Wizard of Oz Analysis Essay

angiotensin converting enzyme of Oz Analysis EssayWhen I was five years old, my family ga in that locationd around the T.V. on a ashen Sunday night and watched a special presentation of The Wizard of Oz. Shortly thereafter, I picked up L. blunt Baums The Wonderful Wizard of Oz1and was hooked. I read every Oz book that I could find at the familiar library. Nearly twenty years later, I picked up The Wonderful Wizard of Oz again and found a subtle depth which I did non expect, especi wholey through the womens liberationist lens. Both the book and the necessitate be well- expensey for a feminist critique because of Dorothy, the fe manly heroine, and other important female characters. While Baums tonic presents a relatively progressive view of women, the 1939 MGM adaptation of the book portrays women as weak and best suited for national life through the weakening of Dorothy as a character, the emphasis of Dorothys desire to get home, the breathing in motif, and the elimination o f important female characters.The Wizard of Oz is one of the nigh important cultural school texts of the twentieth century. MGMs photograph was an instant hit and, afterward, thanks to annual prime conviction television showings, more population go seen it than any other motion picture ever made (McClelland 13). The Library of Congress purge include The Wizard of Oz with 24 other impressions that it decl atomic number 18d to be national treasures (Rahn 109). Even with the immense popularity, the moving-picture show was non met with universal exact acclaim when it was released. Raylyn Moore documents that many critics gave the dissipate scathing reviews. She adds her own assessment Throughout, the production seesaws alarmingly between the sentimental and the grotesque, the very pitfalls Baum so scrupulously avoided in his beginning(a) Oz book (Moor 90). homogeneous the film, Baums new has received its fair share of criticism. Suzanne Rahn chronicles the hi bosh of the books reception throughout the century following its publishing.Most people wouldnt hesitate to call The Wonderful Wizard of Oz a classic of American childrens literature. Yet if a childrens classic can be defined as a book that is admired by critics and loved by children, then The Wonderful Wizard of Oz belongs in a peculiar category of its own. Enthusiastically received by the first reviewers, the Oz books fell into such disfavor with childrens librarians 30 years later that they were systematically purged from library collections. . . . Then, in the 1970s, the pendulum swung again. The last 20 years hasten seen a renewed acceptance and appreciation of the Oz books, accompanied by critical analyses from the full gamut of perspectives-political, economic, spiritual, feminist, and psychological. The MGM film version of The Wizard, too, has received careful study and increasing adore. Yet reservations are still expressed while no one today would deny the cultural importance of The Wizard, its gauge as literature remains somewhat in doubt. (12)As Rahn illustrates, even works that book suspicious literary merit often merit scholarly analysis. Arguably, the diversity of critical perspectives applied to the study of the text and film in the scholarly community speak to the value of the works as dodge forms. regardless of any particular readers or viewers personal response to the film or the text, both(prenominal)(prenominal) keep up shown sufficient cultural influence to deserve closer scrutiny.Both the novel and the film lend themselves super well to a feminist examination of the texts. While it may seem odd to apply feminist theory to childrens literature, sexual urge issues are often blatantly represented. As Lizbeth favourableman writes, If we take a . . . cipher at some of the most popular childrens story books, we can quickly see that gender inequalities are represented there (16). Goodman also nones that our first experiences with language o ften come through the medium of childrens books and that these books can nominate a strong impact on how we conceptualize the macrocosm around us (16). Additionally, the life of frank Baum strongly suggests the appropriateness of a feminist reading. Baum was a vigorous political supporter of the womens ballot feces (Dighe 6). His wife also came from a family of womens rights activists. Her mother even wrote a book active the history of the suffrage movement (Moore 50). It is apparent in Baums Oz books that he consciously deals with gender roles. Baums sequel to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a blatant satire of certain strands of the womens suffrage movement (Huebel 35). S.J. Sackett examines Ozs value system and detail and sees there respect for individual freedom and nonconformity, the absence of militarism, equality of the sexes, etc. (Rahn 20). still perhaps the most compelling reason to look at feminism in both the book and the film is the preeminence of female character s (Moore 119).While both the novel and the film hasten many of the same important female characters, the film systematically portrays a more oppressive and s dwell vision of women than Baum does in the original text. This is evidenced, most obviously, through the portrayal of Dorothy. In the novel, Dorothy is visualized as a very strong, brave, resourceful six-year-old. Moore gives the following descriptionTo the Wizards thundering I am Oz the Great and Terrible . . , she firmly replies, I am Dorothy, the Small and Meek . . , further she is not truly meek any more than the Wizard is really terrible. Faced with getting back home to Kansas, she sets or so it with implacable determination. And when the Wizard makes it a condition of his helping her that she destroy the second witch, she sets out immediately to do it, even though she does not want to destroy anyone or anything. (154)Dorothy is also very independent. She meets adults want the Good Witch of the North and the Munchki ns who cannot help her, but she continues on her journey. In the book, it is her idea to wear the shoes (silver, not ruby-red) as she travels because she figures that they do not run the risk of wearing out (Rahn 58-59). Additionally, Rahn illustrates how Dorothy serves as an Everyman for children to follow. . . Dorothy is not merely an Everyman but a work for children to emulate. . . . She is sensible, friendly, helpful, brave without being foolhardy, deeply attached to her friends and family, and resolute in pursuing her goals. She does not change dramatically in the course of the journey, for this is not the course of someone who earnestly needs to change ( analogous Bilbo in The Hobbit or Mary Lennox in The Secret Garden) but a story of self discovery, in which Dorothy comes to realize her own potential by the journeys end. In this interpretation, the Scarecrow, the Tin woodworker, and the Cowardly social lion represent not only the friends we all need to help us on our way but also the qualities Baum felt were most essential for the traveler-qualities that Dorothy is to find within herself. (57)Dorothy is the true heroine in the novel. She is the one who holds the draw of travelers together. She is a very strong female character throughout the text, notwithstanding periodic moments of weakness.In the MGM adaptation, however, Dorothy is portrayed as a weaker character with moments of strength. Arthur Freed, who worked on the film, had a lot to say in the conscientious end to weaken Dorothys character. Michael Hearn writes in his introduction to the screenplayBut the chief weakness so far, according to Freed, was the lack of a solid and dramatic drive of Dorothys adventures and purposes that will keep the audience rooting for her throughout her trip to Oz. Freed . . . demanded that Dorothy have a deep-rooted psychological need back home that would justify her actions in Oz. . . . There she is propel by her generosity to help everyone first before her little orphan heart cries out for what she wants most of all (the love of Aunt Em)-which represents to her the love of a mother she never knew. . . . Consequently Dorothy in the film became far more weepy than Baums practical, determined girl from Kansas. (12)Judy Garlands portrayal of Dorothy is considerably more helpless than Baums character. In the film, Dorothy is held a helpless prisoner by the Wicked Witch of the West. She can do nothing for herself until her male friends, the Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Woodman come to save her as she sobs. When Dorothy defeats the witch, it is because she accidentally douses her with peeing while trying to dab Scarecrow. The book portrays a much stronger and proactive heroine. Baum has the Scarecrow helplessly scattered across the land, the Tin Woodman dashed to the bottom of a rocky ravine, and the Lion helplessly harnessed in her courtyard. Dorothy engineers her own carry by purposefully throwing water onto the witch. While Dorothy did no t know this would kill the witch, her subsequent actions show her as a brave heroine. Moore helps to interpret Dorothys actions.In a struggle over Dorothys magic shoes, of which the wicked sorceress knows the worth while Dorothy does not, . . . that water is spilled over the girls enemy, who is at the time also her captress. The witch promptly melts away Like Brown sugar before her very eyes.But practical, self-reliant Dorothy is not one to waste time in pointless hysteria. . . . The Witch fell down in a brown, melted, shapeless mass and began to paste over the clean boards of the kitchen floor. Seeing that she had really melted away to nothing, Dorothy drew another bucket of water and threw it over the mess. She then swept it all out the door. After picking out the silver shoe, which was all that was left of the old woman, she cleaned and dried it with a cloth and put it on her foot again. (154)Dorothy then outlet to free the Lion and orchestrate the rescue of the Scarecrow and T in Woodman (109-111). Dorothy is unequivocally the hero in Baums novel.Additionally, Dorothy is further weakened as the dominant female character in the film by her overstate desire to return home. While the book contains this same motivation and even includes the phrase, Theres no beam like home, this buy the farms a dominant motif in the movie. As Harmetz explainsDorothys urgent desire to get home was a part of L. Frank Baums book. (Understandably, since in the book, unlike the movie, the cyclone that picked her up was not fulfilling any wish on her part.) But the movie, by design, inscribed that theme with a hatchet. Be it ever so humble, theres no place like home was a truism and a moral lesson on which L.B. Mayer, Mervyn LeRoy, and Arthur Freed wholeheartedly agreed. (298)Because the movie purposefully portrays Dorothy as trying to escape her Kansas produce, her insistence that she return home as soon as possible sends an even stronger message women leaving the home is a mi stake, and while it may lead to colorful adventures, women are happiest when they are at home. This message is hammered in at the end of the film when Glinda explains to Dorothy why she didnt tell her about the shoes at the beginning. Because she wouldnt have believed me. She had to learn it for herself. At this point, the Tin Man asks, What have you learned, Dorothy? Dorothys response is revealing. Well, I . . .think that it . . . that it wasnt enough just to want to see Uncle total heat and Auntie Em . . . and its that if I ever go looking for my hearts desire again, I wont look any further than my own backyard because if it isnt there, I never really lost it to begin with Is that right? Glinda replies, Thats all it is (Hearn 128). The reason that Glinda didnt help Dorothy in the first place is because Dorothy didnt yet understand that her place is in the home. The film sends the clear message that true felicitousness for women lies in the domestic realm. Baum in his books, howev er, creates a place for Dorothy both in Kansas and in repeated visits to the place down of Oz. Additionally, the full(a) witch at the beginning of the book doesnt tell Dorothy about the charm of the shoes because she, herself, does not realize the charm she does not intend to teach Dorothy a lesson.The biggest change made in the film adaptation from the book also serves to entrench this anti-feminist mindset. In the book, Dorothys trip to Oz is very real. The house is actually carried away. When Dorothy returns, Uncle Henry and Aunt Em are surprised to see her. They have already built the new farm house to replace the old one (154). This realness of Dorothys experience in a different world is what makes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz a fantasy. The film effectively eliminates the elements of fantasy from their text, changing the fantastical experience, instead, to a psychological dream. The writers reasoned that, you cannot put fantastic people in strange places in front of an audienc e unless they have seen them as human beings first (Harmetz cit. in Rahn 124). This conclusiveness invalidates Dorothys entire experience in Oz. Rahn describes the critical response, verbal expressionMost critics-and uprightly every child who sees the movie-agree that the worst mistake was to explain away Dorothys adventures and Oz itself as a dream. As art, says Harmetz, The movie is flawed by its sentimentality, by its cheerful insistence that east, west, home is best, and by the decision to void Dorothys experience by making it into a dream (229). . . . Whatever the film may have suggested about the power of dreams and aspirations, the journey through life, or the discovery of ones own potential is effectively invalidated by this ending. (124)In a sense, Dorothys journey and watered down accomplishments become a counterfeit. The viewer has no reason to believe that Dorothy could survive outside of Kansas in the real world.Additionally, the dream viewed as an expression of Dor othys question presents an even more damning view to the potential of women to be strong and solve their problems. Nathanson suggests that a psychoanalytical approach is appropriate in dealing with The Wizard of Oz. It seems clear that The Wizards dream sequence can be interpreted psychoanalytically in terms of growing up (78). When we look at the dream from this perspective, it is clear that the central conflict shifts from Oz in Baums novel to Kansas in the film. Dorothy is not really essay against witches, flying monkeys, and an incompetent wizard. She is struggling against Mrs. Gulch who wants to take her dog and her desire to escape the dreariness of the Kansas farm. Hence, fight for her independence and the fight for Toto become the both main conflicts in the film. In regards to the first, her dream serves to convince her to stay at home in the domestic role prepared for her by Aunt Em who even tries to keep her from coming near the pig pen, let alone the outside world. In her struggle with Mrs. Gulch, Dorothys victory is fleeting. While the movie ends with Dorothy in possession of Toto, Mrs. Gulch still has the sheriffs order and legal recourse to have Toto put to sleep. In this sense, Dorothys subconscious desire to stay in the domestic confines of the farm is so great that she sacrifices her love for Toto. Where Dorothy is unimpeachably victorious in the book and gains strength and wisdom, the films portrayal of her experience as a dream leaves her the ensample woman a more submissive, ineffectual version of herself.Finally, the films elimination of important female characters from the book devalues the contributions of women in Oz. In the book, there are initially four witches two good and two bad. The movie condenses the characters of the two good witches into one good witch Glinda. In the book, there is a queen of the mice who plays a critical role in helping the travelers achieve their goals. She is completely omitted from the film. Finally, there is a female stork who rescues Scarecrow from a river. Dighe contends that the stork is symbolic for Baums support of the womens suffrage movement (74). While the elimination of these important female characters arguably gives the film needed directionality, it severely limits the number of major female characters, shifting the balance of power towards the men in the film. The three remaining female main characters all paint an anti-feminist picture. Dorothy, as discussed, is a weakened heroine who sacrifices her dreams and battles for domestic life. The Wicked Witch of the West is the only female character who is powerful in the movie and in the real world of Kansas. Ironically, she is portrayed as the stereotypical strong woman unnatural and evil. Glinda, the one good witch, is the only major character who does not represent an actual person from Kansas. The implication is that women who are powerful and good are imaginary they do not exist in reality.While the popularity of The Wizard of Oz both in text and film amongst readers and viewers of all ages is almost uncontested, the quality of each of works of art remains debatable. It is clear, however, that gender issues permeate both the novel and the film. While L. Frank Baums book is not the model of feminist equality judged by modern standards, it portrays a world in which good and powerful women exist and where determined and resourceful little girls can accomplish extraordinary things. He illustrates that there is a place for women in both the world of the home and in the world outside the home, just as there are for men. Even though the film was released 39 years after the publication of the novel, its adaptation represents a regressive approach to gender equality through its portrayal of Dorothy, its glorification of domestic life for women, its mental representation of Oz as a dream, and its elimination of key women from the novel. Which raises the question why, in our society, so progressive c oncerning gender and gender roles, are we still so drawn to MGMs backward film?