Kathryn Wall
Literature and Film
The Wizard of Oz, A Child's Tale of Growing Up
As a child the first viewing of The Wizard of Oz is almost a rite of passage. The techno colored fantasy is a favorite movie for as long as any one movie can hold a small child's attention, and then is lost in the shuffle. It later becomes one of those movies that everyone has seen, and reveres as nothing more than a childhood memory. However, there is more to the movie than a youngster can grasp and most people don't take the time to recognize the undertone of the glitzy tale. I can't now help but recognize the irony of the fact that this story about growing up will never, in peoples minds, be considered a grown up film. However, that is exactly the story that is told, of a young girl experiencing a small dose of the trials that inevitably come with adulthood.
Cropped screenshot of Judy Garland from the traile...
Ashanti as Dorothy Gale in The Muppets' Wizard of ...
Dorothy GaleAt the start of the movie we find a girl clad in an apron dress and pigtails, who spends her days playing with her dog. Though the film is currently in black and white, she is somehow quite colorful despite. All of the classic elements of childhood are presented. A complete lack of any sense of responsibility, and a young, untroubled face. However, this face is not nearly as young as one would imagine. In fact, Dorothy, though girlish and un-jaded, looks as though to be a little to old for her childish lifestyle. This is exemplified even greater by the appearance of her Aunt Em whose face, in complete opposition to Dorothy's, is full of lines and experience, and lives up to her drab black and white persona. All of these elements add up to present the point...