If you didnโt know, Bowen, whoโs been nominated for four Emmy awards for his work on SNL, is the showโs first openly queer Asian cast member. Heโs been outspoken about his experience as a gay man, especially on his podcast Las Culturistas, where he recently opened up about his experience in conversion therapy.
In a conversation at the British Film Institute as part of the London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival this week, Bowen sat down to discuss all things Wicked and got candid about the filmโs themes and significance.
Bowen described Wicked as a โpolitically tragicโ film, referring to the storyโs othering of Elphaba due to the color of her skin. He then went on to point out that given the movieโs larger message, itโs a surprise that itโs seen such commercial success.
โItโs crazy that Wicked is out in the world and doing so well. When itโs a story about racism and fascism, all these things. Iโm like, โOh shit, yeah,โโ he explained.
โIt is miraculous that itโs out there,โ he continued. โLike, the only reason the wizard has powers is because he creates problems for other people.โ Which, spoiler alert, refers to the reveal that the wizard is truly powerless, and serves as a dictator figure in Oz.
And itโs definitely not just Bowen who has pointed out the prominence of racial themes in the movie. In an interview with Variety, costume designer Paul Tazewell described Elphaba as โa young woman who was marginalized because of the color of her skin.โ And when Cynthia Erivo was cast as Elphaba, fans immediately noticed the significance of the character being played by a Black woman, given the movieโs message.
Cynthia herself has previously talked about how she personally relates to Elphabaโs experience of being othered. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she revealed, โI just know what itโs like to feel like you donโt fit. Like you are just outside of the ordinary, like thereโs no room for you. I know what that all feels like. I guess I used Elphaba as this wonderful opportunity to share that experience. And I think the wonderful thing about that is that I know there are so many people watching who feel the same, so I feel like itโs a big of a hug for anyone who feels that way.โ
What are your thoughts? Did Wickedโs themes resonate for you? LMK down below in the comments.
