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In Reply to: Why is the Wizard of OZ so freaking strange? posted by Bolt_Snypr on September 19, 2003 at 07:15:02:
Movies have to be viewed in the context of the times in which they were made. Movies with caricaturized racial stereotypes from the 20's, 30's & 40's may seem shocking, weird or just plain offensive to someone viewing them today. An innocent movie made decades ago that portrays a boy with an adult male mentor may seem odd or disturbing in an era sensitive to concerns about child molestation. Acting techniques have also evolved. What appeared rousing and believeable to audiences in the 1940's may appear hammy and theatrical compared to the natural acting in today's films. IMHO, to fully appreciate movies from other periods one must be able to suspend disbelief and immerse one's self in the mind-sets of folks who lived in those times.BTW, Bolt_Snypr, please disregard my comments if you're over the age of, let's say, 40 or happen to already an aficionado of early films, in which case I'm probably preachin' to the choir.
As for your quiry about the Wizard of Oz, and I'm assuming that we're discussing the more familiar musical with Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, etc., we have art deco decor, dwarves depicting Munchkins of various ages, and Dorothy, a teenage girl, who dreams of imaginary characters based on people she knows on the farm. It doesn't seem too weird to me, but perhaps I'm just missing something.
I'm not quite sure what you find creepy or strange about the Wizard of Oz, could you be more specific?
Cheers,
AuPh
Follow Ups:
Great Post!
I'm 35. Not much time here at work to elaborate about how I feel about the film. Like most of us we saw the film at an early age. It was truly something special for the childish mind, and is the same for an adult mind. There is just something about it that I cant place a finger on. Maybe it’s partly due to the fact it starts out black and white and ends in color. The film also seems to stir up every human emotion. All I can say after watching it over the years is that it is truly strange. First it takes me back to my childhood, and it also takes me back to the time it was made in its childhood. Both in one and it doesn’t seem to age. I seem to be the one aging, while the movie seems to be more futuristic. Filmed on some other planet. Pieces of now, filmed then, and part of the future. Like some kind of dream for the viewer. The battle of good and evil in me played out in a movie. See? It’s for me a strange movie. Like eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. That’s just one part of it. The film seems to be alive, and creeps into the smallest cracks of my being.
Like no other film. Have to go now. Thank you and have a nice wekend.
Regards,
Bolt-Snypr
it charms, casts a spell, but is not charming. Think of the relief you feel when Dorthy finds that OZ is just a regular man, and then again when she ends her strange journey and wakes up from a fever induced, and troubled dream. You feel the relief with her, because you feel you have been on a strange journey too. The contrast is brilliant.As a child, before I saw W of Oz, I had nightmares that a wind, or tornado was going to pull me from my home and isolate me from the ones I needed so desperately to survive...I think it strikes a cord because many children have such terrifying fears. And how nice and reasurring it is to find out that such nightmarish situations can be handled with a cache of basic human values.
But I thank you for this post, it was nice to think of it again
:o)
mp
nt
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