Weird and Wonderful Conspiracy Theories: The Wizard of Oz and Wicked
Harriet Wilson, Guest Columnist
I think I could probably write a book on the numerous conspiracy theories that surround The Wizard of Oz. And Wicked is, essentially, a whole conspiracy theory in itself: an alternative slant on the well-known story, one which, personally, I much prefer. For this blog, I have sifted through the most enjoyable theories that I could find on The Wizard of Oz and Wicked and have summarised my absolute favorites.
1. The Wizard of Oz represents politics, religion, feminism … the list goes on.
It's hard to find something that The Wizard of Oz hasn't been said to represent. It has been argued that the story is a religious allegory (the yellow brick road leading to paradise) but oddly enough, it has also been argued that it is an allegory for atheism (after all, the paradise at the end of the yellow brick road is false).
Equally, it could be said that the story is all about feminism (or, rather, the failings of men – which is not the same thing). Perhaps it's about the general incompetence of adults. Both theories rest on the major flaws of characters in The Wizard of Oz (no heart, no mind, no courage, not a wizard, completely wicked – you get the idea).
The theories abound. Does it mirror populism? The psychoanalytic theories of C.G. Jung? These ideas have been widely debated. Bilge Ebiri sums up the six theories that I have mentioned, as well as one that I will talk about later, in his article: 7 Theories of What The Wizard of Oz Is Really About.
2. The Wicked Witch isn't wicked.
Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them? Perhaps they're not really wicked at all. The premise of the book / musical Wicked is that the Wicked Witch of the West, a.k.a. Elphaba, is the hero of the whole story and not the villain.
But how can that be? Here's an absurdly brief breakdown. Things are going wrong in Oz, so Elphaba (the 'Wicked' Witch) finds the Wizard and asks him to help put things right. It turns out that of all the issues in Oz, are the Wizard's doing. Whichever version of this story you read, the Wizard is always a bad guy.
Elphaba, who wants to do the right thing, flies off the handle literally and lyrically, defying gravity. Now, the Wizard needs a scapegoat and doesn't want anybody to believe what Elphaba says about his own wickedness, so he makes everybody believe that Elphaba herself is wicked. Thus she becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West.
3. The Good Witch isn't good.
This theory has been voiced at different levels, starting at 'she could have said about the shoes earlier' and ending at 'maybe she dropped the house on the Wicked Witch of the East herself and manipulated the whole story'. It does seem a bit suspicious that Glinda the Good gains so much power from the events that transpire; who's to say that she didn't plan the whole thing?
Wicked presents a less black-and-white option: Glinda (or, Galinda) is fundamentally good but not initially as brave as her close friend, the Wicked Witch of the West (Elphaba).
Sources: https://moviepilot.com/posts/3965365 https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/363102788680083552/
4. Pink Floyd's album, The Dark Side of the Moon, synchronizes with The Wizard of Oz.
This theory has a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to it, and it seems to have torn apart the seemingly very large group of Pink Floyd / Wizard of Oz fans. Whilst Pink Floyd says it is a complete coincidence, many fans claim that if you watch The Wizard of Oz on mute with The Dark Side of the Moon album playing, there are too many moments that sync too perfectly for it to be a coincidence. Well, there's only one way to find out:
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Side_of_the_Rainbow
5. The Wicked Witch of the West survives.
The Wizard of Oz would say that she died. And Wicked the book would agree, but Wicked the musical suggests it was all a ruse.
In the story of Wicked the musical, the idea that Elphaba could be 'melted' with water is a rumor spun by her enemies to make her seem super evil. So what happens? Well, she fakes her own death to escape Oz with the Scarecrow, who happens to be the love of her life, Fiyero.
That said, even within Wicked the musical it could be argued that the 'escape' of Elphaba and Fiyero is metaphorical and when they say that they can never come back to Oz, it's because they have both died. A more somber ending since we've just spent two hours becoming emotionally invested in the character of the (framed) Wicked Witch … maybe it's best to believe that she does survive.
6. Dorothy is actually The Wicked Witch of the East.
Admittedly, we're getting into slightly more tenuous grounds. This theory is based on the observation that, in Oz, Dorothy meets alternative versions of several 'real life' characters but never an alternative version of herself. Is there one? Strangely, the only thing we know about the Wicked Witch of the East is her shoe size, which fits: coincidence?
Source:
7. The Wizard is Willy Wonka's father.
This suggestion is equally as tenuous but extremely enjoyable. Essentially, it comes from the observation that the Land of Oz and Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory have two major things in common: red roads / red carpets (seen nowhere else in film history ever, right?) and Munchkins / Oompa Loompas.
In this theory, the red part of the spiral at the beginning of the yellow brick road ends at the red carpet leading up to the Chocolate Factory. Oh, and Willy Wonka went to Oz in search of his father and was unsuccessful, so he returned with Munchkins instead (who he renamed to protect their identity). Seems like a pretty infallible theory to me.
Source: http://screennamemissing.tumblr.com/post/84328505899/the-red-brick-road-theory-the-wizard-of-oz-is
If you've heard other fun theories about The Wizard of Oz or Wicked, let us know @onstageblog on social media.
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Harriet has been immersed in theatre life from many angles, from writing to working backstage to performing to directing. She spends most of her spare time in the West End or regional theatres and fills the rest with talking about the wonderful world of theatre through regular blogs.