Feminist Criticism Of 'The Wizard Of Oz'

The Wizard of Oz is a classic known by all. The plot is fairly simple. Poor bored Dorothy is sick of her normal boring life on her Aunt and Uncles farm in Kansas and decides to run away to a more exciting life. Her plans are changed when she meets a fortune teller who convinces her to go back home. Unfortunately, as she is headed back home a horrible storm starts and she and her dog Toto are blown away, along with her house. When she lands, she comes outside to see that she has landed on a person with red shoes. She is met by tiny people and a witch called Glinda who tells her that she has landed on and killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Dorothy tells Glinda she wants to go home, and Glinda tells her if she follows the yellow brick road she will end up in the Emerald City where the Wonderful Wizard of Oz can help get her home.

Picture a child sitting in front of a television watching the Wizard of Oz. To them, it is an assortment of magical beings, a land filled with wonderful places, with varieties of different colors. They do not picture it as something with far more meaning than just a plain fairytale. On the other hand, gender/feminist critics have been able to analyze the Wizard of Oz as well as Wicked, in order to find a more elaborate meaning behind the story itself. They have discussed what lies behind the story when it comes to the issue of sexism and masculinity towards the book itself as well as the characters. There are many concepts as well that help to further explain feminism and gender criticism. The four concepts that will be discussed

Subconsciously Dorothy creates Oz and relates it to her outside world. Because of this, a theme is created some people seek for power by destroying others into they can have it all. Even if it's in the real world or not, like Oz, power is an issue because having it can lead to someone having the ability to control

The placement of a prop or altering the way the light shines on a scene, however insignificant they may seem, are ways that the director can select and control meaning in a film. Such is in The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939), specifically during the scene where Dorothy (Judy Galand) has been locked in the Wicked Witch of the West's (Margaret Hamilton) castle room by herself; many aspects of mise-en-scene are noticeable. Many of the elements of the scene she is in contribute to her state and other aspects of the movie. The setting and props of the film all seem to centralize to where she is and how she got there. The light focus' just on Dorothy but also amplifies the intensity of the situation she is in. The behavior of

The Wizard has modern ideals for Oz and has harsh views towards anything seen as more traditional or “royalist,” such as one of the several religions in Oz, Lurlinism, as stated in the quote, “...public Lurlinism - even as a joke - bordered on being intolerably retrograde, even royalist. And that did not do in the Wizard’s reign.” He rules over Oz as a dictator, and is not open to opposition from citizens; his word is final even when there is logic against him, according to the quote, “‘I don’t believe, Elphie, that the Wizard is open to entertaining arguments, even by as august an Animal as Doctor Dillamond.’” The Wizard causes the oppression of Oz, therefore creating the Marxist environment of Wicked.

In The Wizard of Oz, the ordinary world and the beginning of the adventure are presented with stunning visual effects. Dorothy, the protagonist, is shown struggling in her ordinary world. She is confronted by the mean neighbor Miss Gulch who wants to take away Dorothy’s dog Toto and give him to the animal control authorities because of Toto’s bad behavior. Dorothy reacts childishly with a temper tantrum, begging her Uncle Henry and Aunt Em not to let Miss Gulch have her way. She confronts Miss Gulch when she tries to take Toto, saying, “You wicked old witch! Uncle Henry, Auntie Em, don't let 'em take Toto! Don't let her take him -- please!” (The Wizard of Oz). In a fit of temper, Dorothy decides to run away because she thinks that it is the only way she can protect her dog from Miss Gulch. The plot picks up the story of Dorothy’s life at a rather bleak point. Dorothy is portrayed as powerless and directionless and she does not appreciate the gifts she has in her family and life. Her character flaws and areas of growth are clear from such behavior. She seeks to be the leader of her own life but she lets temper get in the way of her enacting effective change. Furthermore, in her decision to run away Dorothy shows that she does not appreciate those who love her or the blessings of her loving home.

What most individuals can 't seem to decipher is that The Wizard of Oz referenced several late 1800’s political issues and ideas. Whether these references are true or not is difficult to say.

Scene: This scene in the film comes just after the house has been picked up in the twister. Dorothy's house has been lifted up into the sky and suddenly dropped back down to earth in the middle of the Land of Oz. In the scene itself, Dorothy leaves her home to see that she is "Not in Kansas anymore," and finds the new and amazing world of the munchkin city in front of her. She also meets Gwendela the good witch as her journey in Oz begins.

The Wizard of Oz uses film form by using similarity and repetition. With Dorothy being the main character, she is always reappearing in the film. As well as all of the characters, The Tin Man, The Lion, and The Scarecrow, have similarities to Dorothy. Each of them need something, Dorothy needs to go back home, The Tin Man needs a brain, The Scarecrow needs a heart, and The Lion needs courage. The film also progresses from the beginning to the end, as well as the characters. Dorothy starts at one spot, follows the yellow brick road and eventually makes it to her destination to see The Wizard of Oz, gets what

There always seems to be some discrepancy when a film is adapted into a movie. Often times, crucial scenes, or even characters, can be left out in order to satisfy the directors’ and screen writers’ visions. Unfortunately, such changes can clearly be seen in the film adaptation of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. The movie leaves out characters such as the Witch of the North and the queen of the field mice, but adds characters such as Professor Marvel and Miss Gulch. However, while many changes were made, there are still a few instances where this “fairy tale” novel almost directly translates into the film. One scene in particular that is closely mirrored to the novel is when Dorothy first meets the scarecrow. This scene is nearly an exact word for word adaptation including dialogue, vivid visual images for the viewer, and how point of view directs the attention of the audience.

The Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum was published on May 17, 1900, and the original movie was made in 1939 (produced by Mervyn LeRoy). Both the book and movie are similar. The story is about a little girl named Dorothy who is carried away from home by a cyclone. She ends up in the land of the Munchkins where she meets little people and a witch. Once she meets the witch she is told that in order for her to get back home she has to go to the Emerald City to speak to Oz. On her journey to Oz she meets three characters: the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion. These three characters also want something from Oz. The Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tin Man wants a heart, and the Cowardly Lion wants courage. Although the book and the

The book, written by L. Frank Baum in 1900, was the inspiration behind the movie the Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The problem, though, is that the movie does not follow the book at all. Most of the movie plays off the ideas and characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, while following a general plot of Dorothy’s quest to the Emerald City. The biggest, and most important difference between the book The Wizard of OZ and the movie edition is that in the movie, Dorothy is simply dreaming, and in the other, she was carried to the land of OZ because of the tornado that swept through Kansas. The Wizard of Oz the movie portrays the story as a dream that Dorothy is having, with people in her life showing up as characters in the dream. This is a clever twist on the story plot, and it provides a little more entertainment, for the viewer, than the first chapter of the book, which gives a dull description of the Kansas prairie.

Although the Wizard of Oz is a timeless classic, if one person looks closely at this story and at the characters, one would see the Wizard of Oz is not merely a family friendly musical adventure, but rather it is more of a chick flick. Although there is no love story in this movie, it is a chick flick because it is about two crazy women who are fighting over something women love, shoes. Yes, a pair of shoes, ruby red slippers to be exact, cause two women to battle each other as if it was the last pair of shoes in a Black Friday sale. To make matters worse, one dies in result of this feud over .

On the very first page of Oz Baum actually states that his wish was to

Wizard of Oz is a fantasy and at the same time adventurous story of a girl named Dorothy. It is fantasy because it shows the image of a scarecrow who wishes to have a brain which in reality doesn't exist. A Tin Woodman who wants to have a heart and the irony of the Lion who wishes to have courage. It also shows magic such as the wicked witch, good witch and the other characters who was portrayed in the story.