프로그램 노트

Program Note

Elphaba, ostracized by her peers for her green skin, and Glinda, a silver-spoon blonde beauty beloved by all—these two, who seem destined never to be friends, meet as roommates at Shiz University. Elphaba, born out of wedlock and subjected to her father’s overt resentment, keeps her distance from others to avoid further hurt, but through Glinda—a natural socialite—she learns how to communicate with the world. Meanwhile, Glinda, who used to treat her friends like servants out of pure vanity, is trapped in the conceit that her pretension can win her the world; however, through Elphaba, she realizes that sincere actions are what truly move a person’s heart. Filling each other’s voids with their respective strengths, the two receive an invitation from the Wizard of Oz and head to the Emerald City. This opportunity comes through the recommendation of Madame Morrible, who had been eyeing Elphaba’s unparalleled magical talent. Amidst the never-before-experienced splendor of the great city, Elphaba and Glinda are unable to hide their joy at the thought of meeting the Wizard they have always dreamed of—only to realize, upon meeting him, that their dreams were a mere illusion. To protect the truth in the face of that illusion, they embark on two diametrically opposite paths.

Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, this film is an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical. While the musical expanded a limited stage space with radiant imagination, the film Wicked reinterprets that spectacle through delicate emotional expressions and a compelling narrative. In doing so, the character newly rediscovered is not Elphaba, but Glinda. Her conflict—being rooted in the establishment yet deeply valuing her friendship with the revolutionary Elphaba—was not as clearly defined in the musical. However, through the newly inserted song “The Girl in the Bubble,” her internal struggle and ultimate resolve are portrayed more directly, balancing the narrative weight between the two protagonists.

As a result, the unrealistic friendship between Elphaba, a representative of the minority, and Glinda, a representative of the establishment, gains persuasiveness, making the underlying desires of the “Wicked universe” even clearer. In the final moment, Glinda addresses not just “the citizens of Oz” but “all Ozians,” declaring that there are no longer any enemies here. Some might criticize this as a typical Hollywood happy ending, but for those who have been excluded from citizenship and unable to settle, this moment is a most enchanting cinematic gift. Even if Wicked might seem a bit cliché or predictable, what it insists on until the end is a bold proposal: let’s shamelessly imagine, just once, that harmony is possible between the marginalized and the marginalizers who seem utterly incompatible. Who knows if that imagination might influence our actual lives! I hope that the song of these two—“Because I knew you, I have been changed”—can resonate in the hearts of even more people. (LEE Dong-yun)