Analysis of the Film: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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The History of “OZ”

“Were off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of oz” One of the infamous phrases from one of the most well know classics of all time. The original movie titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was made in 1939 by Frank Baum. This film featured stars such as Judy Garland, Jack Hayley and many others. This was not only a movie, it was a fantasy, and a musical storytelling adventure with unusual characters that shook the audience. This was one of the first films to make it to the big screen with color. Because of its success, this film has been remade many times with multiple different spins making it rhetorical. Over the years this film has become one of the best films of all time and is still watched today among all ages

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is more than just a mediated artifact it is breakthrough, said to be one of the most famous films ever made. The film was not a box office success, it only received 3,017,000 on a 2,777,000 dollars budget but it still receive a large amount of positive reviews and remakes (). This is important in terms of the audience it reaches because it was not just a children’s movie, or an adult movie, or a movie for teens, it was a movie for the entire family that targeted no specific audience. The Wizard of Oz has won critical acclaim by being nominated for multiple academy awards such as best picture, best original song and is often ranked one of the top ten movies of all time (). The creator Frank L. Baum is very much significant because this was not his first ball game. He was originally an author of children’s books but wrote many novels, sequels and made many attempts to bring his work to stage and screen (). He had a vision like no other and saw things in a different pe...

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...lf-confidence. The Scarecrow was the one who believed that he had no brain even with him coming up with brilliant and clever solutions to the many problems that they faced on their journey. The tin man believed that he didn’t have a heart, but cries when bad things are brought upon the creatures they come to encounter. The lion believed that he had no courage even though he was the one brave enough to continue the journey, he always stated how brave he was and pushed forward even when the others did not want to. A famous quote from Carl L. Bankston III of Salem Press stated that "These three characters embody the classical human virtues of intelligence, caring, and courage, but their self-doubts keep them from being reduced to mere symbols of these qualities” (). This is an important quote because it highlights the self-confidence that Baum explored in his story.

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