Freedom Friday: Unlearnings from the movie “Wicked”

Transcript

WEBVTT

00:00:09.830 --> 00:00:13.875
hello everybody and welcome once again to the unlearned podcast.

00:00:13.875 --> 00:00:24.969
I'm your host with abigail aka ra, and this is freedom friday, where we come and share something that we've unlearned recently and how it has made us just a little bit more free.

00:00:24.969 --> 00:00:39.271
So if you are a Broadway musical nerd, like I am, you know that a week ago, as you all are watching this, you will be watching or listening to this a week after, right?

00:00:39.271 --> 00:00:50.520
So you know, a week ago was opening weekend for Wicked, okay, and for those of you that know me, you know that I love musicals, I love Broadway.

00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:54.832
For those of you that know me a little bit more, you know that Wicked is in the top seat for me.

00:00:54.832 --> 00:00:57.259
It is my favorite Broadway musical.

00:00:57.259 --> 00:01:00.749
I've seen it multiple times live.

00:01:00.749 --> 00:01:01.851
I know the soundtrack.

00:01:01.851 --> 00:01:02.965
I am a real fan.

00:01:02.965 --> 00:01:04.281
I was an incredible.

00:01:04.281 --> 00:01:06.388
I loved the Wizard of Oz growing up.

00:01:06.388 --> 00:01:07.620
I love the Wiz.

00:01:07.620 --> 00:01:08.623
I love that story.

00:01:08.623 --> 00:01:13.733
I am a sucker for a good fantasy, magic kind of show, whatever.

00:01:13.733 --> 00:01:14.661
I like that stuff.

00:01:14.661 --> 00:01:15.942
And then you add music to it.

00:01:15.942 --> 00:01:18.168
Man, it was incredible.

00:01:18.168 --> 00:01:21.293
The cast of this was unbelievable.

00:01:21.293 --> 00:01:28.185
If you haven't gone to see it yet and this is not like a paid endorsement or anything I am freely endorsing the show.

00:01:28.185 --> 00:01:30.829
It is an incredible show.

00:01:30.829 --> 00:01:31.632
Go see it.

00:01:32.272 --> 00:01:38.210
Just be warned, I'm going to talk a little bit about it today, might have a little spoiler alert.

00:01:38.210 --> 00:01:44.891
So if you haven't seen it, turn it off, pause, go see it and then listen to this, listen to this episode.

00:01:44.891 --> 00:01:50.201
But or if you, if you, don't like spoilers, if you do, no problem, not going to give it all away, but I might give a little bit.

00:01:50.201 --> 00:02:22.552
So I being me, of course, I'm, I'm, I'm watching the show and, man, I was just so moved by the a lot of messages in it and I said, man, I gotta, I gotta, do a freedom Friday on this because there's so much packed in it, right, uh, so I, one of the things that I think is so important for us to unlearn is that the people who got us one place won't always be the people who go with you to the next place.

00:02:22.552 --> 00:02:36.010
I'm sure this is the first time you've heard it, I and so, and I don't even think it's the first time we've talked about this, but it's important and I feel like this movie really kind of depicted that in a beautiful way.

00:02:36.491 --> 00:03:16.382
So if you're, if you're familiar with the plot, two main characters, glinda and Elphaba and I'll try to make this quick, I'm not going to give everything, but just so you have context Glenda is the good witch of the east, elphaba is the wicked witch of the west okay, good witch of the north, forgive me and then Elphaba is the wicked witch of the west, and so this whole show is basically the it's like the origin story of the wicked witch, and so in this, in the movie, in the storyline, uh, glinda the good witch and Elphaba, who uh is the wicked witch, actually are friends.

00:03:16.382 --> 00:03:24.806
And so there is a moment where, uh, there's a moment, there's two important moments here in the very beginning, right, elphaba, she's green, right?

00:03:24.806 --> 00:03:37.289
So, like you've seen the Wizard of Oz, this green witch, so that's who that is, she's green, she goes, they're in, like you know, school, boarding school, and she's made fun of because she's green.

00:03:37.289 --> 00:03:39.246
Nobody likes her, including Glinda.

00:03:39.246 --> 00:03:40.147
Glinda makes fun of her.

00:03:40.147 --> 00:03:43.264
They end up rooming together and through.

00:03:43.283 --> 00:03:51.324
A part of that process was, and after, they became best friends.

00:03:51.324 --> 00:03:57.086
Part of the process was then Glenda saying, hey, let me try to help you out, like you know, um, we're gonna.

00:03:57.086 --> 00:04:00.485
You're a spice spice, your look up a little bit.

00:04:00.485 --> 00:04:04.278
You know, I'm going to teach you how to be popular, because that was her thing Right.

00:04:04.278 --> 00:04:06.524
And so she taught her how to be popular.

00:04:06.524 --> 00:04:15.340
She had friends, um, and then she gets to a point where she gets to go meet the wizard, the Wizard of Oz, because she has these special powers that he wants to see.

00:04:15.340 --> 00:04:28.416
And then she does that, learns that the wizard is behind these bad things that are going on in Oz, and so she wants to actually turn against him and try to make it right.

00:04:28.416 --> 00:04:30.218
Well, glinda doesn't want her to do that because she's like and try to make it right.

00:04:30.218 --> 00:04:34.966
Well, glenda doesn't want her to do that because she's like we've worked so hard to get to this point.

00:04:34.966 --> 00:04:36.588
Look at where you are.

00:04:36.588 --> 00:04:53.535
You could be with the wizard, just like don't fly off the handle, don't get upset, don't basically let your emotions get the best of you and don't, don't, don't cause too much tension, don't go against the grain.

00:04:53.535 --> 00:04:56.297
Like we're popular now, like that's what we.

00:04:56.297 --> 00:05:00.146
You know we're, we're in a good place and we're best friends and our lives can be great.

00:05:00.146 --> 00:05:05.641
Why would you want to ruin that by going off and doing something that you know that these powerful people aren't going to like?

00:05:05.641 --> 00:05:07.377
That's essentially what's going on.

00:05:07.377 --> 00:05:08.478
So there's the.

00:05:08.499 --> 00:05:16.730
The very the end scene of the movie is them basically saying you know, elphaba saying, hey, you're going to come with me, you're going to help me out.

00:05:16.730 --> 00:05:33.310
Uh, and Glenda having to make a decision whether or not she's going to go with her best friend and do what's right, or she's going to stay where she is and keep uh, keep, the privilege that she's built up.

00:05:33.310 --> 00:05:38.144
So here's, here's, here's, here's the unlearning right.

00:05:38.144 --> 00:05:49.495
Glenda actually helped Elphaba get to a place where she had enough confidence to do what she was designed to do and born to do.

00:05:49.495 --> 00:05:53.166
She needed confidence and didn't have it.

00:05:53.166 --> 00:06:04.259
Glenda had confidence, she had privilege and she had credibility, and she lended all of those things to Elphaba, who had none of it.

00:06:04.259 --> 00:06:07.221
She needed all of those things.

00:06:07.221 --> 00:06:12.163
She needed confidence, she needed privilege, she needed credibility, and she gave that to her.

00:06:12.163 --> 00:06:18.867
And so one could almost say like you almost owe Glenda for doing that right.

00:06:19.687 --> 00:06:28.410
Well, when it came down to being like, hey, I'm glad I'm in the spot I'm in, we're best friends.

00:06:28.410 --> 00:06:30.879
Things are looking up now.

00:06:30.879 --> 00:06:58.596
We're connected in these very powerful ways to powerful people where we can make real change and we can be a part of the new wave of what's going on, but what they're doing is wrong and I just can't keep going with that, whereas before, without confidence, it would be very easy to kind of fold into the background and maybe still believe that it's wrong, but not really want to do anything about it, because you don't believe that you're capable of doing anything about it.

00:06:58.596 --> 00:07:01.624
Well, glenda gave her that belief.

00:07:01.624 --> 00:07:03.528
She helped her to believe in herself.

00:07:03.528 --> 00:07:05.377
She helped her to gain confidence.

00:07:05.377 --> 00:07:12.401
And now she is saying I can't stand by and watch this thing go bad, like I have to do something about it.

00:07:13.735 --> 00:07:14.976
But Glenda didn't want to go with her.

00:07:14.976 --> 00:07:26.014
And Glenda was like, hey, what got me to where I am is privilege and power, and I don't want to give that up.

00:07:26.014 --> 00:07:32.947
And so Glenda had never known a life without privilege and power.

00:07:32.947 --> 00:07:36.641
Elphaba only knew a life without privilege and power.

00:07:36.641 --> 00:07:38.468
The only thing she needed was a little confidence.

00:07:38.468 --> 00:07:43.324
So going back into a me against the world wasn't anything.

00:07:43.324 --> 00:07:45.596
She's always been she against the world, but now it's her against the world wasn't anything.

00:07:45.596 --> 00:07:48.711
She's always been she against the world, but now it's her against the world and she believes that she can win.

00:07:48.711 --> 00:07:51.874
She doesn't believe she's small, she believes she's powerful.

00:07:51.874 --> 00:07:53.509
That's the difference.

00:07:53.509 --> 00:08:00.033
So the person who helped her get there couldn't part with her power and privilege.

00:08:01.084 --> 00:08:29.839
And so the unlearning is that sometimes the people that help you get to the place where you need to be and where your purpose meets your season, sometimes those people are not meant to continue on, even though they've helped you get to that place, because a lot of times what got them to the place where they can help you also will keep them from moving on with you.

00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:43.758
What got them to the place where they can actually help you privilege and power will keep them from moving on with you if it ever means going against the grain that might make them lose privilege or power.

00:08:43.758 --> 00:08:50.267
It's a really profound thing and sometimes can be really hard to accept.

00:08:50.267 --> 00:09:01.410
But sometimes we have to be put in position when you don't have all that you need to do what it is that your purpose to do.

00:09:01.410 --> 00:09:12.725
Sometimes you'll be connected with people who can help you get to a certain point, who can use what they have and what they've been gifted with granted to get you to a certain point.

00:09:12.725 --> 00:09:25.326
But then sometimes it's important for you to say, hey, but I got to keep going and unfortunately, because it's what got them to where they are and they don't know a life without it.

00:09:25.847 --> 00:09:32.706
A lot of those same people aren't going to keep going with you and that can be painful, but it's something that we have to unlearn.

00:09:32.706 --> 00:09:50.594
Sometimes you have to unlearn it with mentors, with teachers, with coaches, with respected elders, with supervisors, with friends, with family, people who you love, who are close to you, who know you, who have helped you.

00:09:50.594 --> 00:10:01.230
There might be, there might be a point where you have to say we have to go separate ways because I can't continue to stay here, I have to move forward.

00:10:01.230 --> 00:10:23.102
But don't expect them to come, because a lot of times, what they've built, they've got more to lose in this moment than you do, and when that comes, most people aren't going to make that decision to lose what they've built in order to move forward with you.

00:10:23.102 --> 00:10:27.086
That's just the reality and I think it's an important thing that we have to unlearn.

00:10:27.246 --> 00:10:28.168
That's not everybody.

00:10:28.168 --> 00:10:29.412
Some people will give it all up.

00:10:29.412 --> 00:10:32.106
In this particular example, it didn't happen.

00:10:32.106 --> 00:10:34.051
Glenda didn't want to give that up.

00:10:34.051 --> 00:10:39.230
She wanted to be the center of attention, she wanted to be in power, she wanted to have privilege.

00:10:39.230 --> 00:10:50.169
That's who she was at her core, even though she and Elphaba were best friends and they were great and they really loved each other.

00:10:50.169 --> 00:11:04.759
But Elphaba had a different purpose and she couldn't allow Glenda to keep her from her purpose and Glenda wasn't willing to give up what she had to move on with what Elphaba was moving on with.

00:11:14.605 --> 00:11:26.436
So if you find yourself in a situation where you are in partnership with a person who lended you their credibility, their privilege, their power, and you have gotten confidence from that and you're ready to take on the world, you're ready to go.

00:11:26.436 --> 00:11:30.133
You're in a different position, you're in different rooms Now.

00:11:30.133 --> 00:11:33.308
You have a different voice, you have a different um, uh, you, you.

00:11:33.308 --> 00:11:39.769
You see yourself differently, you think differently, and a lot of times you can attribute that to other people.

00:11:39.769 --> 00:11:46.205
Right, other people have helped you get there, and thank God they have, because how else would you have gotten there?

00:11:46.986 --> 00:12:12.730
But there might come a time where you are called to move in a way that might go so much against the grain that the very people who have opened the doors for you to come in and do something and to become something different, where the going against the grain is more for you than it is for them.

00:12:12.730 --> 00:12:30.892
And that doesn't mean they're bad people, it doesn't mean that you can't still be friends, but it does mean that you might have to go forward without them, and it's something we have to unlearn and it's a healthy thing to unlearn and it shouldn't stop us from moving forward and it's okay, it's always okay.

00:12:30.892 --> 00:12:34.394
Uh, so that's it.

00:12:34.394 --> 00:12:39.491
I mean, there was so much more we I took away from that movie and I don't know I might do another one, but that's the first one.

00:12:39.491 --> 00:12:42.708
Um, that first unlearning that that we got.

00:12:43.049 --> 00:12:48.999
You might hear us talking about this on, uh, talks with middle adults, with my, my homie Jaquita, who hasn't, who hasn't seen it yet.

00:12:48.999 --> 00:12:52.533
Hopefully, by this by the time, by this time we're hearing this, hopefully she would have seen it.

00:12:52.533 --> 00:12:57.413
But, uh, you know, we, uh, we, we might, we might end up talking about it.

00:12:57.413 --> 00:12:58.014
I don't know.

00:12:58.014 --> 00:13:01.677
But, man, it's just, it's an incredible movie.

00:13:01.677 --> 00:13:07.320
Again, there's so much power in it and there's so much more I could talk about, but that's going to be it for today.

00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:08.600
I hope that was helpful.

00:13:08.600 --> 00:13:11.422
Um, thanks for listening to freedom Friday.

00:13:11.422 --> 00:13:11.981
Once again.

00:13:11.981 --> 00:13:19.095
Uh, let's keep unlearning together so you can experience more freedom and we will see you next week.

00:13:19.095 --> 00:13:27.855
Thank you once again for listening the Unlearned Podcast.

00:13:27.855 --> 00:13:32.037
We would love to hear your comments and your feedback about the episode.

00:13:32.037 --> 00:13:38.778
Feel free to follow us on Facebook and Instagram and to let us know what you think.

00:13:38.778 --> 00:13:45.136
We're looking forward to the next time when we are able to unlearn together to move forward towards freedom.

00:13:45.136 --> 00:13:46.058
See you then.

Freedom Friday: Unlearnings from the movie “Wicked”

Listen On

Recent Episodes