Wicked - Why is She Like This?!?

Wicked gives us the secret origin of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz. We dive a little deeper into what makes her so unique.

Wicked is shaping up to be one of the biggest cinematic hits of the holiday season this year, following on from its wild success first as a bestselling novel and then as an even more successful Broadway musical. Is there the equivalent of an EGOT for adapted properties? Because if so, Wicked just needs a video game or something to qualify.

At the heart of Wicked, however, is the sympathetic origin story of the formerly nameless Wicked Witch of the West from the classic Wizard of Oz story. Given both a name and a significant backstory in Wicked, we learn that her trademark green skin wasn’t the manifestation of some inner character flaw, but rather a somewhat magical mishap brought about by her mother consuming a potion while pregnant with the future villainess. We admit that delving into the realm of pure magic on Does it Fly? has occasionally proven difficult, but in the case of Elphaba, there’s something to the question of just how green a person can get, and the possible causes.

Watch the latest episode of Does it Fly? right here or check it out on our YouTube page to learn more. 

FURTHER READING 

Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! 

Book Learnin’ 

Wicked is first based on Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, which also spawned the sequels Son of a Witch, A Lion Among Men, and Out of Oz.

Of course, all of this goes back to L. Frank Baum’s original children’s novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. But did you know that book had a whopping thirteen sequels? Oz mythology is vast!

The Evolution of Skin Color in Humans

Melanin is what gives everyone their skin color, and understanding how and why various skin tones evolved is the foundation of our discussion about the (potential) science of green skin. Read more here.

Don’t Turn Green!

As a quick PSA, here’s a guide to how you can keep any copper oxide in jewelry from giving your skin that (lovely?) Oz-like green tint.

When People Actually Turned Green

Hypochromic anemia, or chlorosis, was a condition that did indeed leave some folks with green-ish skin. We usually try to do a little  better than just Wikipedia links in these notes, but because chlorosis isn’t really an issue these days, there’s not a ton of contemporary writing about it. So start with this Wikipedia entry, and if you want to dig deeper there are two scientific journal articles you can try to access here and here. There will be a quiz next week! (not really)

Thalidomide

Since the origin of the Wicked Witch’s green skin begins with her mom drinking a potion, an example Hakeem cites in this episode is the tragedy surrounding use of Thalidomide during the mid-20th century, in which expectant mothers took a drug that was supposed to help with morning sickness and instead caused severe physical issues with their babies. A full history can be found here, but please beware of disturbing imagery