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Author Topic:   Wicked
Venus
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posted June 08, 2012 07:52 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Venus     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
i was drawn to a green book at the bookstore the other day, turns out to be Maguire's Wicked baught it and currently started reading it..

anyone here read it before? i loved what they wrote on the back, about getting a new prespective on evil.. i like that

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PixieJane
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posted June 08, 2012 10:27 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for PixieJane     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
One of my favorite books.

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Randall
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posted June 25, 2012 10:26 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
What is it about?

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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Tofu addict
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posted June 25, 2012 01:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tofu addict     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
http://gregorymaguire.com/books/wicked.html

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Randall
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posted June 26, 2012 12:02 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks!

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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Venus
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posted June 29, 2012 01:42 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Venus     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
i finished it and have to say it blew me away!

loved it, and needless to say as per my habit i saw myself in that green misunderstood witch..

what broke my heart was clearly how she lost it in the last part of the book, she was losing it gradually until finally she realized the scarecrow was not Fiyero and then she just went mad..

how she compared herself to Dorothy was very interesting, she thought that Dorothy was her long lost soul finally catching up with her..

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Randall
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posted June 30, 2012 10:56 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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Randall
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posted July 01, 2012 11:54 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
It would make for a great movie.

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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Venus
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posted July 02, 2012 02:58 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Venus     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
yess!! especially if they cast me as the green witch, she actually resembles me according to Maguire's descriptions except for the green skin hehe

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charmainec
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posted July 02, 2012 04:43 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for charmainec     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

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quote:
Remember, love can conquer the influences of the planets....It can even eliminate karma.

Linda Goodman

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PixieJane
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posted August 25, 2012 06:52 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for PixieJane     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There's a musical version of this, and while I think it's brilliant in some ways it also took out a lot of the brave and dark looks at the nature of evil and society which made it too sweetness and light for many fans of the book (likewise, many who loved the musical hated the book). So if they made a movie then they'd have to choose between appealing to the readers and the fans of the musical.

I saw that there's an Oz movie coming out soon. Can't wait to see it.

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PhoenixFire
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posted August 30, 2012 06:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for PhoenixFire     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
I watched the musical, and it was beautiful! I loved it, perhaps my favorite musical ever. I especially love the defying gravity song, and Alphaba's courageous soul. Im trying to find the book online

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PixieJane
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posted August 30, 2012 09:19 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for PixieJane     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Defying Gravity:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3g4ekwTd6Ig

Just keep in mind that the musical would be rated PG, but a movie more like the novel would be rated R at the very least and could easily be rated NC-17.

(For those unfamiliar with USA movie ratings, you can find them explained here)

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PhoenixFire
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posted September 05, 2012 06:11 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for PhoenixFire     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thank you, Pixie =)


I haven't read the book yet; why do you think a movie version would be rated R (just curious)?

THanks again =)


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PixieJane
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posted September 05, 2012 07:03 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for PixieJane     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The book is thick with profanity, bodily functions (and one myth of how some were Animals instead of animals was animals swimming across the urine of a goddess, and those who turned back remained animals, while those who made it to the other side became Animals), blatant sexuality (with vulgar talk as well as descriptions of sex scenes, some more vulgar than romantic, that leave little to the imagination, and also a pleasure faith being an important detail to the story), and scenes of extreme brutality (typically with a victim loosing control of one's bowels and/or bladder). The government is far more cruel, as are those who rebel against it. IIRC, the Goat Doctor Dillamond in the musical was just made dumb, an ordinary goat, but in the book he was brutally assassinated, and it's a very important action (including the brutality of it) that defines the characters and their actions (none of whom are as sweet as they are in the musical). Nessarose was born without arms rather than stuck in a wheelchair. Elphie dies at the end.

Of course much of the book (especially the darker times) aren't even mentioned in the musical.

And how much did the musical portray the Cowardly Lion as a cub? In the novel he was tortured in class (after his mother killed) in an attempt to get the class to accept the Nazi-like contempt of Animals (as opposed to animals). Did they have that in the musical?

And there are other scenes that could easily get it NC-17, like the the soldier that thinks they should capture Dorothy when she passes to tie her up and gang rape her and what his commander (who has strict orders from the wizard to let Dorothy proceed unmolested) does to him in response to make sure no other soldier contemplates such an act, and what Elphie does in response (and why).

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PhoenixFire
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posted September 05, 2012 08:59 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for PhoenixFire     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Oh wow, the musical is very watered down then. Seems almost like a different story. The torture discriptions remind me of the last section of the book, the house of the spirits. So sad that Elphie dies, I love her ): I still want to read the book, it sounds very deep

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Venus
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posted September 21, 2012 09:24 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Venus     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
PixieJane, what do you think of the definitions of evil that were discussed near the end of the book? and about that line where Elphie described evil as a dragon in an egg..

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Randall
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posted September 22, 2012 10:06 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Dragon in an egg sounds cool.

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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PixieJane
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posted September 23, 2012 12:12 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for PixieJane     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Venus:
PixieJane, what do you think of the definitions of evil that were discussed near the end of the book? and about that line where Elphie described evil as a dragon in an egg..

That was so many conflicting views of evil summed up on how people define it in base terms. I can't help but suspect the author had a discussion on it on Usenet given the wide disparity of thought on the matter.

And I think it was an astute observation on evil in the dragon egg. The biggest problem with identifying evil is it's so easy for evil to transfer itself to the crusader (if the crusader isn't evil enough already). For example, society the 70s saw itself reflecting on the rampant child abuse, and feminists focused on sexual abuse in particular. This is certainly good and in opposition of evil. But then psychiatrists found ways to exploit it for financial gain and the interest made the media (especially Geraldo, and his success inspired others to follow suit) then focused on it which included at least one who claimed to have been abused by Satanists (Christianity Today actually debunked it, I can't recall if they said she was schizo or an attention seeker) and thus through the media the social forces now standing up for children, feminists against child sex abuse, and fundies against Satanists (which tended to become anything other than Christian, heck Chick Publications even paints a great many Christians as secret Satanists) which was then exploited by prosecutors & politicians (even Al Gore exploited it) leading to a new evil and it, too, destroyed children's lives. That is to say those determined to fight evil became a disturbing reflection of the very thing they fought and claimed many innocent children directly and indirectly (while ironically overlooking plenty of genuine abuse victims). The dragon had disappeared from the egg all the moral crusaders had hatched and was then in the moral crusaders themselves.

And I also liked this line by Boq (which also reminds me of the above):

"People who claim that they're evil are usually no worse than the rest of us. It's people who claim that they're good, or anyway better than the rest of us, that you have to be wary of."

Btw, if you liked the discussions on good and evil then I recommend the novel White Oleander as both a mother & daughter reflect on the subject (and the girl, from age 13-18, changes her views a lot). One difference is that the mother really is evil (not 100%) and has learned to validate herself in her choices rather than rationalize it. The author said something about thinking up the mother when thinking of some really amoral Japanese women (or maybe it was a queen, I forget) many centuries ago with a philosophy that justified their ruthlessness and wondered what would such a person be like today in our modern society? I found the mother both evil and scary, but she was also intriguing and fascinating, too. And, of course, her daughter is forced to deal with that philosophy as she matures.

For the most part the book is FAR superior to the movie (especially on the philosophy), but here's a sample that you gives you a taste (very simplified compared to the book) in the first 1 minute and 40 seconds:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Cx4a4hiUo

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Randall
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posted September 24, 2012 11:46 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
There is a movie already?

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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PixieJane
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posted September 26, 2012 09:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for PixieJane     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by Randall:
There is a movie already?


Of White Oleander, not Wicked.

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Randall
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posted September 27, 2012 10:22 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for Randall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Ah.

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"Never mentally imagine for another that which you would not want to experience for yourself, since the mental image you send out inevitably comes back to you." Rebecca Clark

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