Breaking the Spell: How Wicked Reinforces Ableist Stereotypes - and How the Movie Can Fix It

In the musical Wicked, the portrayal of Nessarose is fraught with ableist stereotypes, problematic narrative choices, and a lack of agency, which ultimately undermine the potential for an empowering and nuanced representation of disability.

In this video I unpack how Nessarose’s characterisation in the musical harms disabled people and how her role could be reimagined to better honour the realities of disabled experiences in the movie.

Slime tutorial video by wicked memories.

[Deadjim]

While i agree with most of this, i definitely did not get the impression that her life got better after she was cured. Everyone in her life left her under the belief that she "didn't need them anymore." My interpretation was that she became an evil dictator embittered by the realization that everyone she loved only saw her as an object of pity. With that framing i think they could keep the plot point, if they added some scenes to strengthen those themes.

[julianm]

I agree with some of your points and adding depth to Nessa's character, however, I feel like the musical actually addressed some of these abelist themes the way they did intentionally. Wicked is about addressing superficiality, and how figures twist the narrative to have the public vilify people who are actually good via scapegoating, and use their appearances as a means to "other" them. Because of this context, I believe that it serves a platform to address issues in a very nuanced fashion. For instance, you mentioned Nessa being "cured" is a harmful narrative that reinforces stereotypes of being "fixed, " but the musical already covers the issue. Even though Nessa is "fixed" with her problem in reality it's not because her conflict is being socially isolated and othered due to her physical condition. In this sense, it showcases the problem with "fixing" disabled people. Which is why I agree with you about giving Nessa more interactions with her peers for more in-depth perspective of being disabled and humanizing her.

[StandAsYouAre]

It’s about cause and effect.
Nessa and Elphaba are essentially two sides of the same coin. Nessa sheltered and spoilt rotten by her father who feels extreme guilt over making his wife take medication that caused deformities, yet Elphaba who essentially had an elixir also deform her body also is someone to be barely tolerated and shown contempt.
Both children were victims of circumstance beyond their control, yet both treated very differently under the same roof. Which in turn developed their personalities. Nessa was spoilt by her Dad through her childhood, in the end as an adult she expected to be fawned on by those in her company even if it’s against their will.

Essentially you could take Nessa out of that wheelchair and keep her personality traits and still have people treat her like she is helpless and pity her because her mother died so tragically, her personality would still be the same. And Elphaba essentially being indoctrinated in her from a young age by her father to look after her little sister would still react the same way.

[pell]

i don't think galinda using her to pawn boq off was presented as good. it's in Dancing through Life, the song about how interested Galinda is in being shallow, careless, inconsiderate, and selfish. Her one-two abuse of nessa and elphaba BOTH getting misinterpreted as Goodness *requires* her actions there to be actually Wicked. and it's pointed out immediately both times--first by fiyero and then by the dressing room friends, that galinda is being malicious on purpose. but because she is The Good, when she does Evil it's misinterpreted as magnanimity even by Elphaba. and because Elphaba is The Wicked, she gets misinterpreted as Evil any time she tries to do Good. that contrast is central to the show themes reiterated in Popular and Wonderful... and it requires Galinda to be appropriately read by the audience as a huge bitch to Nessa

but man that act 2


I just saw the movie and stage tour back to back and the Monkeys Wings bit is a much different tone. onstage it's oh no for a minute until the monkeys have healed and then they don't apparently mind much. in the movie it's emphasized how horrible it is what happened to the monkeys. the monkeys are the only spell we see used before Nessa's shoes, they set the audience expectations for how the new spell will go with Nessa when elphaba starts doing it. i think the *physical* horrorshow with the movie monkeys is foreshadowing to us that in movie part 2, nessa's shoe spell will similarly be more overtly framed as a horrific mistake of elphaba's, just like the monkeys

[goodmanticore]

While I agree with most of what you say, rewriting the musical at this point would probably cause more problems than solve them. Nessarose being able to walk via the shoes comes from the book in which, while not in a wheelchair, she has problems balancing when walking due to her lack of arms (her father being a Quadling caused this).

Personally I think the film has done a better job of giving her agency and the second part will continue to do so. I wonder if the depiction of Elphaba “curing” her will be more negative since we have seen multiple times that she does not want to be “helped” because of her disability. If Elphaba does it despite Nessa not wanting her to, it would bring even more conflict and drama to their relationship, and I like that.

[Wendy-jezf]

I think this is a really wonderful video essay that brings up a lot of excellent points about disability representation in wicked, and the harmful tropes it uses in telling its narrative and the ways that the movie version could potentially improve upon these shortcomings. I do agree with one of the other comment about, their interpretation of descent into evil, being more tied to her and distaste, and hurt surrounding people viewing her as an object of pity as opposed to who she is as a person, and I think that if the movies go that direction will also giving Nessa the depth that she deserves, that would be amazing.

[AntiToff]

*looks at your earrings*

Cosmo, Wanda, you aren't fooling anyone. I now know you have, FAIRY GODPARENTS!!!

In all seriousness this was a really good video with excellent points. Keep up the good work!

[cluckcluckchicken]

Some people with mobility issues DO walk with mobility aids and physical therapy. "Disability" is not a monolith, it's not permanent for everyone.

[douglasfreer]

I thought of a way to update the making Nessa walk scene that could work.
Nessa would feel like Elphaba cares more about ‘stupid Animals’ than her own family but the way she would word it would make Elphaba think Nessa hates being in her chair or Nessa implies Boq would only truly care for her if it wasn’t for the chair and does the spell to make her ‘walk’ or something.
The scene would imply it’s extremely painful for Nessa at all but the thought of being able to be with Boq overrides her pain.
Another option would be Elphaba opens the book to show Nessa there’s no way to help but the pages flip to a random spell and Nessa just says the words, because she could half understand it, and it causes her to ‘walk’ with much pain.
This would lead in perfect to the spell she does on Boq.

Edit: Thought of another one that could work that has Elphaba respecting her sister better: because the film made a point of Nessa wheeling off in a jealous rage when Boq was part of the group saying bye to Glinda going to EC maybe she’ll be trying to emulate Glinda’s appearance in the hopes of making him love her and when dressing like Glinda doesn’t work she’ll assume it’s because she needs to walk as well. When she asks Elphaba to help her and refuses the grimmorie could flip to a spell to give someone what they want most and Elphaba goes into a trance reading it. When she’s done she’ll see Glinda, only the features are off because it made Nessa look like how she pictures Glinda along with wearing the ruby shoes, though it fools Boq for a moment he instinctively knows it’s not Glinda and would’berate’ Nessa for trying to change who she is and says how he loves the real Glinda for who she is.
The spell would fade and we see the real Nessa, but now wearing the ruby shoes instead of silver, and angrily snatches the Grimmorie from Elphaba and butchers the spell because she now wants his love for Glinda gone, which causes his heart to vanish. The rest goes the same but this shows how jealous she is of Glinda and how desperate she is to get Boq to love her like she loves him even though he only has platonic love for her.
Hopefully either version makes it less ableist and more about how her desperation and jealousy to keep Boq.

[bakura]

She gets crushed by a house can u Imagine her until now wicked witch status being taken to omg they killed a disabled person 😅

[alexwright]

Although in the universe of Oz, magic is real and it seems miracle cures are possible.

Though isn't Nessa waking only due to enchanted glass slippers? Making them in effect a magic form of mobility aid?

[gecgec-gec]

Marissa bode is going to make sure they make this character a correct portrayal of being a wheelchair user. I know it!

[HaHaHannah]

Did you watch the movie before you filmed this?

[tobydandelion]

Her Villainy IS tied to her disability though- as a lot of folks' abusive behavior is in real life. That's her element in the deconstruction of different kinds of evil- abusive behavior as a result of social isolation. That's what BPD/NPD are- neurological responses to years of trauma. And are disabilities in and of themselves.

[DizzyBility]

This is great! Such a thorough examination with constructive feedback for the show. I hope they see this!

[wwozanewmusical]

Nessarose, unable to walk in the book due to lack of arms due to her birth, bot because her fathers from Quadling country, to who ever put this out there its wrong. Nesserose has been treated both in the book and the stage show, and the movie as her fathers perfect pet, and the one who gets the most attention due to her being not green but a normal color, and also in a wheelchair in the musical, since it would be hard to depict an actor or actress without any arms or hands and just feet to work with. The book their father is not the mayor of munchkin land their great grand father and grand father and mothers family are the ruling mayors of Munchkinland, and their father is a man of the un-named God, man who spreads the word of the gospel. In the show he's the governor and is abusive to Elphaba which is not the case in the book. Like father passed down Nesseros in the book is very overly religious and uses it to become a tyrant after Elphaba refuses to take up being governor even though she's the oldest child of the Throp family. In the stage show Nesserose is just handed the position after their father dies, which I'm sure added to her stress and it didn't matter if she was in a wheelchair or not, ruling at such a young age and the way she was forced into it, would change anyone. She's more uptight in the show and upset and nasty in it, and I think that Bode brings out the book side to Nesserose I'm hoping we get the more ridged Nesserose in part two. She keeps the munchkins there so that Boq stays with her and can't leave, she would have done that anyway in a chair or not in a chair. The wheel chair yes they pity her and Elphaba tries to do stuff for her, but Glinda just sees her and just wants to get ride of Boq who is a pest, and its not her fault that Boq cant come clean to Nesserose about why he really is looking after her. Also you can have a wheelchair user seem to be walking in a film, allot harder to do on a Broadway stage. The character is written based on Gregory Maguires character, and writers have the write to write their characters the way they see them and want them to be in their story they are telling.

[siennahartle]

Not sure how they portray it in the movie as I’ve yet to watch it but from what I recall in the book and stage show Nessa isn’t cured of her disability. The slippers are what allows her to walk but if she takes them off the magic stops working. It’s more like Elaphaba upgraded her mobility aid rather than curing her

[labellafleur]

I think the book verison would have been a good 3rd point to compair against.

[RonquixoteDIII]

So you didnt really address this much but how would you maintain her antagonistic role in a non problematic way? Or is her being an antagonist inherently problematic and the wicked witch of the east should be changed?

[jesusceren]

I follow you on instagram! Good to see you here in Youtube too.