Salam Rushdie, author of Haroun and the Sea of Stories, once claimed that seeing the classic movie The Wizard of Oz “made a writer of [him] (London: Palgrave-Macmillian, 1992).” He continued on to explain how the movie later influenced the novel, because it provided the “right voice” as he attempted to create a story that could transcend the boundary that typically “ghettoizes children’s books from adult literature” (London: Palgrave-Macmillian, 1992). While adult readers did tend to shun and avoid children’s literature, movie adaptations of children’s books (such as The Wizard of Oz) were able to attract audiences of all ages. As Rushdie himself states, the movie’s influence on the text is not subtle on any level. In both cases, a pre-adolescent …show more content…
Most of the characters that fill the fantasy land have counterparts in the heroes’ real lives. The Wicked Witch of the West who threatens Dorothy “and her little dog Toto too” is a reflection of Miss Gulch in Kansas, who obtains an order to have Toto destroyed. In Kansas, the farmhands on the Gale’s farm take turns instructing Dorothy to handle her problems with Miss Gulch by having a brain, a heart, and courage; these are the same qualities that Dorothy’s companions in Oz are seeking from the Wizard. The Wizard himself is a double of the fortune teller Dorothy consults as she tries to run away from home. To make the parallels more apparent, the movie makes did not just create similar characterizations for their doubled characters, but had them portrayed by the same actors so that the audience could physically see that they were the same …show more content…
Children are fascinated by magic, and are innocent enough to believe that it might actually exist. Because of this, they delight in any fantastical or supernatural tale. Adults, on the other hand, have the life experience to know that there is no such thing as magic, and to believe in magic is immature and foolish. Because of this, most adults find it patronizing to be expected to suspend their disbelief and accept the possibility of magical lands and wizards and fairy godmothers. It is for this reason that most fantasy stories are traditionally regarded as being for children, such as fairy tales, Alice in Wonderland, and the original text The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, are traditionally regarded as being for children. By placing the magical component in the story in a dream sequence, however, the story is able to have the realism that adults respect while still inspiring wonder in younger viewers. This is what made it possible for the Wizard of Oz to attract an audience across age ranges, and why Rushdie chose to employ the same device when writing Haroun and the Sea of
After reading the chapter, the opening scene is vastly different from the movie! In the movie, Dorothy ran away from home and was caught in the cyclone while looking for her aunt and uncle, not standing there in the doorway watching as it formed. Neither did she simply lie down during the storm. A piece of the window, if I am recalling correctly, broke off and hit her in the head, causing her to fall down and witness flying animals, as well as family members, outside her window. The Land of Oz and Dorothy 's time there, is all real in the book, not just an elaborate dream caused from unconsciousness. According to Baum, Oz is just an undiscovered continent that is hidden and surrounded by a harsh desert. One major difference is the shoe color. The ruby red slippers were referred to as being silver in this original excerpt from the story. Also after consulting with parts of the movie, I saw no reference of the Tin Man’s story. I surely don’t remember the story of a limb
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.
The novel of To Kill a Mockingbird is set in the timeline and era of the 1930s which was synonymous for the renowned Great Depression. A tragedy in which social and economic change was urgently required yet old traditional beliefs and racial hierarchies including the Jim Crow laws were kept firm in position. These beliefs along with other aspects including behavior are clearly represented in the novel which leads the reader to infer that the time and setting of To Kill a Mockingbird is the 1930s. There are various methods and pieces of evidence that we draw upon that leads to the conclusion that the setting of the novel takes place in the
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
Scene: This scene in the film comes just after the house has been picked up in the twister. Dorothy's house has been lifted up into the sky and suddenly dropped back down to earth in the middle of the Land of Oz. In the scene itself, Dorothy leaves her home to see that she is "Not in Kansas anymore," and finds the new and amazing world of the munchkin city in front of her. She also meets Gwendela the good witch as her journey in Oz begins.
“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
If you want to find meaning in a work, you must first understand the context in which it was created. One example of this is The Wizard of Oz. To someone without any understanding of the political situation in the 1890s, it seems like little more than a confusing and silly, but ultimately enjoyable, romp through a fantasy world, perhaps with a parable about knowing who you are or some such. On the other hand, if you compare the story with the monetary politics of its era, its underlying message becomes harder to ignore.
The 60s. They seem so long ago. The Vietnam War, the first GPS satellite, a time of 8-tracks and cassette tapes, they seem like so long ago. The 60s is also when To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was first published, a majorly successful book written about a majorly controversial topic. Lee sets out to tackle the topic by telling a story through the perspective of Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, a nine year old girl. The story focuses on the events of the Finches, the Ewells, a trial of a black man, and Boo Radley, all in the town of Maycomb. Using these characters, Harper Lee shows how racism is something that is learned through society, and can be avoided.
In the words of Michael O’Shaughnessy, ‘narratives, or stories, are a basic way of making sense of our experience’ (1999: 266). As a society and a culture, we use stories to comprehend and share our experiences, typically by constructing them with a beginning, middle and an end. In fact, the order that a narrative is structured will directly impact the way it is understood, particularly across cultures. This idea originated through Claude Lévi-Strauss’s concept of structuralism in anthropology which ‘is concerned with uncovering the common structural principles underlying specific and historically variable cultures and myth’ in pre-industrial societies (Strinati 2003: 85). In terms of media studies, structuralism’s inherent objective is to dig beneath the surface of a media text to identify how the structure of a narrative contributes to it’s meaning. Structuralism encompasses a large range of analytical tools, however, this essay will examine Joseph Campbell’s monomyth and Claude Lévi-Strauss’s theory of binary oppositions. Through analysis of Victor Fleming’s film, The Wizard of Oz (1939), it will be shown that although the monomyth and binary oppositions are useful tools with which to unveil how meaning is generated in this text, structuralism can undermine the audience’s ability to engage with their own interpretations of the film.
Every single film we watch has a major theme. The text describes theme as, “an idea, plot, or topic of some kind that pervades the plot. It is not so much what happens, but rather what the movie is about, part of the meaning you are expected to take away from the work” (Goodykoontz & Jacobs, 2014). The theme of The Wizard of Oz is made very clear within the film because it is announced by Dorothy herself; stating, “there’s no place like home” (Langley, Ryerson & Woolf, 1939). I believe this simple phrase is the major theme, viewers were supposed to take away from this fascinating work. No matter where you go or what they have to offer you, there will be no other place you can truly call home, other than that in which you have grown to know as home. Many different techniques and elements from The Wizard of Oz contribute to this production to reveal on of the most meaningful major movie themes of all times.
People are privileged to live in an advanced stage of development known as civilization. In a civilization, one’s life is bound by rules that are meant to tame its savage natures. A humans possesses better qualities because the laws that we must follow instill order and stability within society. This observation, made by William Golding, dictates itself as one of the most important themes of Lord of the Flies. The novel demonstrates the great need for civilization ion in life because without it, people revert back to animalistic natures.
At this point, I think we maybe dealing with the most common objection to this approach: ‘but surely the children won’t see that!’ all of this explanation , which open the hidden significances and meanings is what adults not children. The key questions that we should ask are how children understand the texts? What meanings they make from them? How it differs from the meaning that adults make? How children are affected? We should create pragmatic and logical guesses about what a child can understand or what irrelevant to the child and might thus be ignored. We must learn from the characters in the stories even adults and they help us because we connect to our personal lives and thoughts and help the children to consider and learn how to navigate life.(Bettelheim, B.: The meaning and importance of Fairy Tales.) There are common stories among peoples and different cultures in the world and the wide spread among those peoples it also considered its own popular
... to wake up all the senses of children. When reading these stories children begin to feel, taste, see, smell, and hear the world that the author has created. These senses within the text make children long for more of what the enchanted world has to offer. The authors of these books try to put up a veil in their writing so that it will not show that the child reader’s desire for more is in reality the longing of the author.
The Wizard of Oz is a fiction story written by L. Frank Baum. The story has two main settings. The first setting is, Dorothy’s home, the Kansas prairies. The prairies are described as dry and gray. The second setting is the land of Oz. Oz is opposed from Kansas, it is colorful, bright, and full of joy. The Wizard of Oz has a grate theme or message behind the story. The message is that we all have good qualities in us, but it is up to us to use them.
The construction of children’s literature was a gradual process. For a long period of time children’s books were frowned upon. The stories were said to be vulgar and frightening. Adults censored children’s ears to stories of daily life, tales with improbable endings were not to be heard. It was not until the mid 1800s that stories of fairies and princesses began to be recognized. Although children’s literature was accepted, the books were not available for all children. With limited access to education, few public libraries, and the books’ costs, these texts were only available to the middle and high- class. As public education and libraries grew so did the accessibility of books and their popularity. They no longer were considered offensive, but rather cherished and loved by many children. Children’s literature became orthodox and a revolution began, changing literature as it was known.