Western Civilization Gets Glicked – Joseph Holmes

The latest Hollywood fad is trying to launch the next “Barbenheimer” - the unexpected cultural event that came about when two movies, Oppenheimer and Barbie , refused to move from releasing on the same day .

Both are largely critiques of Western civilization, levying similar accusations against it.

The main difference is Wicked ’s accusation is a lot more damning, while Gladiator II gives more hope.

Many of the same critiques in these movies have been levied against the West and America in our world.

The stigma against the wicked witch archetype is a stigma of Christian Western society.

In both Gladiator II and Wicked, the protagonists have a mixed parentage that confers on them a mixed insider/outsider status.

There are different ways the narrative can go when one sets out to fight the man.

People who are rejected and marginalized by the culture are far less likely to identify with it.

In the first Wicked film, Elphaba rejects the Wizard ’s offer and is forced to flee Oz while the Wizard tarnishes her name as a “ Wicked Witch ”.