Wicked: The cost of doing the right thing

As Wicked: For Good soars through cinemas, Stevie Hope reflects on what it takes to be good.

Wicked: For Good concludes the story of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West we learnt to hate in The Wizard of Oz. The story of the musical Wicked takes an alternative look at the world inspired by L Frank Baum’s original book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, asking one central question: what does it mean to be ‘wicked’?

As Wicked: For Good begins, Elphaba is an outcast for standing up for a marginalised group of people – the talking animals of Oz. The oppression and suppression of them by the ‘wonderful’ Wizard of Oz remain unwavering.

While the story centres on Elphaba, it’s perhaps Glinda the Good – snug in the status quo – who is in the more relatable position. Glinda has everything she could ever want and insists that she ‘couldn’t be happier’, but she’s grappling with her place in society, coming to terms with everything she gained by fitting in with the crowd – and everything she could lose should she stand out.

She’s seen how people respond to Elphaba’s revolutionary ideal of fighting for those who have been branded the enemy and how people would react to her if she should do so too. After all, the privileged life she’s found herself in comes from her turning a blind eye to suffering. It’s this internal conflict that takes her through the movie. Should she lose her status, position and power to help the ‘other’? What good would that really do?

It’s highly likely that the privilege you experience in your day-to-day life is far less dramatic than that depicted in this fantasy epic. Many of the injustices we see in society are far from the black-and-white, good-versus-evil caricatures we find in movies. But, in the song ‘Wonderful’, the Wizard of Oz croons a poignant reminder: ‘There are precious few at ease with moral ambiguities/ So we act as though they don’t exist.’

It can sometimes be easy to sort situations and people into ‘good’ or ‘bad’ camps and pretend the oh-so-real moral ambiguities don’t exist. Yet each person changes the world through the values, morals and beliefs they hold – whether we agree with them or not – and labelling people can be dangerously dehumanising.

One of our territory’s mission priorities is to seek justice and reconciliation, but doing the right thing can come at a cost to ourselves. This has always been true. That’s why 1 Peter 3:14–17 encourage us: ‘But even if you do suffer for doing what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear what they fear, and do not be intimidated… For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil’ (New Revised Standard Version).

In Glinda’s case, wicked injustice happens because she isn’t prepared to step up and denounce wrongdoing. Conversely, the moniker ‘wicked’ is thrust upon Elphaba for choosing to radically stand out and reject injustice. Are you prepared to be called ‘wicked’ for good?

Reflect and respond

• What cost are you prepared to pay for doing the right thing?
• Read 1 Peter 3:8–17. Pray for the strength to be a courageous disciple of Jesus and live out God’s countercultural grace.
• How do your values, morals and faith affect your impact on the world?