simply what everyone agrees on!" (The Wizard)
"They call me wonderful. So I am wonderful!" (The Wizard)
"Alright, enough, so be it! So be it then. Let all Oz be agreed, I'm wicked through and through!" (Elphaba)

The point? A person is what other people make them out to be. This is evident throughout the musical. The Animals, who have the ability to talk, lose the ability to talk simply because they are pressured and told from all sides that aren't to talk anymore. As the pressure increases, and speaking out is made illegal, the Animals slowly start to turn from Animals with the ability to speak into animals without. Elphaba, who always wanted to do good and to help those in need, has the label of "wicked" pasted to her, and so all of Oz thinks her wicked. Once all of her attempts to do good are thwarted by the assumption of her wickedness, she gives into her identity. The Wizard is probably the character who makes this point the most clear. He sings an entire song about how reality is really just what people think it is. For instance: "Elphaba, where I'm from, we believe all sorts of things that aren't true. We call it "history." A man's called a traitor... or a liberator. A rich man's a theif, or philanthropist. Is one a crusader? Or ruthless invader? It's all in which label is able to persist." It sounds ridiculous, doesn't it? But it's kind of true.

And I think people do tend to become what they are told they are. In the song "Sensitive" by Jewel, she says, "I have this theory that if we're told we're bad, then that's the only idea we'll ever have."

But we all have the ability to make our own choices, don't we? And we all have to be responsible for our own actions. But let's be honest - when people have the freedom to do what they want, they tend to imitate each other. People are influenced to no end by other people. While, yes, we have the physical ability to make our own choices, I think that we often lack the emotional ability to do so. If everyone is telling you that you are one thing - wicked, crazy, shallow, wonderful, fun - then you'll most like start to believe it. After all, there is nothing to prove them wrong. And if everyone agrees, then they must be right - right?

On the other hand, there were a few characters who were able to break out of their box. Glinda eventually, after losing her best friend and the love of her life, was able to overcome her pretty, perky, pitiful label to confront the Wizard and his cohorts and get them out of power. Fiyero realized that he wasn't as "genuinely selfish" or "deeply shallow" as he thought he was, and began to act on his care for other people and things.

So is a person made who they are by their natural character, or by the influence of other people on their character?

<3 o.

p.s. : There is something else that WICKED made me think of that I will write about later. It is a little more personal.

Two Tickets to Canada, Please.

I remember when Emmo got American Girl magazines, and I would always check the mailbox every day before she did to see if it was there. (I did a lot of stealing her mail, didn't I?) I love American Girl magazines. "Celebrating Girls And All That They Can Be." What a sweet motto. :)

For those of you who don't know, American Girl is a company that makes dolls and magazines and books for girls that encourage strong character, mostly for girls ages 9-13, although personally I still love them. They have various characters for different stages of American history who find ways to use different facets of their character to face different challenges presented by whatever portion of history they are from. Their magazines are not superficial at all. They never offer make-up or hair advice, other than how to take care of it. They publish articles on how to feel better about braces, handicaps, loneliness, and the like. They even allow you to order custom dolls to look like you--buck teeth, freckles, and curly hair. Even different skin colors and face and eye shapes for different backgrounds. :)

Now don't get me wrong, I love American Girl. They kept me entertained and happy for many years (until Emmo started stealing them back). My family has been getting their magazine for over 20 years... but I'm not so sure that American Girl is the right name for it.

Modesty, self-contentment, friendliness, and individuality are no longer strongly encouraged traits in this great country of ours so much as conformity, promiscuity, selfishness, and superficiality. It shocks me how the country has changed. There used to be such a thing as a gentleman, and now it's weird to open the door for a girl. If a store carried pornographic material, it was kept behind the counter, but now it's everywhere, and no one bothers to keep it private because nearly everyone buys it. Women use to be expected to be modest, you were to keep nearly all your flesh covered except for your husband, now it's weird to not expose everything you have for whatever guy wants to see it.

America was founded on Christian values, but a survey of 104 of Hollywood's more elite and influential writers revealed that 99% of them believe that television should be "more critical" of Judeo-Christian values. Now, I don't honestly expect them to base their shows on Christian beliefs, that's completely unrealistic. But be more critical? Why do we have to criticize them? Weren't we founded on them? (I do have a source to direct you to for that little statistic if you want it.)

People first came here to be free. Free to practice different religions, have different beliefs, whatever. I don't feel so free to have my different beliefs. It seems like I get more crap for disagreeing with homosexuality than any homosexuals I know--and I'm not even mean about it. Do you want to know the last time I shoved any of my beliefs about homosexuality or any other contraversial issue down someone's throat? Never. I am just as nice to people who do things I don't agree with as I am to people who agree with me. But all those people who want me to "tolerate" different controversial things, which I already do, don't seem to be very tolerant of my opinions, which I keep to myself until asked. It's a bit frustrating...

Besides which, the rest of the world hates us. I can't say I blame them. Sometimes I feel like a goldfish in a dirty fish tank here, wishing someone would just freaking fix the filter! I bet all the other fish are tired of looking at and smelling our dirty water. Next war, I'm moving to Canada--I don't think anyone hates Canada. Besides, I like cold weather a lot. I would move to Europe, but it'd be hard to visit my family that way, not to mention I'm not comfortable with casual nudity. (Something I'd just as soon not talk about. I don't think they're evil, I'm just uncomfortable with it.) And when I move, I'll be taking my husband with me. (They better not have another war before I'm married.)

I hope they have a Canadian Girl magazine there...

<3 o.