~ did Dorothy deserve all her troubles? That Wicked Witch of the West asked her for her deceased sister's shoes but Dorothy refused to give them to her -- little thief.
I didn't know that Slartibartfast! Where were their towels? At least if they had their towels they would have been prepared for the upcoming catastrophes they had to encounter ;)
You do not allow evil magic to spread or manifest. Those shoes in the wrong hands, would hurt and not help anyone. Except the evil sister witch. The Witch of the North, Glenda, is the one who needs to have the shoes presented at her feet with gratitude She is pure and good and will guide Dorothy.
If she gave over a precious, sacred item like those shoes, to a dark force like the evil witch sister, Dorothy could cause undue misery. That bad witch' enslaves. She would try to enslave every living thing in her vast realm.
So, Dorothy is a heroine. Not a brat.
She is Joan of Arc. She took one for the team - Emerald City and beyond.
This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at June 13, 2017 6:04 AM MDT
You are 100% correct, Shar to the Rona. I just liked so much Margaret Hamilton's perfect performance in the movie. I loved being scared of her. I still admire her performance immensely. But you're right - - there's no counter-argument to your great and well-written answer. :) Thanks! :)
Hi Welby~ What a great question you posted and it has been very enlightening reading the responses. The beauty of the story, The Wizard of Oz, is how it leaves itself open to a variety of perceptions. I have a view that varies a little. Being that it is my dad's favorite movie, I've seen it at least 35 times. The original and the colored version. We watched it when I was old enough to see the flying monkeys and not freak out tooooo much :). Year after year as I grew, I took a little different something from the story. Now, at the ripe age of 50, this is what I see, hear, and feel. Dorothy is a representation of each of us. As she travels down her yellow brick road of life, she is faced with all her fears. Sometimes she feels like she doesn't have a brain. She isn't smart enough. Sometimes she feels like she is selfish, she doesn't have a heart. Sometimes she feels like she doesn't have the courage to stand up for who she is and what she believes in. All of these fears are heightened when she feels trapped by her own self fear, hence, the wicked witch. The wicked witch is the symbol of fear. She haunts her because Dorothy doesn't realize... She, Dorothy herself, has the power to face these fears. She has her own given strength. She has the power, shown by Glenda, to face all these things she thinks she lacks. She is the one who is able to take herself "home." Dorothy doesn't need to run away from home. Dorothy is home. Home where she is with people who love her just the way she is. When Dorothy realizes it is o.k. to be scared and o.k. to self-doubt, she knows she is o.k. just the way she is.
All the characters in The Wizard of Oz are all symbols of our own growing up and facing the trials and tribulations that growing up brings. We all have our personal yellow brick roads. And hopefully, we all find our way home.
The "original" was SHOT in colour, the first movie made using the three-strip Technicolor process. The Kansas scenes were shot in black and whire, the Oz scenes were shot in colour to show its magical nature, "over the rainbow".
Nice, Merlin. Your take on it all works for me, too. I'm glad you liked the question. :)
This post was edited by WelbyQuentin at June 14, 2017 7:08 PM MDT
You are completely right, Walt O'Reagun! Good eye for detail you have! :) I subconsciously (or consciously?) chose to ignore the facts of how those shoes got on Dorothy's feet. I think that Dorothy even physically tries to get them off but can't. My question was probably just a shameful attempt to potentially talk about how much I like Margaret Hamilton's performance as the Witch of the West (which I've done a lot in some of these threads). :)
I've not seen many/read many classic stories from different perspectives/versions. If you have any particular ones you really like, feel free to let me know! :) I liked how you said "who basically painted a target on Dorothy." True!
Maleficent ... the "wicked witch" from Sleeping Beauty
Oz the Great and Powerful ... the wizard of oz's backstory. And how a good witch turned bad.
I'm looking forward to "Wicked" when it comes out in 2019 (hopefully). Another tale of how the "villian" isn't really - she's just mislabeled due to skin color.
Slartibartfast 