Wicked: For Good — Understanding the Other

What if the “wicked” one was never wicked at all—just named that way by people who needed a villain? We take Wicked beyond the big screen to explore how labels form, why difference scares us, and how narrative power shapes who gets believed. Through the SALT lens—service, affirmation, love, and transformation—we unpack how stigma attaches to mental health, neurodiversity, race, gender expression, poverty, ability, and the trauma responses that keep people safe while making others uncomfortable.

I share why simple villains are so tempting and how institutions—from families to churches to media—benefit when someone else carries the blame. We talk about Elphaba’s choices as wounds, not wickedness; about how withdrawal gets misread as disrespect, emotion as instability, and boundaries as rebellion. Then we pivot to the friendship between Glinda and Elphaba as a model for seeing one another fully. Transformation doesn’t come through judgment; it grows when we choose connection over assumption and practice affirmation beyond rumor and fear.

We also draw from scripture to show a consistent pattern: the ones society misunderstands—the Samaritan woman, the man among the tombs, Moses with a stutter, David overlooked, even Jesus accused—become the people through whom redemption arrives. That arc invites a personal audit. Who have you misunderstood? Who did you label before you listened? Who told you who you were before you could become yourself? By the end, you’ll have a sharper eye for othering, a kinder framework for difference, and a practical way to serve, affirm, love, and transform your closest circles.

If this conversation moved you, follow the show, share it with someone who needs it, and leave a review telling us one label you’re ready to retire. Your voice helps more people trade simple villains for complicated truths.

The SALT Talk with Jermine Alberty
Service. Affirmation. Love. Transformation.

Thank you for tuning in to The SALT Talk, where we inspire transformation through honest conversations about faith, healing, and purpose.
Be sure to subscribe, rate, and share this episode with someone who needs encouragement today.

To learn more about the SALT Initiative or to book Rev. Alberty for training or speaking engagements, visit www.jerminealberty.com.

Until next time, remember:

Serve with humility, affirm with compassion, love with courage, and live a life of transformation.

Episode Transcript

SPEAKER_00 (00:03):
Welcome to Soft Talk with Jermaine Alberty, where we
explore how service,affirmation, love, and
transformation help us live,heal, and lead with purpose.
Today we turn to the filmmusical Wicked, a story that
flips the narrative and asks usto rethink everything we thought
we knew about good, evil,belonging, and truth.

(00:27):
I went to go see this movie andI was completely blown away.
And here's the anchor to thisidea with this review and this
podcast I'm doing today, becauseI've studied a lot of scripture,
and what I noticed is that whatancient people did not
understand, they demonized ormade other.

(00:48):
And what we still don'tunderstand today, we continue to
other.
This is not just a movie review,it's a reflection on culture,
trauma, faith, and the power ofperception.
Alphabet is not wicked, she'snamed wicked.
Her differences become heraccusation.
Many of us know what it feelslike to be misunderstood,

(01:09):
mislabeled, misinterpreted,judged without being known.
And sometimes the villain isn'twho we are, it's who someone
else needs us to be in order tofeel safe.
From the salt lens ofaffirmation, affirmation means
seeing beyond rumor, fear, andprojection.

(01:30):
You see, alphabet's green skinbecomes a metaphor for the kinds
of differences we stigmatizetoday: mental health,
neurodiversity, culture, traumaresponses, skin tone, gender
expression, poverty, ability.
When we fear difference, wedistance, and when we distance,
we dehumanize.
The salt lens here is love,because love recognizes humanity

(01:55):
even when we don't fullyunderstand.
The wizard teaches a hard truth.
People prefer a simple villainover a complicated truth.
And throughout history andtoday, people in power have
recognized narrative.
Families do it, churches do it,media does it, social networks

(02:17):
amplify it.
The salt lens here is service.
Service asks who benefits whensomeone else is blamed.
Alpha doesn't act fromwickedness, she acts from
rejection, longing,disappointment, and moral
conviction.
And many of us, especially infaith spaces, have been punished

(02:38):
for trauma responses.
Withdrawal mistaken fordisrespect, emotion mistaken for
instability, boundaries mistakenfor rebellion.
If we understood the womb, wewould interpret the behavior
differently.
You see, the friendship betweenGlenda and Alphabet reminds us
we are shaped by the people whotruly see us.

(02:58):
When they sing for good, themessage is clear.
We are transformed throughrelationship, not judgment.
The salt lens of transformationis simply this transformation
happens when we chooseconnection over assumption.
You see, scripture is full ofpeople who were othered.
The Samaritan woman, the manamong the tombs, Moses with a

(03:22):
stutter, David was overlooked,Jesus himself accused and fear,
and the spiritual truth remains.
The rejected one becomes theredemptive one.
God often works through the onesociety misunderstands.
So let me ask you, who have youmisunderstood?
Who did you label before youlistened?
Who did you assume was difficultwhen they were really hurting?

(03:45):
And on the other side, who toldyou who you were before you had
a chance to become yourself?
You see, wicked reminds us noone is born the villain.
Sometimes they are cast in therole.
And for good reminds us healinghappens when we see each other
fully.
So today, may we see deeper,judge slower, welcome wider,

(04:09):
listen longer, because the worlddoesn't need more people who
demonize the unfamiliar.
The world needs people willingto understand it.
Thank you for joining me todayon the Salt Talk.
I'm Jermaine Alberty, remindingyou that transformation begins
with how you speak, how youlove, and how you live.
Until next time, serve, affirm,love, and transform.

(04:31):
This is Jermaine Alberty, andyou'll be listening to the Salt
Talk.