Hello! One more thought that didn't make it into the video - Elphaba often copes with big feelings by immediately literally sprinting in the opposite direction. This is a characteristically autistic thing, known as "elopement" which from a personal perspective feels like "there are too many thoughts and feelings happening right now, my entire body feels like it is buzzing and on fire, I need to run and also get out of here as fast as humanly possible" which often ends up with us running off to other places and not remembering how we got there. It makes sense for her to show this behavior in Act II because she is jumpy and used to being in hiding, but we actually see this behavior more in Act I. Also sorry for the Sondheim/Schwartz slip-up at 21:18! So many Stephens to keep track of lol
Really loved your highlighting of the link between changeling child folklore and disabled or neurodivergent children. I had picked up on the character's parallel with that folklore when I read the books, back in the day, but had not made the further links (admittedly, I knew very little about such things at the time)
I sat down to watch a few minutes of this before I start my day and ended up watching it all in one go! Thank you for this analysis, I will have to go listen to the soundtrack on repeat now... Wicked was the second musical I'd ever seen live, as a fourteen year old with no clue who I was, and all that relating to Elphaba just makes so much sense now. I really enjoy the way you phrase nuanced topics; Nessa's analysis being a good example of it, of how you can express the complicated truth which is how some things can be done better or differently but how the trope plays into the plot and actually describes lived experiences so you can't just like throw it out, you know? I find myself analysing most media I watch in this way, especially ones I absolutely adore -- like I so love Evita but the undertones and the underlying sexism given the book the musical was based off of is undeniable, but there are still parts of the show, even unintended ones, which I really resonate with. I think a funny part of the autistic experience is I often get labelled as thinking in black and white, but often I feel my takes are more nuanced because sort of, no conclusion is really off limits, it's just determined by a set of beliefs I have about the world which come from experience. This often leads me to make conclusions others find rigid, but I feel as though my methodological approach to things allows me to reach conclusions different to whatever instinct I would initially have about a thing, based on reason. Sometimes I think black and white thinking just means having different opinions to the norm because you actually have a set of (very well cultivated and nuanced) rules to conclude things, as opposed to just letting your inherent biases dictate your beliefs, but I digress. What I meant to say by that unnecessarily long tangent is, I enjoy the way you reason about things, and look forward for the ones to come!! Also, if you do one on Amelie, I will be so happy as it is one of my comfort medias. Thank you again for making my morning!!
you timed this so perfectly with my re-entry into my wicked phase sydney im very excited to watch this whole video while i put off all my schoolwork :)))
Thank you for this. I am just coming to understand my autism and I've been watching through your videos. You discussion of Glinda in particular was really helpful, I've never thought about my tendency to analyze and make rules to navigate social interactions in that light before.
I found you through your RTC video recently, and between that, this video, and the amount of interesting content you've been putting out, I subscribed! Keep doing what you're doing, it's such important work, especially for non-disabled people like me who need to learn a lot! (It's also useful because I'm writing a wheelchair user for a book I'm writing and I need all the info I can get on what works and what doesn't as I write before I send it out to be sensitivity read in like. 8 years probably.) Also, the way you're so passionate about Wicked makes me really happy, idk why!
I love Wicked and thank you for this deep dive in its show characters. I think if you like Wicked you could talk about the school for good and evil book or movie as the first book is a lot like Wicked. Although none of the characters are shown to have visible disabilities I do see Agatha the main lead having autism maybe
Finally got the time and spoons to watch this video, and WOW!!! I have so many thoughts, but I’m terrible at writing so I can’t put them all into a neat little comment. Basically, this video is one of my favorite things to ever exist, like actually, not exaggerating. I will be rewatching this multiple times to make sure I understand all the things (this is a very dense video, which I love, but will require many slowed-down and captioned rewatches to fully grasp), and forcing everyone I know to watch it. I don’t think I agree with every single point, but that’s what makes it fun to think about! Also, I’d love if a fellow Jewish person could explain a bit more about why it seems like so many stories have nods to antisemitism.
Thanks for such an excellent, thorough analysis. I wasn't surprised to see Elphaba analyzed as showing possible autistic traits, but I never could have articulated what they are, specifically, the way you did. And I had never considered the idea that Glinda might show high-masking autistic traits before, yet you made such a convincing case for it!
I’m about 23mins in but I want to say: 1) I saw Wicked in seventh grade in Chicago. First time seeing a non-high school musical, but I remember being overstimulated by the city noises and none of the musical itself lol. I am now determined to rewatch it, as your synopsis was excellent and I like fantasy w heavy political elements. 2. Hey, everyone in my life also told me to not read the book bc it’s bad and inappropriate! So I never did, but you gushing about it has convinced me to give it a shot.
So much of this resonated with me and my mid knowledge of theater. As a child I watched the Wizard of Oz countless times. Your point on changlings connected deeply with me in terms of trans experience. The idea that a child deviates from the percieved projection or desire of a parent and is in such a way 'deceptive' is so resonant. The FASD concept interested me as well as it speaks to the defence of a parent for the consequences of thier own actions. I think about the mandrake and witches conspiring and we definitely get into the mirk of antisemitism, but the point being here that someone is made a scapegoat for problems that are perhaps only internal to ableism
The ending with the author was so touching and lovely. I've never seen Wicked, I'm not a Broadway theater person (partially because I grew up in a non-English speaking country) but all of your theater analysis videos have been so interesting to watch.
Now that I finally finished the lovely and interesting video I want to add my two cents. It’s really interesting that Nessarose’s disability was switched. I’d imagine this was because they could put able-bodied actors in a wheelchair and they couldn’t do the same thing with limb difference. I also think the idea that Elphaba went to school in part to be a support for her sister (at least from my understanding and perspective) is really interesting to have a conversation about. My opinion of that has always been that Nessarose knew Elphaba wanted to go to the school and that she hadn’t been able to a few years prior so it was half genuine and half scheme. It’s also interesting that (to our knowledge) the school didn’t offer some sort of support so this disabled student could attend, it was all up to Nessarose and her family. If you see this and want to respond or correct me, please keep in mind that I’ve never saw the show, only listened to the music and read a few synopsis.
This video was so incredible, and well researched, I loved it so much! I'm going see Wicked for the second time later this week and I'm so excited to watch it through this lens as a disabled autistic person
Hello. I finished the video, and you asked for comments telling you so. You also asked for thoughts on Wicked. My thoughts on Wicked are meaningless because I haven't seen it. I enjoyed this video essay. It was fun and informative. Thank you for it.
I discovered your content from your "A ... person reviews ... media" (I know there are a few different series hence the blanks) and I'm so glad that I found your long form content! I love wicked but didn't know nearly this much about it so it was very cool to learn, especially through this lens. Thank you for sharing your research and experience, it was a joy to watch
Being irritated by people who like popular things is good defense against simple lies. and people associate that feeling with the thing itself. Someone in my life talked about a popular writer they loved and said they were such an inspiration for their own works but in retrospect didn't seem to actually know anything about that writer or the art at all. It's hard not to hold onto negative associations towards that writer because of that person
31:33 personally I didn’t understood that Elphaba and Nessa’s disabilities were a product of infidelity rather than drug addiction. First the magical green elixir and later the pinlobe flowers Malena chewed all day to stay sedated. For me it makes a lot of sense.
I am Autistic ( and ADHD , OCD and have dyspraxia) Wicked is proabbly my biggest comfort media ever 😍🙏❗️ I am also Bi. Elphaba is my #1 Comfort charather ❤
Okay hunchback is my favorite disability show. It is promatic but it is the one if the first bits of literature to be like the disabled person is the good guy! Everyone eles sucks. Like esmeralda holds a pretty pot with dead flowers to her chest instead of the ugly pot with alive flowers as a visual metaphor of thebus and quasi. Quasi is the best choice here. I know there is many problematic things with the romani people ie they stole esmeralda from her mom. But its such a great message saying disability and uglyness doesn't make you evil especially for that time period
The “clapping at the slippers” thing also reminded me of the “would it be alright by you if I degreenify you” line in The Wizard and I. Did Elphie want to be degreenified in the book?
Not that I remember? In the show she is a lot more outwardly/visibly insecure. In the book you get a lot more overcompensation/overconfidence (basically Act II Elphaba energy is first half of the book Elphaba energy if that makes any sense)
It's always come off as problematic when writers try to use animals in allegories about bigotry (I'm looking at you Zootopia, you copaganda mess) mostly because one of the biggest tropes is to dehumanize the other by calling or comparing them to animals. The whole point of "race science" is that there is an actual physiological (and thus classifiable) difference between people depending on race. The same thing is used all the time when mental illness is brought up as well in comparison to people acting like "beasts". It happens most often in children's books which is probably the most problematic place to put it. Why not just have other races and/or queer people in the story instead of trying to be sneaky and problematic and getting banned anyway?
![ABA is abuse... right? [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SubGVEbE_HU/mqdefault.jpg)
![ABA is abuse... right? [CC]](/img/tr.png)
![Tier Ranking 100 Autism Representations in Media [CC]](/img/1.gif)
Hello! One more thought that didn't make it into the video -
Elphaba often copes with big feelings by immediately literally sprinting in the opposite direction. This is a characteristically autistic thing, known as "elopement" which from a personal perspective feels like "there are too many thoughts and feelings happening right now, my entire body feels like it is buzzing and on fire, I need to run and also get out of here as fast as humanly possible" which often ends up with us running off to other places and not remembering how we got there. It makes sense for her to show this behavior in Act II because she is jumpy and used to being in hiding, but we actually see this behavior more in Act I.
Also sorry for the Sondheim/Schwartz slip-up at 21:18! So many Stephens to keep track of lol
Really loved your highlighting of the link between changeling child folklore and disabled or neurodivergent children. I had picked up on the character's parallel with that folklore when I read the books, back in the day, but had not made the further links (admittedly, I knew very little about such things at the time)
I sat down to watch a few minutes of this before I start my day and ended up watching it all in one go!
Thank you for this analysis, I will have to go listen to the soundtrack on repeat now... Wicked was the second musical I'd ever seen live, as a fourteen year old with no clue who I was, and all that relating to Elphaba just makes so much sense now.
I really enjoy the way you phrase nuanced topics; Nessa's analysis being a good example of it, of how you can express the complicated truth which is how some things can be done better or differently but how the trope plays into the plot and actually describes lived experiences so you can't just like throw it out, you know? I find myself analysing most media I watch in this way, especially ones I absolutely adore -- like I so love Evita but the undertones and the underlying sexism given the book the musical was based off of is undeniable, but there are still parts of the show, even unintended ones, which I really resonate with.
I think a funny part of the autistic experience is I often get labelled as thinking in black and white, but often I feel my takes are more nuanced because sort of, no conclusion is really off limits, it's just determined by a set of beliefs I have about the world which come from experience. This often leads me to make conclusions others find rigid, but I feel as though my methodological approach to things allows me to reach conclusions different to whatever instinct I would initially have about a thing, based on reason. Sometimes I think black and white thinking just means having different opinions to the norm because you actually have a set of (very well cultivated and nuanced) rules to conclude things, as opposed to just letting your inherent biases dictate your beliefs, but I digress.
What I meant to say by that unnecessarily long tangent is, I enjoy the way you reason about things, and look forward for the ones to come!! Also, if you do one on Amelie, I will be so happy as it is one of my comfort medias. Thank you again for making my morning!!
you timed this so perfectly with my re-entry into my wicked phase sydney im very excited to watch this whole video while i put off all my schoolwork :)))
Making this video solidly launched me back into my Wicked phase anddddd I don't think my apartment neighbors are super thrilled about it :)))
Thank you for this. I am just coming to understand my autism and I've been watching through your videos. You discussion of Glinda in particular was really helpful, I've never thought about my tendency to analyze and make rules to navigate social interactions in that light before.
I found you through your RTC video recently, and between that, this video, and the amount of interesting content you've been putting out, I subscribed! Keep doing what you're doing, it's such important work, especially for non-disabled people like me who need to learn a lot! (It's also useful because I'm writing a wheelchair user for a book I'm writing and I need all the info I can get on what works and what doesn't as I write before I send it out to be sensitivity read in like. 8 years probably.)
Also, the way you're so passionate about Wicked makes me really happy, idk why!
I love Wicked and thank you for this deep dive in its show characters. I think if you like Wicked you could talk about the school for good and evil book or movie as the first book is a lot like Wicked. Although none of the characters are shown to have visible disabilities I do see Agatha the main lead having autism maybe
Finally got the time and spoons to watch this video, and WOW!!! I have so many thoughts, but I’m terrible at writing so I can’t put them all into a neat little comment. Basically, this video is one of my favorite things to ever exist, like actually, not exaggerating. I will be rewatching this multiple times to make sure I understand all the things (this is a very dense video, which I love, but will require many slowed-down and captioned rewatches to fully grasp), and forcing everyone I know to watch it. I don’t think I agree with every single point, but that’s what makes it fun to think about! Also, I’d love if a fellow Jewish person could explain a bit more about why it seems like so many stories have nods to antisemitism.
Thanks for such an excellent, thorough analysis. I wasn't surprised to see Elphaba analyzed as showing possible autistic traits, but I never could have articulated what they are, specifically, the way you did. And I had never considered the idea that Glinda might show high-masking autistic traits before, yet you made such a convincing case for it!
I’m about 23mins in but I want to say:
1) I saw Wicked in seventh grade in Chicago. First time seeing a non-high school musical, but I remember being overstimulated by the city noises and none of the musical itself lol. I am now determined to rewatch it, as your synopsis was excellent and I like fantasy w heavy political elements.
2. Hey, everyone in my life also told me to not read the book bc it’s bad and inappropriate! So I never did, but you gushing about it has convinced me to give it a shot.
Gladly got to the end. Genius, joyful, gratieful to learn so much 🤩
So much of this resonated with me and my mid knowledge of theater. As a child I watched the Wizard of Oz countless times. Your point on changlings connected deeply with me in terms of trans experience. The idea that a child deviates from the percieved projection or desire of a parent and is in such a way 'deceptive' is so resonant. The FASD concept interested me as well as it speaks to the defence of a parent for the consequences of thier own actions. I think about the mandrake and witches conspiring and we definitely get into the mirk of antisemitism, but the point being here that someone is made a scapegoat for problems that are perhaps only internal to ableism
The ending with the author was so touching and lovely. I've never seen Wicked, I'm not a Broadway theater person (partially because I grew up in a non-English speaking country) but all of your theater analysis videos have been so interesting to watch.
Now that I finally finished the lovely and interesting video I want to add my two cents. It’s really interesting that Nessarose’s disability was switched. I’d imagine this was because they could put able-bodied actors in a wheelchair and they couldn’t do the same thing with limb difference. I also think the idea that Elphaba went to school in part to be a support for her sister (at least from my understanding and perspective) is really interesting to have a conversation about. My opinion of that has always been that Nessarose knew Elphaba wanted to go to the school and that she hadn’t been able to a few years prior so it was half genuine and half scheme. It’s also interesting that (to our knowledge) the school didn’t offer some sort of support so this disabled student could attend, it was all up to Nessarose and her family. If you see this and want to respond or correct me, please keep in mind that I’ve never saw the show, only listened to the music and read a few synopsis.
This video was so incredible, and well researched, I loved it so much! I'm going see Wicked for the second time later this week and I'm so excited to watch it through this lens as a disabled autistic person
This was an amazingly in-depth analysis. I went into this not knowing anything about the show but I thoroughly every minutee of it. Incredible work ❤
Hello. I finished the video, and you asked for comments telling you so. You also asked for thoughts on Wicked. My thoughts on Wicked are meaningless because I haven't seen it. I enjoyed this video essay. It was fun and informative. Thank you for it.
I discovered your content from your "A ... person reviews ... media" (I know there are a few different series hence the blanks) and I'm so glad that I found your long form content! I love wicked but didn't know nearly this much about it so it was very cool to learn, especially through this lens. Thank you for sharing your research and experience, it was a joy to watch
Got to the end--so good! Thank you!
Sydney! You are a coolest wooman alive!!! I Love You!!! Keep Doing what you doing!!!
Being irritated by people who like popular things is good defense against simple lies. and people associate that feeling with the thing itself.
Someone in my life talked about a popular writer they loved and said they were such an inspiration for their own works but in retrospect didn't seem to actually know anything about that writer or the art at all. It's hard not to hold onto negative associations towards that writer because of that person
31:33 personally I didn’t understood that Elphaba and Nessa’s disabilities were a product of infidelity rather than drug addiction. First the magical green elixir and later the pinlobe flowers Malena chewed all day to stay sedated. For me it makes a lot of sense.
I am Autistic ( and ADHD , OCD and have
dyspraxia) Wicked is proabbly my biggest comfort media ever 😍🙏❗️
I am also Bi.
Elphaba is my #1 Comfort charather ❤
I am Autistic and Elphba is one of my Favorite charathers ever ❤️❗️
I think the orginal book is great !
Okay hunchback is my favorite disability show. It is promatic but it is the one if the first bits of literature to be like the disabled person is the good guy! Everyone eles sucks. Like esmeralda holds a pretty pot with dead flowers to her chest instead of the ugly pot with alive flowers as a visual metaphor of thebus and quasi. Quasi is the best choice here. I know there is many problematic things with the romani people ie they stole esmeralda from her mom. But its such a great message saying disability and uglyness doesn't make you evil especially for that time period
My Favorite musical ever 😍😁❤️❗️
Great video! ❤❤❤
Elphaba is my biggest comfort character , wicked( the novel ) is one of my favorite books and The musical my favorite stage musical EVER !
The “clapping at the slippers” thing also reminded me of the “would it be alright by you if I degreenify you” line in The Wizard and I. Did Elphie want to be degreenified in the book?
Not that I remember? In the show she is a lot more outwardly/visibly insecure. In the book you get a lot more overcompensation/overconfidence (basically Act II Elphaba energy is first half of the book Elphaba energy if that makes any sense)
It's always come off as problematic when writers try to use animals in allegories about bigotry (I'm looking at you Zootopia, you copaganda mess) mostly because one of the biggest tropes is to dehumanize the other by calling or comparing them to animals. The whole point of "race science" is that there is an actual physiological (and thus classifiable) difference between people depending on race. The same thing is used all the time when mental illness is brought up as well in comparison to people acting like "beasts". It happens most often in children's books which is probably the most problematic place to put it. Why not just have other races and/or queer people in the story instead of trying to be sneaky and problematic and getting banned anyway?
How does this video have so few views, I want it to get attention!
Is it okey to only watch certain chapters of the video ❓🥺
Why wouldn’t it be? It’s your time and the chapters are there for a reason