August 27th, 2010 
admin Movies have had the power to unite and revive audiences for decades now because a film has to have the necessary qualities to shake the audience, open their minds, and release their souls. Classics are only deemed classics when they have been watched multiple times and gifted many lessons and insights. While it is remarkable if any person is able to create such a film, it is a miracle that so many directors, actors, and crew members produce high quality movies each and every year. We often celebrate this gift, this talent with award shows and magnificent red carpets, but the true victory lies in the growth of a story in peoples minds and hearts.
Our eyes can never open wide enough for a thrilling tale, and our mind must constantly recapture the essence of such a purely brilliantly film like The Wizard of Oz. Originally a book, this moving tale tells of a young girl loosing precious items and gaining even more. She travels farther than she ever thought imaginable to a place where time does not reach. She flies and soars somewhere over the rainbow to a land of magical beings and pure souls. This stunning book and film is a story of a girl finding herself and exploring the true reality around her.
There are various characters and interpretations of this film and book because of the complex storyline, analogies and subtle connections. The beauty that lies in the story of Dorothy and her journey is the potential for people to see it as they want to and to take from it what they want to. The intricacies of the system by which it is set up is astounding and the smallest details hint to the grandest ideological meaning. The true subtle and taciturn nature of the characters in this tale constructs the very foundation for one of the Worlds most famous films.
As mentioned previously, Dorothy, who is the main character, sets out to protect something she finds precious to her: Toto, her dog. The simple and joyful sound of her dogs name suggests a type of innocence that is hard to find in most of the World. She is blinded by her love for her pet and family and runs away from home to save him from danger. This is where you understand that she has a very simplistic mind because she believes that running away from her problems can solve them for her. Dorothy is the absolute representation of innocence that is harvested from harmony.
Her house gets carried off through a tornado in the Land of Oz, where she meets the munchkins who tell her that she can return home once she speaks to the Wizard of Oz. She also has to guard her ruby slippers so the Wicked Witch of the West does not harm her and her beloved Toto. Dorothy sets on her memorable journey to return to Kansas and meet her Aunt Em once again. Along the way she meets many interesting characters, who teach her and learn various lessons throughout the movie.
The first important character she meets is the scarecrow. The Scarecrow is sad because he believes he does not have a brain. He is stuffed with straw and is as empty as can be inside his head. The Scarecrow explains his woes to Dorothy, and tells her that he is tired of being used as a tool to protect the fields, since he can not even accomplish that, and she suggests he come along with her. So, the two set along the yellow brick road to the Wizard of Oz.
They soon come across a rusted piece of metal and stare at it curiously. Suddenly, they here a little voice coming from it. The Tin Man has been sitting in the woods rusting all by himself and he is sad that he can not feel. He cries and cries and tells the two travelers that he really wants a heart so he can feel. The two sympathize with him and take him along to find the Wizard of Oz.
And finally they come across their last friend who is the Cowardly Lion. The three adventurers are really scared because they do not want the lion to eat them. He slowly comes out of the dark and explains to them that he lacks the courage to be the lion he wants to be. They all decide to take the Cowardly Lion to The Wizard of Oz.
And thus continues their journey, and they battle with flying monkeys and get drunk in poppy fields and attacked by the Wicked Witch of The West. When they do finally reach Oz, the realize that the Wizard of Oz is no more than a simple human who wants to be more than he is. This is when he tells them that they all had exactly what they needed within themselves. The Scarecrow is wise, the Tin Man has a heart, the Cowardly Lion feel brave and Dorothy taps her magical shoes and goes home.
A lot of literary historians believe that there is a political affiliation to this book and that it describes the political climate in the 1890s. There are many elements that supposedly represent this mature theme and though tiny, they provide an insight into the authors visions. In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy travels through perilous lands on a yellow brick road, which is supposed to symbolize the importance of gold in the late 1800s. Her “ruby’ shoes in the movie, are actually silver in the book, and signify the silver currency. Along the way, the flying monkeys are a representation of the Native Americans who the land was stolen from and the witches was a battle of the human conscience. Her journey to the Emerald City shows the promise in green money, and the disappointment that comes with realizing that money will not provide you with all the answers. All along, Dorothy realizes that the three things she needs, a brain, a heart, and courage, she has had the whole way.
