Here’s what Wicked can teach us about resistance in divided times

Last week, I took my daughters to see the new Wicked: For Good film. We were absolutely blown away, tears flowing (mainly mine) with hearts fit to burst. Both movie adaptations of this award-winning musical have surpassed expectations, and my word, it strikes a chord.

If you haven’t seen it, look away, spoilers ahead.

Wicked: A mirror of societal fault-lines

There is a reason that Wicked has captured so many hearts around the world. It contains themes that mirror deep, fragmenting issues in our own lives and wider society.

The story brings establishment politics to the forefront, in all its ugliness. It delves into divisive propaganda and a constructed crisis targeting ‘others different to ourselves’ to deflect attention. It asks us to think critically about the narratives we’re spoon-fed, especially in the face of oppression and manipulation of truth.

Embodying these themes are the film’s three central characters.

Oz: A false-charmer who hoodwinked a hopeless and desperate population of people. He knows that he doesn’t possess the capabilities of greatness that the people need. Therefore, he builds machines and structures to fake his magical powers. Enabled by power and fame-hungry lackeys, Oz’s lies are shielded. The establishment enslaves a group of spying monkeys to persecute other animals. These animals were systematically tortured, disappeared, and oppressed for being different.

Elphaba: Green, capable of wondrous things, conscientious and outspoken. She is a minority, stigmatisation and prejudice throughout her life. Ostracised for all that is different about her, leaving what is special about her as something to be scared of. When her power and ability were discovered, by those who had plans to use her innate skills for their own cruel agendas, she was celebrated in a way never experienced before.

Glinda: White, blonde and privileged, and very used to prestige and glamour. She was raised believing that popularity and beauty are what solely matter in life. This character is, in the most part, a typical display of style over substance. This is due to the environment she’d been exposed to before Shiz University. However, we see her go on quite a personal journey of growth in the sequel.

Diversity and solidarity in action

At first, jealousy divides Elphaba and Glinda, with the school rallying behind Glinda, the reigning queen bee.

Everything shifts after Glinda, in a moment of humility and empathy, defends Elphaba, in the Oz Dust Ballroom. This act results in the full embrace of Elphaba by the school, which previously shunned her. Humanity reigns.

This scene shows how herd mentality can be used in bad faith, and how it can thrive when in good faith. As Oz says:

Once folks buy into your blarney, it becomes what they hold most on to.

We don’t have to look far in our politics to find similar characters. They have the gift of the gab and a superiority complex. These figures peddle lies to desperate and angry people for their own self-interest.

BBC News was pleased to tell us this morning that no illegals had crossed the channel for 28 days. Labour MPs boasted about their success.

It’s called the weather… now over 700 have arrived today!

— Nigel Farage MP (@Nigel_Farage) December 13, 2025

The film exposes the stark difference between two types of individuals. Those who believe the ends — fame, notoriety, power — justify any means and those who believe that the means used, and harm caused, matter most.

Glinda is portrayed to be more interested in being celebrated as ‘Good’ as opposed to actually doing good. She chooses to virtue signal to the wider public and is happy to manipulate the narrative to suit her ego and personal ambitions.

In contrast, Elphaba finds peace with being labelled as ‘Wicked’. She focuses instead on trying to expose the truth behind the establishment and its policies. Working against the status quo, she aims to stop the cruelty innocent animals were suffering and the division spreading across Oz. In the famous words of Elphaba:

If I can just make them believe the truth, then they will see all he does is a lie.

The binary forces of ‘good’ and ‘evil’

Perhaps inadvertently, the film finds inspiration from the forces that keep us divided — especially at a time when profiteering figures with deep pockets, and murky moral codes, wield more influence and control than before.

This control over the truth blurs the line between right and wrong. With the information pushed through our phones and social media, the super-rich now hold far too much sway over ‘public opinion’.

They need to label others as “wicked” or “terrorists,” so that, in contrast, they can appear virtuous.

Oz touches on this in the scene surrounding the song “Wonderful.”

As Oz says to Elphaba, perception isn’t simply dependent on factual information. It relates to ‘which label is able to persist’. The only way we can fight back against the false charmers and harmers is to contest their narrative en masse.

Not just flashy, sensationalist headlines from corporate media.

Deja Vu?

Wicked is much more than a Hollywood blockbuster or fantastical story. It reflects the times we live in and the political forces pushing communities apart.

How often have we found ourselves voting for someone we don’t like, simply to keep someone worse out?

Alternatively, we are whipped up by the press to believe someone is a threat and can’t be trusted, but they were only a threat to the establishment.

Bullies are put on pedestals because the public has been manipulated to fear differences. This makes us lose our strength and cohesion as a people. Start looking at the actions of elected officials. Understand their motives, hold them accountable, and demand receipts for their allegations.

If Wicked reminds me of anything, it’s that the establishment should always be questioned. Speak to the people on the ground, the people affected; hear their truth, from their mouths.

And remember, if the establishment is trying to silence or label you, it is probably because you’re a threat to their version of the truth.

In a world of Glindas, be an Elphaba

Featured image via the Canary