Wicked is many things: a book, a musical, and, most recently, a two-part movie. Wicked tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch from “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”. “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” is a 1900 novel written by L. Frank Baum. The novel surrounds the adventures of Dorothy in the magical land of Oz. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz storyline is a metaphor for the populist movement of America and its fall. In 1995, a book by Gregory Maguire called “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” was published. The 2003 musical is based on the 1995 novel, and the Wicked and Wicked: For Good movies directed by Jon M. Chu ,in turn, are based on the musical.
In Wicked, it is portrayed that a green tonic that Elphaba’s mother was drinking led to Elphaba’s green skin. In Wicked, Elphaba is the real name of the Wicked Witch of the West.
It is widely known that substances such as alcohol and tobacco can cause birth defects. Examples of birth defects include low birth weight, lung damage, and low IQ. Other than alcohol and tobacco, there are medications used to treat ailments that may cause fetal abnormalities. Many drugs are used with caution during pregnancy or lactation because of this reason. It is a reason why nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and tetracyclines are not recommended during pregnancy. Birth defects that can possibly be pigmentation changes, such as the orange pigmentation of the teeth caused by tetracyclines.
It is possible for birth defects to cause greenish pigmentation. Examples of such birthmarks are Mongolian spots and “green jaundice”. Mongolian spots are birthmarks that can range in colour from bluish-green to black in colour. According to a 2013 article by Divya Gupta and Devinder Mohan Thappa, Mongolian spots cannot be considered benign birthmarks because it has been shown that “Mongolian spots (MS) are often associated with co-existent anomalies like inherited disorders of metabolism, vascular birthmarks and occult spinal dysraphism.” According to The American Journal of Medicine, “Green jaundice” is associated with elevated direct bilirubin levels. Elevated direct bilirubin levels may indicate a disease affecting the gallbladder,liver and other organs involved in the production and distribution of bile(Cleveland Clinic). Even though these birth defects cause green pigmentation, they are not known to be caused directly by a chemical, like how tetracyclines cause orange pigmentation.
There is also a disease that is rarely reported in present times that causes green pigmentation. This illness is called chlorosis. It is a nutritional disease that was mostly found in adolescent girls and young women. According to K Y Guggenheim in the article Chlorosis: The rise and disappearance of a nutritional disease, Chlorosis was treated with iron supplements. Chlorosis was first described in the 16th century. Incidence of the illness increased in the end of the nineteenth century, and by the 1930s, the disease stopped being reported. The cause of chlorosis is not clearly known today.
In this case, the proposal that green skin can be caused by chemicals has scant evidence. This means that chances are low that green pigmentation of the skin can be caused by the consumption of chemicals. Even so, complete adherence to medicine should not be expected from a fantasy movie. Elphaba’s green skin serves as a metaphor for being different in an apparent way. In the real world, this can manifest as having a birthmark or even having to use a wheelchair. There may be multiple reactions, whether it be ostracization by her parents or acceptance by her peers at the Shiz. This is just like the real world. The core of issues such as nativism,racism, and homophobia is that people are different, and that can provoke aggressive reactions. In films like Wicked, it does not matter as much that the small details are accurate. It is fun to learn whether things like green skin are possible in real life. I would have never heard of chlorosis if I did not do research for this article. What really matters is what lessons you take away from such films and apply them to real life.
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