Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) is reviled in the original The Wizard of Oz and celebrated in the musical Wicked and its movie spinoffs. The shift raises questions about how we decide what is ‘good’ and what is ‘evil’. The Wizard of Oz presents a fairly simplistic view that what we see can be trusted to guide us. Wicked complicates the picture, showing us that those who appear to be good may have bad intentions, and those labeled as evil may actually be doing good.
Questions of good and evil have fascinated philosophers, movie makers, and parents for millennia. In particular, parents and caregivers wonder how to help children recognize and deal with evil when they encounter it. We want kids to become astute observers of the world, able to spot a wolf in sheep’s clothing and resist demonizing those who are simply different from them. And that means we need to talk about the complexities of human behavior and the importance of intentions as well as outcomes.
Movies and books can be helpful to kick off such conversations. Watch Wicked or Wicked: For Good and wonder together about the disconnections between who claims to be good and who acts for the good of others. Read A Mystery in the Forest or The Little Wooden Robot and the Log Princess and notice how intentions can have unintended consequences. Then talk about your own experiences with trying to be good or wishing bad for others sometimes.
Parents and caregivers also wonder how to help children respond to the pain and suffering we associate with evil. Philosophers suggest there are at least four options open to us. The first is reclusion: hiding out in our house or room to avoid dealing with bad things in the world outside. When a child comes home from school upset and runs to their room, they may be employing this response after a frustrating or upsetting experience.
The second option is hedonism: embracing pleasure as an escape mechanism from suffering. Drug experimentation and addiction are an example of this response, as are stress eating and excessive gaming and streaming activities. A child (or adult) figures that suffering is inevitable, so they should seize fun and good feelings while they can.
Option number three is indifference: treating evil as a part of life that can’t be controlled, so it must be accepted. This response can build resilience in children, as it acknowledges the limits of their power in the world. However, it can also suggest that systemic evils like racism, sexism, and classism are inevitable and shouldn’t be resisted.
The healthiest option is transcendence: finding meaning, optimism, and hope in the face of evil. When children engage in acts of kindness and care, they see themselves as contributing something good to their community. They experience a sense of agency and their ability to make a difference. Pain and suffering then become setbacks that they believe they and others can overcome by doing something good.
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