Frank Baums, The Wizard of Oz is arguably one of the most popular films made. Even though it was released in 1939, nearly three-quarters of a century ago, the film continues to entertain audiences and speak to them in a personal way. The question that comes to the mind when analyzing this film is: What is it about this film that gives it such timelessness? When reflecting on the film’s timeless qualities, it seems clear the plot is one of the things that enable it to maintain its relevance. Primarily, the plot of The Wizard of Oz is timeless because it is such an excellent example of the heroic journey, both in literally and cinematically. This journey of self-awareness is a metaphor for growth, which is something we all search to discover at some time in our lives.
To fully appreciate the significance of the plot one must fully understand the heroic journey. Joseph Campbell identified the stages of the heroic journey and explains how the movie adheres meticulously to these steps. For example, the first stage of the hero’s journey is the ordinary world (Campbell). At the beginning, the structure dictates that the author should portray the protagonist in their ordinary world, surrounded by ordinary things and doing ordinary tasks so that the author might introduce the reasons that the hero needs the journey in order to develop his or her character or improve his or her life (Vogler 35). The point of this portrayal is to show the audience what the protagonist’s life is currently like and to show what areas of his or her life are conflicted or incomplete. When the call to adventure occurs, the protagonist is swept away into another world, one that is full of adventure, danger, and opportunities to learn what needs to be learned. T...
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...are similar in both her ordinary and special worlds, and she must work throughout the rest of the film to resolve them. The Wizard of Oz can be analyzed in many different ways, but the depth of the plot is what gives this movie its timeless qualities making it a favorite still today, and one can’t also help to note how cinematically advanced this movie was for its time making it truly a masterpiece.
Works Cited
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. New York: New World Library, 2008.
Dartmouth University. “Glossary of Film Terms.” November 21, 2011. http://www.dartmouth.edu/~writing/materials/student/humanities/film.shtml#glossary.
Vogler, Christopher. The Writer’s Journey. Studio City, CA: Michael Weise Productions, 1998.
Wizard of Oz, The. Dir. Victor Fleming. Perf. Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, and Ray Bolger. Warner Bros., 1939.
Shot 1: Wide shot. View behind Dorothy in black and white. Dorothy opens the door to the color world of Oz. She steps out into Oz and stops. Straight on shot, camera moves into Oz first through the door, followed by Dorothy appearing again in the foreground. Light symphonies playing magical music, birds are singing in the background.
In the novel, play, and the movie “The Wizard of Oz,” had multiple opinions that explained the arguement on whether or not Frank Baum meant to use "The Wizard of Oz" story as a parable on the Populist movement. Ever since it was first publicated in 1900, Lyman Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has been very popular to all age groups, providing the basis for a profitable musical comedy, three movies, and a number of plays on broadway. It is an orginal creation, curiously warm and touching, although no one really knows why, despite its acceptance by generations of readers, Baum's story has been given neither critical acclaim, nor critical examinations. An interested scholar, such as Martin Gardiner, looked upon The Wizard of Oz as the first sequel in a series of Oz stories, and probably base their appreciation of Baum's talent on all of his works.
“The Wizard of Oz” is a beloved, classical movie among children and adults alike. The story is about a young Kansas girl who dreams of being picked up from her uncle’s farm in a storm; in the dream, she is carried away to a land different from anything she has ever seen. Along the way she meets new friends who all wish to ask something of the Great Wizard of Oz for themselves. Once they reach the great Emerald City, however, they find the city to be a fraud; the very thing each had been searching for was found within each of them. Historian Hugh Rockoff claims The Wizard of Oz contains numerous symbols of the political and social issues. His analysis is listed in the Journal of Political Economy. (Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98, 1990, pp. 739-760).
Although The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was written over 100 years ago and then adapted 40 years later into the silver screen. L. Frank Baum, the author, stated he wrote the book for children’s pleasure, but many have found parallels between Dorothy 's yellow brick journey and politics of the Gilded Age, the era that was sparkly on the outside but corrupt underneath.
“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” has brought joy to people all over the world for many generations. As we grow older, the story enhances its meaning from a story about a girl wanting to return home, to a political, informal, brilliant novel. Many people would not hesitate to call Frank Baum a genius for creating this story, and I would not disagree. The amount of hidden meanings this story conveys is breathtaking, and it can open your eyes to many situations and make you look at them in an entirely different way.
The Wizard of Oz is a classic story that has been told in numerous ways. The first version I will tell about is the movie version, the book version, and finally the Michael Jackson version. The Michael Jackson version is called “The Wiz” but the book version and the movie version are both known as The Wizard of Oz. I will talk about the differences between all of the versions. They all have the same basic plot but are told in different ways.
Ethan cai Dr.Friedman Us history Oct 06 Wizard of Oz:difference between the book and movie The Wizard of Oz was a story happened in the girl Dorothy’s dream. The girl Dorothy lived with her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em in a farm in Kansas. One day, after a strong cyclone, Dorothy found that she was at a very special place where she had never been before. The crazy cyclone brought Dorothy and her little dog Toto to a place named Munchkins.
The hero’s journey begins with there “Ordinary World” which is an insight to a hero's life before there adventure unfolds. This enables the audience to connect or relate with the character while building a model of the hero in there mind. In the film “Life of Pi”, Pi’s ordinary world is when he’s asked to recount his childhood by a novelist who visits him. He accounts his experiences living in the zoo, his social life at school and his adoptions of religion. The reader can connect with Pi’s innocents as a child and with that finds common ground with the hero. Having this leading into the journey ensures we know where we started.
The Wizard of Oz is one of the most controversial movies in American history because there is no clear and cut meaning of the film. Everyone has a different interpretation of what the film Wizard of Oz really means. Some people believe that the movie has Christian religious symbolism or atheist symbolism, others believe that the illuminati was behind the making of the Wizard of Oz to brainwash people, others believe that there is a more political based meaning of the Wizard of Oz with a connection to what was going on in the history of the United States. During the 1800’s society faced many issues and although the Wizard of Oz can be interpreted in many different ways it is believed that the most significant meanings of the
"A baby has brains, but it doesn 't know much. experience is the only thing that brings knowledge, and the longer you are on earth the more experience you are sure to get." − L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. This quote from the original book shows how the first of anything will not be very good as it was the first of its kind in this case the book turned stage musical turned film adaptation but as the years went by people improved different aspects in order to make the original more entertaining as well as interesting. That would be like how L. Frank Baum says above where the more you learn and see things the more things that you would learn and know. Although the general public is more familiar with the 1939 version it was in fact
Dorothy, the hero in this film learned an appreciation of the life she already had in her ordinary life. Dorothy had complaints about her ordinary world and dreamed of being somewhere else, because she did not have a complete appreciation of her life. She experienced companionship from the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion who became her mentors and allies in her adventure world. However, these same individuals were her mentors and allies in her ordinary world. Dorothy also experiences real fear and challenges in her adventure world that caused her to grow and mature. She learned to stand on behalf, support and defend others and not only consider her desires. Being away from her Aunt Em, her Uncle and the farm hands made Dorothy realize she already had love on the dusty farm in Kansas and all she needed to do was embrace it. Dorothy’s use of the magic ruby slipper, coupled with her desire to return home to Kansas from the magical Land of Oz, is a classic example of a magic flight. .Although she had been anxious to leave home and sung “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” her call to adventure, she later expressed her love for her family, executing her magic flight and upon returning to her sweet ordinary world, she exclaimed with a heart filled with love and appreciation: “There is no place like home.” This statement was evidence of her maturity and transformation Dorothy’s joy and appreciation of being back on the farm in Kansas is also evidence that she had mastered both her ordinary world and her adventure
The film I select for this week is The Wizard of Oz (1939). The actress and actors I choose from this movie are Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, and Jack Haley. I choose these three because they are all unique and have an interesting background that ties into the category.
Wind howling. Trees swaying. Birds singing. Daffodils grew in profusion across the forest floor. This serene forest was filled today with happiness, peace, and playful creatures chasing each other. Everything was perfect. However, Tiffany, who lived in a small cottage, possessed in her heart only an inkling of all this joy because usually the forest was dark and gloomy. She was used to the darkness, the bare trees, the thunder, the lightning, and the owls’ hooting. To Tiffany, the forest today just didn’t seem right. She chose the opposite of a lackadaisical approach and decided to go to the Land of Oz to find a solution. The Land of Oz was a place where magic lived; however, in order to get there, one had to go through the darkness, which was basically a never-ending cave that if one was lucky enough, he or she would make it out safely. She grabbed her flannel shirt, pocket watch, a map for directions to the Land of Oz in her luggage, and a luggage full of extra clothes, and rushed out the door to the nearest train station.
In conclusion, the protagonist of The Wizard of Oz Dorothy Gale, is initially unsatisfied with her life on her Aunt and Uncle’s farm and dreams of a foreign land over the rainbow, where there are no worries or disasters. Although as the story progresses, Victor Fleming incorporates a wide range of
People of the 1930s and early 1940s were going through hard times, because the Great Depressions had hit many people really hard. Jobs were lost, homes were lost, and in some cases, families were torn apart during this time period. The Wizard of Oz instilled hope for a better future into the minds and hearts of its viewers. They thought that one day they would wake up from the nightmare they were living and everything would turn out alright for them, just as it did for Dorothy.