Posted on 08/15/2019 7:02:29 AM PDT by 4Runner
The script scoffs at the idea that power and prosperity come to those who merit them, even when it is dealing with Dorothy herself. She kills one Wicked Witch by crash-landing a house on her, and kills another (Margaret Hamilton) by splashing her with water. In both cases, the killings are accidents, the results of pure chance rather than Dorothy’s bravery or virtue. (Any water-soluble witch who leaves buckets of the stuff sitting around her castle is asking for trouble.) But in both cases, Dorothy is instantly hailed as a conquering heroine, just as the Wizard was when he touched down in Oz. The message is that people will march behind any authority figure who makes a splash, however undeserving they may be. It’s a subversive message in 2019, and it was even more pointed in 1939, when fascist dictators were stomping across Europe.
(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...
Christopher Walken as the scarecrow … MORE COWBELL!
Yeah me too. The author is reading way too much into this. I doubt Victor Fleming, the director, and the set designers had such subtle and deeper-meaning intentions. They were working for MGM and their directive was to crank out product. It wasn't much different from a Ford plant. Occasionally, a masterpiece got produced. In 1939, a bunch of them.... BTW, after TWOOZ, Fleming directed Gone With the Wind, in the same year.
“That Judy Garland was in her 20’s gives a peculiar vibe to the film.”
Fact chech: She was 16.
Right after the lions third roar start the record!
I never liked the film.
Yes, that was my very early take on it. The flying monkeys part just TERRIFIED me, as a child.
L. Frank Baum wrote "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" in 1900. What fascist dictators were stomping back then?
the film gave some good analogys to those who paid attention
have used them many times in discussions to describe situations.....
flying monkeys - having others do your deeds . They sent in the flying monkeys
wizard of oz - a nothing hiding behind a big scary persona... think Obama
Did they do anything on August 8?
Don’t forget the acid!
It’s the humanist version of Pilgrim’s Progress. I wouldn’t doubt that Baum got the idea after reading it.
Well, in the water incident, Dorothy was being brave by helping the scarecrow. Ya know, he was on fire.
Dorothy could have just run.
"I like the Wizard of Oz."
LOL!
You don’t even, even, want to hear what sociologists have found by way of deeper meanings in “King Kong”...
It's a tragedy of movie history that Shirley Temple was not available.
Garland was 16 when she made The Wizard and 17 when not was released. They originally wanted Shirley temple but her studio would not release her
:)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.