Film Log- 2nd Semester- Wizard of Oz

Movie: Wizard of Oz
-1939, black and white and technicolor, 101 min.
-Director: Victor Fleming
-Actors: Judy Garland

Summary: Dorothy, a girl from Kansas, and her little dog Toto are caught in an extreme Kansas Tornado that lifts up her entire house and lands them in the magical land of Oz. Here, Dorothy meets 3 friends: the cowardly lion, the tinman, and the scarecrow.. all of them help in finding way to Emerald City to find their way home. The four of them are conflicted with the evil intentions of the Wicked Witch of the West, but their dynamic shows that love conquers all.

Q: What role does the specific historical connection play in the Wizard of Oz?
A: Many viewers have made a legitimate connection from the film to the "Gilded Age" in America's history. The wicked Witch of the East represented eastern industrialists and bankers who controlled the people (the Munchkins); the Scarecrow was the wise but naive western farmer; the Tin Woodman stood for the dehumanized industrial worker; the Cowardly Lion was William Jennings Bryan, Populist presidential candidate in 1896; the Yellow Brick Road, with all its dangers, was the gold standard; Dorothy's silver slippers (Judy Garland's were ruby red, but Baum originally made them silver) represented the Populists' solution to the nation's economic woes ("the free and unlimited coinage of silver"); Emerald City was Washington, D.C.; the Wizard, "a little bumbling old man, hiding behind a facade of paper mache and noise,... able to be everything to everybody," was any one of the Gilded Age presidents."

http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/pcraddoc/ozqys.htm

Q:How does Costume/ Makeup play a role in this film?
The characters of this film were defined by their appearance. Dorothy, a beautiful girl, wore very clean and simple clothing and her makeup was also very clean-- showing her simplicity. The other characters such as the lion, tinman, scarecrow, and both of the witches wore very obvious clothing to show what/who they were. The lion had excess hair all over his face to show how much he resembled that of a lion. The tinman was brought to life with silver makeup and very shapely clothing. The scarecrow's makeup made it so that his face looks like a burlap sac with hay coming out of his clothing. The witches are great examples as to how the makeup/ costuming can play a major role in illustrating good from evil. Glinda is associated with pink, lightness, blonde, beauty, and her sister is associated with ugliness, green, evil intent, and malicious behavior.