In this treacherous time, as our rule of law is being steadily dismantled, thank you for your patience as I have tried to share examples of hope and direction from past and present. I see "Wicked: For Good" as a brilliant example of this "wake-up call," and regret that The Golden Globes did not honor director Jon M. Chu with a nomination as director and the film itself as one of the worthiest films of the year.

Read the full review of Wicked: For Good on socialworker.com

Read the full review on socialworker.com

by SaraKay Smullens, MSW, LCSW, DCSW, CGP, CFLE, BCD

    Infuriated when Oliver Stone’s 1994 blockbuster film Natural Born Killers labeled our most vulnerable clients innate killers, I countered by coining the term “natural social workers.” Jon M. Chu is one of us, refusing to label or push clients into rigid categories—predicting change is impossible, hope a fantasy. Through his two-part Wicked extravaganza, Wicked: Part One, released a year ago, and the newly released Wicked: For Good, Chu addresses the complexities of character development—the impact on a child shunned, loathed, abandoned, her only purpose to care for and protect her younger sister, and the impact on another, raised to believe that only her wishes and desires mattered. Like Chu, social workers never accept setbacks as indication to abandon our efforts, quiet our passion, relinquish dreams and the power of hope. In keeping with other reviews, what follows will be a discussion of the film’s framing and Chu’s brilliantly creative intent. There will be no spoilers.

     To recap: As Wicked: Part One progressed, two young students, each emotionally abused—Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a relentlessly discarded Person of Color, in this case Green, and G(a)linda (Ariana Grande), white, grossly overindulged and overprotected—forge a loyal friendship, despite grave odds. This includes the love each holds for the dashing Prince Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey, People Magazine’s 2025 sexiest man alive). We watch as Elphaba grows beyond the pain of rejection and abandonment. Their relationship opens the door a crack toward Glinda’s awareness.

The following letter to The Globe was submitted on December 6th.

Submitted to the editor:

Max Kennedy’s commentary offers tragic illumination to the destruction of the values that make and keep America great, as well as dire threat to the rule of law that the Trump years have brought all of us.  For me personally, this portrayal offers bitter-sweet memories and “if only” regret. The Robert Kennedy I had the good fortune to see at work was brought to life by his son, his commitment to a just America and determination to end poverty, his driving force.  To explain: Through the efforts of a wondrous mentor, Dr. Mildred Otenasek, Maryland’s national committeewoman, a staunch Kennedy supporter, just before my junior year at Baltimore’s Goucher College, I was appointed delegation “page” at the 1960 Democratic convention, which led to meeting Max’s parents, as well as the future president, and a post college job at the DNC. During a White House assignment to work on the second Inaugural Gala, President Kennedy recommended social work to me as a profession.  I was in my first year of grad school at Catholic U when our president was assassinated. On June 9, 1968, I held up my daughter, less than a month old, so together we could pay respects to Robert Kennedy, assassinated on a likely road to presidency, as the train carrying him sped through Philadelphia, now my home.  Through the years that Lynne Abraham was DA (1991 through 2010), she referred carefully selected cases to me for intensive therapy, rather than incarceration. During this period, I had the privilege of seeing Max at work in his first post law school position — his deepest concern the link between poverty and crime.  Like Max’s father, his mind is golden, his soul one of a poet. May his words strengthen us in committed effort to save a democracy, which under the present administration is growing more fragile day by day.

Sincerely,
SaraKay Smullens
Philadelphia

Submitted to The Boston Globe, December 6, 2025

To the editor:

It was on a Halloween day, years ago, prior to an evening date to take our two little girls trick-or-treating, that I learned my marriage had ended. I ordered pizza for dinner and explained that Daddy was working. Somehow, some way, I managed not to disappoint my daughters and was able to experience a few fleeting moments of joy with them. Once home — after eating lots of candy - bath time was skipped, and bedtime awaited. After my daughters were asleep, I went to my bathroom, ran the sink and tub faucets, and allowed the tears to fall. Sobs grew into terrified screams, unlike anything I had ever heard. I could not believe they were coming from me, because they did not seem human. They sounded, instead, as if they came from a wounded animal. This trauma marked a necessary milestone in my growing up — taking responsibility for my life, my happiness, my fulfillment. Badly needing money, I developed my private practice as a clinical social worker, I began writing a column for this newspaper, and I turned those pieces into a first book. Through this work, I joined with others to lobby hard for much-needed divorce reforms in Pennsylvania — at the time, we were the only state bound by three brutal legal inequities: no “no fault” divorce, no equitable division of marital property, and no provisions for alimony. Our reform was accomplished; I was told parts of my columns were read on the floor of the General Assembly before the votes changing the laws were cast. Two years later, I met the wonderful, generous man I have now been married to for 45 years, and my small family of three grew into a boisterous one of six. I share these years in my life as we face a brutally difficult time in our country, when countless people are facing trauma and searching for a way forward. I’ve learned — and my work has validated - that fear can be willed into vital strength and direction. That begins with recognizing the value of, and power within, yourself.

SaraKay Smullens
Philadelphia

Published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, October 31, 2025