Pop Culture & the Law: Wicked

Storytelling: Perspective and Blame

Wicked may not have won the Oscar for best picture, but it is an undeniable hit. The film has earned more than $729 million in less than four months. At the Oscars, Wicked collected two statues and was nominated in ten categories. The movie is based on the successful musical which was based on the popular book. 

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I remember reading the book in high school and loving it. Turning the tables on a familiar plot is almost always guaranteed to be interesting. If you loved Wicked, the author of the book, Gregory Maguire, has other novels revisiting the tales of Cinderella, Snow White, and others. In fact, fairytale retellings are so popular they are basically their own genre. Retellings of classic tales are wonderful examples of how shifts in perspective and the sequencing of events can affect the reader’s opinions.   

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The best way to bring folks together is to give them a real good enemy. - The Wizard of Oz

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In Wicked, a central theme is the way people twist and distort someone’s actions to shift the blame from themselves. Wicked is also an important reminder of the importance of how we tell a story.

I’ll never forget the first time someone explained this point. In law school, Conor’s uncle Chris Hulburt and his law partner Ben Bunn gave a guest lecture in a trial advocacy class. They told us a story about their client who was hit and killed by a drunk driver. 

In the first version of the story, they explained how the client left work early to bring his sick wife soup from her favorite restaurant. To get to the restaurant, he took a different route home. At the last minute, he decided to stop and get some flowers. When he turned on his street to go home, he was coming from a different direction than normal due to his errands. A drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into the man’s car, killing him instantly.

In this version of the story, all of the focus is on the victim’s actions. If only he had gone straight home, if only he hadn’t stopped for flowers, if only he hadn’t left work early. If only he had behaved differently, he would not have been in the path of the drunk driver. 

Another version of the story begins with the drunk driver, explaining that he didn’t go to work and instead went to watch a baseball game. At the game, the man drank beer after beer. He declined the offer of a friend to drive him home, he ignored an invitation to walk to lunch, he chose not to pull over even after realizing how impaired he was. As he continued to drive, he realized he needed to get home and increased his speed. He ran through a red light, hitting another car and killing the driver instantly. 

After hearing this story, it's natural to focus on the many opportunities the drunk driver has to make better choices. In this story, we don’t focus on our victim at all. There’s a reason for that. In every case, there are two stories: Liability and Damages.

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Understanding the Star of your Story

In the liability portion of the case, the focus should be on the defendant. It is important to show what actions the defendant took to cause the harm. Of course, we want our audience to understand and sympathize with the client. But, there is a danger in focusing too much on the victim in the liability story. 

Human nature is self-protective. We want to believe that harm will not befall us. So we search for reasons why the terrible story we are being told won’t happen to us. In other words, we try to find things the victim did that caused the harm. Most of the time, people aren’t even consciously aware of the ways they are blaming the victim. To avoid victim blaming, keep the focus of your liability story on the defendant. 

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Lifting the curtain

Another theme in Wicked is that the public doesn’t know what is happening behind the curtain. For most of the film, we believe Madame Morrible is a kind teacher helping Elphaba hone her magic. Later we learn that the Wizard is a fraud and Madame Morrible wants Elphaba’s magic to help continue the fraud. These revelations cement Madame Morrible’s status as a villain. 

Depending on your case, it can be effective to highlight the difference between what the defendant presents to the public and what actually happens behind closed doors. Instead of starting with the negative actions, it may be more persuasive to show how the defendant advertises about “safety” and "rigorous testing” before revealing the truth. Lifting the curtain can be an effective story-telling method for your liability case. 

As you gather the facts of your case, it’s useful to play around with the order in which you tell the story. Consider who should be the star of the story. Don’t be afraid to use storytelling techniques to ensure that your audience reaches the right conclusion. 

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‍Leslie Hulburt is a co-founder of Hulburt Law Firm. She is an experienced trial attorney who has litigated cases against major corporations, manufacturers and government entities. In addition to the law, she has worked at the washingtonpost.com and as a garden teacher for elementary school students. These experiences give her a unique perspective on the most compelling way to present a case. Leslie finds inspiration in countless places, including movies, tv shows, books and podcasts. Pop Culture & the Law explores the ways our favorite entertainment can offer wisdom in the practice of law.