The Wizard of Oz
Review of movie and identificantion of 3 stages of the Heros Journey
The Wizard of Oz
Dorothy and her dog Toto are stuck in their mundane world of Kansas. The film is purposefully filmed in black and white to show its ordinariness. They are soon whisked away by a tornado into a colorful land, Oz. She inters this new world with awe and admiration. But she makes enemies and allies fast. She happens to land on the sister of the wicked witch of the west, who is not pleased to find her sister dead. Dorothy might have been killed if it wasn’t for her newfound friends the good witch Glenda and the munchkins. Dorothy is exasperated with all this drama and just wants to go home. The Good witch informs her that she can make special requests at the Emerald city, so Dorothy and Toto set off down the yellow brick road to find the Great Oz. Along the way she meets the Scare crow, whose lost his brain, the Tin Man, who lost his heart, and the Lion, who lost his courage. They accompany Dorothy on her mission to find the Emerald city. They encounter many obstacles on their way such as flying monkeys, evil trees, and sleeping poppies. They finally reach their destination and they are denied access. Only if they go to the Wicked Witch’s layer and bring back her brook stick, will they be allowed to talk to the great Oz and be granted their wishes. On their way there, Dorothy and Toto get captured. The Scare Crow, the Tin Man and the Lion go to save her. They heroically arrive right in time to save Dorothy from certain death. On the gangs attempt to escape the fortress, Dorothy throws a bucket of water to put the fire on the Scare Crow out, which accidently drenched the Wicked Witch. Magically, the Wicked Witch begins to melt before Dorothy’s eyes. She grabs the broom and heads back to Oz. she is greeted as a hero but the Great Oz still refused to grant their wishes. Only once Dorothy discoved the Great Oz is a fake does he show her true kindness. The Great Oz makes them all realize they’ve had the potential to fulfill their wishes all along. Now that Dorothy had the means to get home, she thanked everyone and clicked her Ruby Slippers together three times and returns to her ordinary home, Kansas. She was so glad to be home she finally came to appreciate how much she loved her home, no matter how plain it may be.
Stages of the Hero’s journey
The ordinary World-
This is shown in the very beginning through many ways. The first and probably most dramatic tool the director used was filming the first part of the movie in black and white. This literally shows the contrast between the ordinary world and the new world. Another technique used is how they show what the family does when Dorothy says she needs help. They pretty much ignore her and stress how much they need her help on the farm with ordinary tasks such as collecting eggs, or just to get out of the way so they can work.
The special World-
Dorothy and Toto were quite literally thrust into the Land of Oz and the change is instantly apparent. There are vibrant colors, whimsical plants and creatures of another world. The creatures, munchkins are friendly and they sing and dance, unlike any song from Kansas. Dorothy also encounters many other strange things that depict how different this world is: witches, talking scare crows, angry babbling trees, strange magic, scared lions, flying monkeys…. And the list continues. These objects help separate the real world from the ‘new world’.
Mentor-
The first person Dorothy meets in the new world of Oz is Glenda, the good witch of the East. Glenda is a motherly character from the start. When the Wicked Witch of the West came to take the shoes from Dorothy, Glenda protected her and made the Wicked Witch disappear, but not without the threat of returning. Not only does Glenda help Dorothy out of harm’s way, but she gives her directions on what to do now that she’s entered this new realm. Glenda tells Dorothy to go to the see the Great Oz, thus the journey has really begun; Dorothy has her mission given by the mentor. Glenda doesn’t follow Dorothy as much as some mentors, but she does pull Dorothy out of trouble and in the end, gives her what she had all along; a way home.
