The Film Connoisseur takes on The Wizard of Oz

Hello to everyone out there in Blog Land, today I will be analyzing the 1939 MGM version of The Wizard of Oz. There are many versions of The Wizard of Oz out there, but you’ve probably never seen them because the MGM version is the one that hogs all the attention. But older film versions of Baum’s Oz stories go as far back as 1910, some of these films made by Baum himself. I will also be talking a bit about Sidney Lumet’s The Wiz (1978) which was a Motown version of The Wizard of Oz that’s rather interesting, it presents us with the idea that the Land of Oz is actually an alternate version of New York City, with the Emerald City being in Manhattan. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend you do! Theres also a couple of new Oz films down the line, one of which is set to be directed by Sam Raimi and possibly starring Johnny Depp as Oz.  

The thing with this post is that I will be talking about my own interpretation of these films from an anti-religious point of view. I am not alone in thinking this. In fact, many Christians have caught on to this way of interpreting the books and the films, and have even organized The Wizard of Oz book burnings (right next to the Harry Potter book burnings) and have even lobbied to get the books banned. Since I know that religion is a touchy subject, and since I don’t want to alienate any of my readers, if you don’t like people talking negatively about religion, then you are welcome to tune out my friend. But if on the other hand you are a free thinking spirit who doesn’t mind reading about other ways of looking at the world, then welcome, and read on!

So it’s no secret that I abhor religion. If you’ve been reading The Film Connoisseur, you probably know that to me, its one big fat lie. A fantasy that they make you believe from childhood so that you will become a sheep, following the orders of the shepherd; the shepherds in this case being religious leaders, and the government. It’s all one big elaborate plan to make you a docile servant of ‘the system’. Follow these ten rules and you will be alright. Don’t get me wrong, I’m fine with not killing, not stealing, and being faithful to our partners, but why do you have to make people believe that there is an invisible God watching over all of us? The way I see it, its like George Carlin use to say: “There is an all powerful force watching over all of us. Unfortunately… it’s the government” Look into the origins of religions, it will all make sense. Ever wondered what religion you would believe in had you been born in some other part of the world and how the religion you believe in today was probably chosen by chance? By what your parents believed in or by what country you were born in? Ever wondered who created God? Ever wondered why you only see him in paintings and movies?

Plus, when you’ve studied and read about as many religions as I have, then you kind of get a grasp of what religions are all about, and how similar they all are. They are all there to provide humans with something that’s missing in life. An explanation to the big questions in life, amongst other things. It is only natural to want to know the answers to these questions since life and the existence of the universe makes any logical mind come to ask them. But just because these questions have no answers doesn’t give us the right to make answers up and then believe in them. Why not simply accept that we just don’t know? That the true nature of life and the universe is one gigantic mystery?

Some seem to think that we need religion, the bible and the belief in God to be good. I don’t subscribe to that point of view. I think we all have the natural tendency within us to be good. With the exception of a few rotten apples, humans enjoy being good to each other. I am all for having a society with high moral standards, a set of values and a sense of what is right and wrong. My question is: why can’t they get people to be good without having to feed them a big fat lie? Trust me, you can be a godless person and still be good. There is a common misconception out there about non-believers. A lot of people seem to think we are amoral people because we don’t believe in Jesus, and that my friends simply isn’t so. I don’t believe in baby Jesus, yet I think I’m a pretty decent human being. I try to be the best human I can be. Making people conform to a set of rules, by using fear and lies as a means to do so, is not right on itself. That’s actually a contradiction right there. Getting people to do good by teaching them lies? Whatever happened to “thou shalt not lie?”

Personally, I’d prefer a society in which people would do good because logic tells them so; because in the end, it’s what makes life worthwhile. I’d prefer a society in which people would make choices based on the common good of all human beings and of ones self. I am fond of the idea of not doing anything if it’s going to harm you or your fellow neighbor. That works for me. That’s a whole lot better then being good because you are afraid that a made up God (whom you’ve never seen or heard) is going to send you to hell if you’re not. That’s controlling people through fear and lies, and I’m not about that. Because really, who can prove God exists? Nobody. Imagine if instead of teaching you about god, angels, demons, and hell, they taught you that this life is all there is, and you’d better make good use of it! Teach kids that life is finite, that we eventually will die and that we don’t know what happens after. Imagine if right from the get go they taught you to believe in yourself to achieve your goals instead of teaching you to wait on Gods help for everything. And imagine if people didn’t kill each other over their religious beliefs the way it has happened in the past, and still happens to this day?

Still, religions around the world are extremely popular. They offer people something they need. Hope. Hope that someone has got our backs in the midst of this dark world. Hope that there is something after we die; hope that we keep going on after our bodies turn to dust. Hope that there is such a thing as an afterlife; that death isn’t the end of it all. Some people can’t take the fact that maybe, after we die, there is nothing else. We might simply die and that’s it. Maybe if reality was taught to us from childhood, it would be easier, but right from the get go we are taught not to accept death. We are taught that we turn into some sort of spirit that goes to heaven or hell, depending on your behavior in this life. And the idea of an afterlife changes, depending on your religion. Some religions teach reincarnation, the idea that you come back after you die in another body. Others believe that you’ll live in a Paradise forever and never die. And so on. Take your pick, whichever strikes your fancy, that’s how it seems to go with religion. There are so many of them, you can literally go through and pick one. The problem is they all have one thing in common: you have to believe in them without an iota of proof that their beliefs are real.

Religions also offer people a sense that there is an all powerful force watching over you, guiding and protecting you through life. When the shit hits the fan in life (as it often does) people are taught to resort to praying to a god for help, when in reality, all the help you will ever need comes only from yourself. Still, talking to some invisible force and thinking that said force is going to help you might comfort some, and it might even motivate them to find a solution to their problem. And though they will probably think that it was God helping them, they probably solved the problem themselves and didn’t even realize it. Why can’t we teach ourselves to believe in our own power, in our own strength to solve problems?

Which brings me to today’s discussion about The Wizard of Oz, which to me is one of the most anti-religious movies there is. What? You never noticed? Okay, here me out then. As I’m sure many of you already know, The Wizard of Oz is a film about a girl named Dorothy who gets whisked away to a magical land where everyone believes in an all powerful Wizard named Oz; a wizard that can supposedly solve all your problems. He can whisk Dorothy back to Kansas, he can give the Cowardly Lion some courage, The Scarecrow a brain and he can give The Tin Man a heart. So off they go on their journey, believing in their hearts that their problems will be solved once they get to the Emerald City and visit the “All powerful Oz” Now, if calling Oz all powerful isn’t enough of an allusion to God, then I don’t know what is. In Sidney Lumet’s The Wiz Miss One (one of the good witches) calls Oz “The Big Guy, The Big Honcho, Numero Uno!”

So down they go on their journey, walking down the yellow brick road of life, having mishaps, confronting enemies and making new friends, like we all do in life. Finally, they reach the Emerald City, a city said to be the home to The Wizard of Oz. When they get there they discover that no one is supposed to see the all powerful Oz. The Guardian of the Emerald City Gates tells them “The Wizard? But nobody can see the great Oz! Nobody’s ever seen the Great Oz! Even I’ve never seen him!” This kind of reminds me of how no one is supposed to see God. Actually, the bible says that whoever sees God will die right where they stand. That quote spoken by The Guardian of the Emerald City Gates also reminds me of how no matter how much you think you know about the bible, truth is you have never seen God, or an angel, or a demon. Its all in your head, same as Oz is in Dorothy’s head. She’s dreaming the whole thing. Oz only exists in her mind.

But anyways, when Oz hears that Dorothy has the magical ruby slippers (something he can no doubt gain benefit from) he grants them an audience. So finally, Dorothy and her friends get to meet the all powerful Wizard of Oz. But what happens then? He appears to them in an intimidating ball of fire and smoke and tells them that he will solve their problems, but that they need to vanquish his worst enemy before he can do anything for them. When they ask if they have any other option he tells them: “Do not arouse the wrath of the great and powerful Oz!” Kind of reminds me how the government will send you out to war to kill their enemies in the name of church and country. And here’s another interesting tidbit of information. In L. Frank Baum’s original story Dorothy, The Cowardly Lion, The Tinman and The Scarecrow all go to see The Wizard of Oz separately, not collectively like in the film. And this is where it gets interesting: in the book Oz looks different to each of them. This made me think about the idea of God, and how it’s a different thing to everybody. What you perceive as God might be one thing, and it probably means something altogether different to the person next to you.

The Wizard of Oz presents himself in a ball of smoke and flame to Dorothy and her friends

So anyway, trusting that Oz will stay true to his word, Dorothy and company go out and vanquish Oz’s biggest enemy, The Wicked Witch of the West. When they come back, they expect to get their problems solved by The Wizard. But unfortunately for them, they uncover one big dark secret. The “all powerful” Oz isn’t really all that powerful. He is just a man posing as a God. He was lying to them from the very beginning. He isn’t all powerful like he said. He doesn’t even have any magic powers! He was just a man hiding behind a curtain of smokes and illusions. He’d been lying to everyone in all of Oz! Not to mention the poor citizens of The Emerald City. That makes him a villain in my book. A big fat liar! And were not talking a little white lie, this is a huge black lie, the blackest kind of lie there is. The kind of lie that plays with peoples minds and lives. Most politicians know that religion can be used as a tool for their advantage, not only to keep the masses in “good behavior”, but also when the time comes to gather those votes in election year.

The man behind the curtain

If you’ve seen The Wiz starring Diana Ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as The Scarecrow and Richard Pryor as The Wizard of Oz, you’ll remember that Oz controls the people of Emerald City by telling them what color they have to wear. Suddenly Red is the color, and everything turns to red. Suddenly Green is the color and everything turns green, and he keeps them in a loop like that. Kind of reminds me of how the government controlled media can control people’s perception of things. The citizens of Emerald City are so docile that they’ll do whatever Oz tells them to, without question; reminds me of how people will believe whatever they read in newspapers and television. But Oz isn’t a Wizard, he’s a man. And a man who used to be a politician no less! Once again proving the connection between religion and government, one is the tool of the other.

Richard Pryor plays The Wizard of Oz in The Wiz (1978)

The Wizard of Oz doesn’t only comment on religion, it also comments on drug abuse (remember the scene in The Poppy Fields?) and true friendship amongst other subject matter. But the best part of The Wizard of Oz if you ask me, is that it teaches us that the solution to many of our problems lie not in the hands of some imaginary all powerful force, but in ourselves. The Cowardly Lion, The Tin Man and The Scarecrow all had what they were looking for within themselves to begin with. They didn’t need a Wizard to solve their problems at all. And we don’t need no magic either to solve our own problems, for that we got ourselves and our friends.

This is It (2009)

Title: This Is It (2009)


Director: Kenny Ortega

Review:

It was decided by my friends and I that last night was going to be Michael Jackson night. The guy died. The guy was a living legend. And he died while prepping this big ass concert. We decided, last night was going to be a night to remember him. You see, I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, I saw the guy turn into the biggest thing in pop music right before my eyes. Id seen him do a respectable scarecrow in Sidney Lumets The Wiz. Id seen him transform into a spaceship in his own film Moonwalker, which I saw in theaters when it was first released. On the way to the theater, we popped a Michael Jackson cd on the cars audio system. Along the way we talked about his past while singing his songs. I was looking forward to seeing Michael Jackson thrill the world one last time with this new world tour that was to be called This is It. As fate would have it, he didn’t get to entertain his public one last time because of his untimely death, but he did get to give audiences one final jolt of entertainment through this concert film. How was it?

The thing with Michael Jackson’s death is that before it, the words Michael Jackson were synonymous with the words “freak”, and with finding a way to make fun of Jackson and his eccentric lifestyle. After his death, everything changed. He is no longer “Jacko” the guy we love to make fun of, now he is referred to once again as the “King of Pop”. I cant help but think he could have used some of that love back when he was alive. But I guess that’s the nature of being such a huge star. At some point the media just wants to eat you up and spit you out. Which they voraciously did with Michael. But now, that same media that destroyed him is feeding off of his death, which is a sad and hypocritical thing to do. But that’s they way it goes with big artists. Once they are dead, they are appreciated that much more.

Of course, I recognize that he was an unusual individual and that he was definitely guilty of doing a thing or two that would make people say he was kind of crazy. Like hanging his baby from a balcony. Or reconstructing his whole face to the point where it was falling apart. Or turning himself from black to white. And finally, being accused of pedophilia, which of course was never proven. As far as we know, they guy was simply being targeted by a group of greedy people looking to get a couple of million dollars from him. But I guess we’ll never know. But, aside from all the eccentricities in his life and the wild stories (he sleeps in a cryogenic chamber!) one thing cannot be denied about Michael Jackson and it is that he was one of the greatest performers and entertainers that ever lived.

When you saw him up on stage you just knew, this guy really had it. It’s that magic, that sparkle of someone bigger then life. His got that aura of someone who will live on through time. On this concert film, his talent is captured in a very raw fashion. Jackson was primed for a comeback, and he was going to make it a big one, the 'end all be all' of comebacks. It’s why he called it “This Is It!” This film shows us the rehearsals that took place during those long months of pre-production for the concert. You practically get to see every song he was going to sing on the concert, as rehearsed by Jackson, his musicians, his back up singers and his extremely talented dancers. Essentially, you get to see what the show was going to be like. Not the full on 100% version of it, but the 75% version. Still, you definitely get to see that it was going to be a huge spectacle.

How big was this concert? Well, first there was that long process of choosing the best dancers for the thing, and you get to see just how emotional some of these dancers were because they were getting the chance to dance next to Jackson. Then, you get to see how every song was going to be this huge production number, with special effects, make up effects, even part of the concert was going to be in 3D! Thriller was going to be a show stopper! Michael Jackson and his crew filmed a couple of short films for some of the most important songs. For Thriller, he did this short film filled with cemeteries, ghosts and zombies. Cool part is that the zombies were going to be coming at you in 3-D! And you get to see it on the film, because the fx for the short films were actually finished.

What I enjoyed the most about the whole film was how you could see Jackson at his most vivid. You can see him commanding that stage. When there was something he didn’t like in the show, he lets the crew know in a very gentle yet firm fashion. Yet you can’t get past the notion that Jackson knew exactly what he wanted for every second of that show. There’s one moment where you can see him literally thinking and coming up with how the show was going to be! We can see a couple of clashes, mistakes to which Michael would reply “that’s why we got rehearsals!” He was so respectful while rehearsing; he was never a pompous ass hole. He was always the nice guy, who would tell you what he wanted in the nicest way possible, but rest assured, he would get what he wanted. Make no mistake about it. On this movie you can really appreciate that the place where Jackson was meant to be was on stage. It’s what he was born to do.

His physical deterioration was evident. By this I don’t mean he wasn’t dancing or singing well. He is not 100% on these rehearsals because as he mentions quite a few times, he was saving his voice for the show, he was saving all his energies and his all, for the big concert, which he was obviously looking forward to. When I say his physical deterioration was evident I’m talking about his face. While seeing this movie you will see clearly how all the facial reconstructions he went through disfigured his face to the point where he no longer looked normal at all. It a sad thing to see, but his talent and his persona, and his energy during the film kind of obliterates this. All I could think while watching him prepare for this show was how talented he was, and what a loss it was for him to have died so soon.

I don’t know how I feel about the fact that this movie is making huge amounts of cash, that the cd’s and dvd’s are selling like hot cakes and that Michael Jackson is selling more records now then ever. Some see it as a little morbid, making so much money off of him now that he is dead. On the one hand you can see the whole film as Michael Jacksons swan song. A way to see into who he really was behind the scenes, how his mind worked while preparing these shows. On the other, it’s turned into a huge marketing scheme, selling box office tickets, t-shirts, posters, cd’s, dvd’s you name it, if it has Michael Jackson’s name on it, its selling. But then again, The Beatles keep selling. And so does Elvis. Michael Jackson is now amongst those dead and famous, who will live on through their merchandise and their music. Becoming a part of popular culture.

So yeah, I’m a huge Michael Jackson fan. And not the kind that turned overnight after his death either. This review comes from a true blue Michael Jackson fan who’s been listening to the guy since I was something like 9 or 10 years old when he was just starting out on his own way back in ’83 and ‘84. Though I don’t go around dressing like him or putting on Michael Jackson t-shirts, I do respect the guy’s artistic abilities, his talent to dance like no one else, and his musical legacy. I was singing every song in the theater as I watched this one! And guess what? I wasn’t alone! People were singing his songs, and clapping after some of them were over, as if we were seeing him perform in a concert, which in essence, we were. For the last time. This film was his last will and testament. For those of you who enjoyed his music, videos and films, don’t miss this one! This one is most certainly it!

Rating: 5 out of 5