Films, and books, and blogs...Oh my!

     This book was such an interesting and fun read. The first thing to catch my attention was when the author mentions Dorothy's process of seizing her destiny and growing up. Along her journey, Dorothy befriends a crew of misfit adults who she helps and protects. Even though Dorothy is a child, her strength and passion for goodness trumps that of every adult character in the film. In Oz, she is given the opportunity to combat the evil Miss Gulch (the Wicked Witch) which even her Kansas caretakers were unable to do. Rushdie highlights the "helplessness" of Auntie Em and Uncle Harry. The trait of helplessness is typically found in children, yet Dorothy is anything but.While the world of Oz is magical, Dorothy's journey soon proves that she the most integral piece of the magic. 

     The world of Oz very much serves as a world of opposites. I loved the idea of Kansas being in black and white (maybe sepia), and Oz being a world of technicolor. Kansas is also geometrically simple: the house is square, the fence door is triangular, etc. When the tornado strikes, the spiraling abyss transitions Dorothy and the audience from the simplistic architecture to a world of spirals and spheres. The author describes the tornado as a culmination of all the greyness in the world. Dorothy leaves home and bursts into a world of magic and imagination. She sees the colorful Munchkinland, follows the spiraling yellow brick road, and lands herself in the Emerald city with color-changing horses. I often question why Dorothy would want to return.

     The final point I found fascinating about this read was that this movie is truly a film of women. This must have been revolutionary for 1930's cinema- to have the most powerful characters in the film (Dorothy, the Wicked Witch, and Glinda) all played by women rather than men. I was saddened to read about the negative experiences of the actors on set, however. This book did destroy the magic of "The Wizard of Oz" for me. I suppose, however, the on-set difficulties and rocky experiences of the cast very much parallel the Wizard's character. For the audience, the movie is magical and wonderful, just like the Wizard of Oz. Off screen during this magical film, though, shows a very different story.