Things look a bit different around here today! That's because we just relaunched this website, rebuilt from the ground up to be faster and easier to use.
It's hard to believe I started No Film School over thirteen years ago! This is now on our third version of the website, and we've got a lot of exciting things coming.
Last time we relaunched, all the way back in 2014, the objective was to build a full-fledged community site, with forums and user pages. Unfortunately that didn't work, thanks to spam, bots, and a lack of resources. In retrospect, we were perhaps a bit too ambitious for a niche website. This time around, our priorities are simpler: speed and ease of navigation.
What's New?
The topics are listed right across the top so they're easy to find. There's a new nav (hit the "hamburger" at top left — more to come soon). We're using infinite scroll technology to load relevant articles next. But for the most part, we're focused on modernizing the site for better load times and a better user experience.
We're also using an entirely new back-end, but that doesn't matter to you, the readers! Indeed, most of the changes are behind-the-scenes, with a new CMS (Content Management System) that will enable us to write more/superior articles, and handle multimedia and other embeds better. Oh, and the comments have changed...
Comments
For now, we're using Facebook comments. We're nearing a million followers on Facebook (thanks to you!) so that is our single largest engaged user group, and we hope by offering a simple comment login process, we'll make it easiest to hear from you all.
The bad news, as we previously mentioned, is the old comments are unfortunately gone. We'll find out if this is the best commenting solution going forward, by hearing from you — and by seeing what kind of spam/moderation issues we might have... But we're glad to have you here!
We're just getting started
The site will continue to change, post-launch. We're working on many changes that didn't make it in time for launch, so stay tuned! In the meantime, please leave us a comment below to test it out!
The first time I saw Wicked was in Boston with my roommate after her boyfriend dumped her, and I got to take his ticket. So, I will forever be grateful to that dummy because I had an amazing time.
The Wicked movie seems like it has been delayed forever, but when John Chu stepped in to direct, dates were set, the cast was announced, and we had full steam ahead.
Now, the movie is here, and I was so excited to be in a packed theater watching.
The movie is split into two parts, with the second coming out next year.
So today, I want to go over the ending for part one and explain it to you.
Sound good? Let's defy gravity together.
'Wicked' Movie Synopsis
The movie begins in the wonderful land of Oz, right after Dorothy has kileld the Wicked Witch of the West. All of Oz celebrates her defeat.
But then, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, begins to tell us a much different story, the story of Elphaba Thropp, known to us as the Wicked Witch.
Elphaba was born with emerald-green skin, faces prejudice and misunderstanding due to her pigmentation. Her Mom cheated on her Dad with an unseen man, and that man gave her mom a green potion that messed with her skin color.
As she grows up, she has no friends and is as cast out. Her Dad favors her wheelchair bound sister, Nessa, and is mean to Elphaba.
When it's time for Nessa go to Shiz University, Elphaba tags along to help her, but when she displays her magical powers, she's invited to stay by the Madame Morrible, who is a bit of a mystery to us. But who wants to give Elphaba witch lessons to harness her powers.
At Shiz, Elphaba starts out bullied by everyone, including her roommate, Galinda, who only lets her stay in her room because she wants to be a witch too, and thinks Madame Morrible will teach her how to be one if she's nice to Elphaba.
Eventually, both women become friends after bonding at the Ozdust ballroom.
Despite their differences, they navigate the challenges of school, social pressures, and even find themselves drawn to the same charming man, Fiyero. He's handsome and seems perfect.
Morrible sees a lot of potential in Elphaba, and begins to tutor her in order to help her release her magical powers.
But as Elphaba and Galinda get deeper into school, they discover all is not well in Oz. Elphaba learns from Dr. Dillamond, a talking Goat history professor, that Animals across Oz are being stripped of their rights and voices.
Dr. Dillamond is forced to retire, replaced by a professor who cruelly experiments on animals.
In a fake form of homage, Galinda changes her name to 'Glinda' to honor the way Dr. Dillamond said her name.
Elphaba and Fiyero, disgusted, free a lion cub from the professor's clutches.They bond and we see that they actually have a crush on each other, and that Fiyero maybe doesn't have as strong feelings for Glinda anymore.
Elphaba is summoned to the Emerald City by the Wizard, and Glinda tags along with her as her best friend.
But after meeting the Wizard, whos is charming, they learn of a book called the grimoire, which can only be read by the most powerful magical people. Morrible shows up to encourage Elphaba to read the book, and Glinda concurs.
But Elphaba is tricked into casting a spell that gives the Wizard's monkey guards wings, revealing his true tyrannical nature. We learn that neither Morrible nor the Wizard can read the grimoire.
And they now want to use these winged monkeys as spies to help them stop the talking animals from existing in Oz.
Horrified, Elphaba rejects their offer to help them rule Oz, and tries to escape with Glina. But Glinda is not ready to be part of a rebellion, she thinks it might be better to just be on the Wizards side.
Glinda tries to convince Elphaba to surrender, but Elphaba chooses to fight for the oppressed. Bidding a tearful farewell to her friend, Elphaba uses her magic to escape the city, soaring into the unknown on a broomstick.
As Elphaba embraces her newfound identity and her extraordinary powers, she sets in motion a chain of events that will forever change the fate of Oz.
'Wicked' Ending Explained
That was a pretty crazy turn for part one of the story, but it was also such an emotional and entertaining journey.
At the end of Wicked Part One, Elphaba is tricked into casting a spell that gives the Wizard's monkey guards wings. This proves to her that the people in power are wrong and trying to use her powers.
It sets the story up for Part II, as Elphaba rejects the Wizard's offer and vow to fight against him, solidifying her position as an enemy of the state and showing the audience why she was called the "Wicked Witch."
Elphaba has to embrace her new identity and become a symbol of the resistance against the Wizard and Morrible.
In choosing to do what's right, Elphaba has also created a rift between herself and her best friend Glinda, who is not sure she can support her.
We also see that Morrible hugs Glinda, and you can infer she will finally get the magical tutelage she always wanted by being on their side.
In a tearful goodbye, Elphaba and Glinda acknowledge their diverging paths.
There is no certain future of friendship, as it appears they're going into battle.
This was a crazy ending that set us up for so much to come in the next part.
