The Man Behind The Curtain
Posted by: Haylie L. on: April 2, 2010
L. Frank Baum. He’s the man who imagined the wonderful world of Oz, and he’s the man who brought it to life for millions of others. This post will be research into his life, and seeing how his life “baggage” has affected his writing. (It will also include a little background about the time period, and a timeline of The Wizard of Oz events).
L. Frank Baum was born in New York on May 15, 1857. Due to a heart condition, Baum was limited to indoor activities, including writing a family newspaper. As he got older, he sampled many professions ranging from actor to journalist. He married Maud Gage, the daughter of Matilda Joslyn Gage and the family moved frequently, living in South Dakota before m
oving to Chicago (Oz Central). After writing two published children’s books, Baum wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in 1900. Due to the success of the first Oz book, Baum wrote a total of thirteen sequels about the Land of Oz before his death in 1919.
The United States in the 1890′s was the age of immigration. This time period includes the Battle of Wounded Knee, the formation of the Populist Party, and the presidential election of 1896. During this time, Baum was working as a journalist, who was well informed of current events and politics. The Battle of Wounded Knee was the last big battle between US. Troops and the Indians, where hundreds of Indians were killed. The Populist Party was a political party who served the needs of the farmers of the West and South. The two major candidates in the 1896 presidential election were republican William McKinley and Populist Party leader William Bryan. In theory, each of these events influenced L. Frank Baum while he was writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
In 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published and it was quickly established as the first “American Fairy Tale”. Three years later, 
the story was adapted into a popular Broadway script. From 1908 to 1925 there were several silent film adaptations of the story, some even filmed by Baum himself (“Oz History”). The classic movie we all know and love today was filmed in 1939, and won five academy award nominations and two Oscars (“History”). In 1956, The Wizard of Oz was the first major Hollywood film to be shown on network television; and in 1959 it began airing the movie on an annual basis. In 1989, on its 50th film anniversary, the movie was named a “National Treasure” and is now preserved in the National Film Registry in the Library of Congress. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz inspired a movie that went onto being one of the most well known films of all time.
Erica!
Erica is over, and she wanted a shout-out; so —- Hey!
Dark Side of the Rainbow
Posted by: Haylie L. on: March 8, 2010
Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
I was first introduced to the “Dark Side of the Rainbow” (DSOTR) phenomenon when I was talking to a sales clerk at Borders one night. She mentioned that when you play Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album at just the right moment, the music and lyrics will line up with the actions going on in the film, The Wizard of Oz . I was intrigued by this thought, and surprisingly enough, the book I purchased at Borders that night had an essay written by Phillip S. Seng exactly on the Dark Side of the Rainbow.
The term “Dark Side of the Rainbow” (also know as The Wizard of Floyd) first appeared in 1994 on one of Pink Floyd’s internet fan pages. The idea is that if you begin playing Dark Side of the Moon after the lion roars in the opening credits of the movie, the songs will play along with the storyline. One website, The Dark Side of the Rainbow “The Definitive List” moderated by a fellow known as Stegokitty, had been keeping track of the synchronicity between the record and the film, and had a running list of 105 synchs. ( Freaky, right?) Even freakier, to obtain those 105 matches, the soundtrack must have been repeated nearly two and a half times (the total time of the album is 43 minutes). Even on repeat, the storyline matches up with the lyrics and melodies of the songs.
003) “… Look around …” Dorothy looks around.
004) ”… Smiles you’ll give and tears you’ll cry …” The two farm hands holding the cart are smiling and the other farm hand below is crying. This one is not exactly on time with the “smiles you’ll give” part, but because of the good timing with “tears you’ll cry”, it makes it worth the mention.
008) (HH) “Don’t sit down …” Dorothy not only doesn’t sit down, she steps upon the bench next to the pigpen.009) “… Balanced on the biggest wave …” Dorothy balances herself on the rail of the pig pen.010) (B) Song shifts from Breathe to On the Run as Dorothy falls off the fence.
Note: (C) At the switch to On The Run, the beginning music matches the apparent mood change of the scene and emotions of the other characters, as they are concerned with Dorothy’s well-being.
How did this happen? There are three theories about the DSOTR : intent, synchronicity, and fluke (Seng 191).
Intent: The band members of Pink Floyd, with Roger Waters lead member at the time, intentionally created Dark Side of the Moon to fit the movie perfectly. Flaw in this theory? The band members have all repeatedly denied this claim. Although it’s the most reasonable theory, why would Pink Floyd continuously deny their great feat in creating an awesome Wizard of Oz soundtrack?
Synchronicity: From psychologist Carl Jung, there is the idea that the music and the film lining up is just a coincidence, a purely random occurrence. [One fun tidbit of information involving another synchronicity and the Wizard of Oz : Frank Morgan, the man 
who played Professor Marvel and the Wizard in the film, had to wear an old jacket as a part of his wardrobe. The jacket was purchased at a second-hand store. One day, Morgan checked the label on the coat and the words "L. Frank Baum" were written. The crew checked the history and validity of the jacket, and it turns out that the jacket did in fact belong to Baum at one point.] If this coincidence happened, then The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz lining up may also fit the mold as a purely random occurrence.
Fluke: We find things when we look for them. In psychology, this reminds me of two terms : “illusory correlation” and “the spot-light effect”. Illusory correlation is when two unrelated events occur together and we assume that they are connected. The spot-light effect is when we are aware of particular things, we are more prone to notice them. We are told that there are parts of The Wizard of Oz that align with Dark Side of the Moon, so we try to seek them out. If someone was not told about these similarities beforehand, they may not see a connection at all.
Either way, it’s a neat concept.
(Sorry about the late entry. I had to make sure a copyright issue was taken care of!)
Are You A Film Classic? Or A Written Classic?
Posted by: Haylie L. on: March 2, 2010
After finishing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz last week, I thought that this would be a good time to compare the similarities and differences between the text and the film, The Wizard of Oz.
When comparing books and movies , it is important to keep in mind that the movie’s script writers must manipulate the storyline to produce a film under certain conditions. The film’s budget, time constraints, and trying to keep the audience captivated are all reasons that film writers may tweak and rearrange the original story. The two will never be exactly the same (If you can think of an example of an identical pair, let me know).
The most noticable difference between the movie and the book, aside from slight plot deviations, are Dorothy’s magic slippers. In the text, Dorothy’s slippers are silver, compared to the infamous ruby-red slippers she sported in the film. (It’s actua
lly odd. I just looked down at the cover of my novel, and in the picture depicting Dorothy and the gang following the yellow brick road, she is indeed wearing ruby-red slippers. Title page fail? I think so).
The way she obtains the slippers is also different between the book and the movie. In the movie, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, magically places the slippers on Dorothy’s feet to protect them from the Wicked Witch of the West. In the text, however, Glinda is not even in the opening act. The unnamed Good Witch of the North (Glinda is the Good Witch of the South) encourages Dorothy to take the slippers, but does not force them upon her feet. Dorothy puts the slippers on because her old shoes could not withstand the great journey she was about to go on.
In both the film and the text, the magic slippers are what the Wicked Witch of the West wanted most, and what caused her death. She tried to take them from Dorothy, and ended up melting in the process.
One difference between the book and the movie is the concept of time. In the film, when Dorothy returns from her long adventure in Oz, she comes back to the same time she left off in. “It was all just a dream”- Aunt Em(film). In the book, the time elapsed in Oz is the same amount of time elapsed in Kansas. “And just before her was the new farmhouse that Uncle Henry had built after the cyclone had carried away the old one”. Aunt Em and Uncle Henry continued living their lives while Dorothy was in Oz. 
For 
Mr. Coffee– Good news! The Winged Monkeys in the book are not portrayed as scary and evil like in the movie. The book describes them as once being playful and sometimes mischievous primates just looking for a good time. The only reason they follow the Wicked Witch’s orders is because they were put under a curse and were made to do what she wanted.
Although the Winged Monkeys were tamer in the book, some parts of it were more graphic and gruesome than in the movie. There were more “bad animals” and characters wanting to hurt the group of travelers in the book than the movie, and some of the Tin Woodman’s ways of dealing with these creatures was questionable. He enjoyed chopping off their heads with his axe… maybe ‘enjoyed’ is not the right word, but he did do it quite frequently without much remorse. In the movie, the travelers didn’t really come across many enemies, and the Tin Man did not kill anyone.
Later this week I’ll post more similarities and differences when I’m less tired. 
Sorry I ran over the deadline! (by 50 minutes).
I’ll Get You, My Pretty Little Symbols
Posted by: Haylie L. on: February 22, 2010
I have finally finished reading, and adding beaucoup amounts of marginalia, to my copy of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. In the text, I noticed patterns in the description of scenery, character behaviors, and Baum’s use of colors to categorize cities and people.
In the land of Oz, there are five sections. The North, the South, the East, the West, and the Emerald City.
The first Witch we are introduced to in the story, is the Witch of the North. She is not described in detail, but she does explain that there are two good witches in Oz — North and the South– and there are two wicked witches –East and West.–
I noticed Baum’s color coating for each section of land in Oz. The East, where the Wicked Witch of the East and the Munchkins lived is blue. Blue can symbolize trust, loyalty, and wisdom. Dorothy’s house landed in the East, and the natives, the Munchkins, thought of Dorothy as a sorceress and became loyal to her after she killed the Wicked Witch . The West is another home for a Wicked Witch, but this land is yellow. Yellow is usually associated with good things, but in this case it most likely symbolizes caution, decay, and jealousy. The West is a very dangerous place to go, so the yellow scenery may be a warning. The North is not described in the original text, but in later stories about Oz it is depicted as Purple. The South is where Glinda, the most beautiful and powerful good Witch lives. The South is all red, and red is often the symbol of passion, power and strength. 
I also noticed that the traits the Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Woodman wanted were already present in their lives. The Lion desired to have courage because he though of himself as a coward. But throughout the text he demonstrates courage by standing up to various attackers along the journey. The Tin Woodman wanted a heart to be able to love, but he was the most caring out of the three. He would cry every time an innocent creature, even a beetle, was killed. The Scarecrow wanted to have a brain so he could think. Surprisingly, he was the main one who thought up plans of action throughout their journey.
After I read up some more, I would like to have individual character blog posts and go more in-depth in analyzing each.
The yellow brick road caught my attention in the book as a foreshadower. Whenever the group was heading into trouble, the road became bumpy, covered with holes, and became almost impossible to cross over smoothly. Similarly, the road became very smooth and clean as they approached good cities and areas.
Heros and Suffrage and Thresholds…Oh My!
Posted by: Haylie L. on: February 16, 2010
I’ve begun reading the original text, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and I’m going to try to squeeze this in before the Olympics start.
In my edition of the book, a new introduction written by Regina Barreca caught my eye. She compares the book with the movie quite frequently, includes background information on Baum, and relates The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to other literature.
Unlike the movie, in the text Dorothy Gale is strong, upbeat, and always optimistic. Dorothy can be considered a female hero. She takes a hero
‘s journey to a new place, Oz, and comes back with a new perspective. Her life before the journey was a dull one, “When Dorothy stood in the doorway and looked around, she nothing but the great gray prairie on every side” (Baum). Her Aunt and Uncle never smile or laugh, and it is said that Toto, Dorothy’s lovable dog, is the only thing keeping her from withering up and becoming gray like the rest of the surroundings. Dorothy crosses the threshold, in this case the tornado could be considered the “doorway”, and travels to an unknown world, Oz. She must battle her “dragon”, the evil Wicked Witch of the West, and she emerges from that world with a new perspective on her current situation.
One fact about L. Frank Baum that I didn’t know was that he was married to the daughter of one of the most prominent women right’s campaigners of the day. Baum was an advocate for suffrage. His “baggage” no doubt affected the way he portrayed Dorothy as an independent girl. She “lacks the sense of morbid dependency we have for too long associated with depictions of conventional femininity” (Barreca). Instead of being weak emotionally, like her companions the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion, she is self-reliant and is not afraid of the situations she is presented with throughout the book.
Barreca compares Dorothy to Eve, the very first version of a less-than-perfect female character. She says that The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is what happens when you send Eve back into the gardens. I am not too familiar with the story of Eve and the Garden of Eden, So I will read and compare it to The Wizard of Oz later on in this project.
Later on, I’d like to research more into Baum’s life and to compare and contrast different texts. Ryan suggested Lord of the Rings, Barreca suggested Eve, and I can see similarities between Dorothy and Beowulf.
Any comment or suggestions would be helpful
Narrowing the Yellow Brick Road
Posted by: Haylie L. on: February 8, 2010
Over these past two weeks, I’ve had my doubts and worries about choosing the Wizard of Oz as the focal point of my Senior Exit Project, but today I was inspired to pursue it full force. This post isn’t exactly beginning my research just yet, but it’s trying to put down my thoughts and plan of action for attacking this research project.
My original idea was to explore why and how The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum inspired countless plays, stories, and movies that we still love 110 years later. I still wish to find out why, but now I’d also like to explore the elements and different interpretations of the story.
When I got home from school, my mom and I went to Borders and Target to pick up books and the DVD copy of The Wizard of Oz for my project. At Borders, I got two books : The original text, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, and The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy: Wicked Wisdom of the West by Randall E. Auxier and Phillip S. Seng. The former will be my jumping off point. I plan to read the original story, analyze it, and compare it to the movie. The latter will be a bigger focus to me for this project. from reading the index and the back of the book, it seems that this book will give me new, interesting sub-topics to consider.
” What a great book! For those of us who can’t imagine a childhood without The Wizard of Oz, this book reveals that is has just as much to say to us as adults. How satisfying to revisit Dorothy and her companions, the Wizard and the Witches (and Toto, too) while retracing th yellow brick road with new insights that help us understand just why this movie is so timeless. – Josef Steiff” – review on the back of the book. This comment pushed me to buy this book because it seemed to show what my project is all about. I hope to find it a very valuable resource.
Both in Target and in Borders, the check-out girls were interested and told me stories about their experiences with the Wizard of Oz. At Target, the girl was excited to see the DVD in her line, and coincidentally, she was singing a tune from the movie in her head before we got to her. She is an example of my original topic : how a book/ movie can affect us all the same way, no matter our age or the last time we saw it. In her case, it was several years.
My experience at Borders was different, and it actually inspired me to explore the myths and rumors about the movie. The cashier saw the books, and told us about how a Pink Floyd album, when played just right, will line up exactly to the movie. There are many myths about The Wizard of Oz, from actor’s suicides to Pink Floyd albums, and I think it would be an interesting thing to learn about.
So, for this project I plan to explore and interpret both the text and movie versions of The Wizard of Oz, and report my findings through this blog. Some sub-topic blogs you can expect to see are :
- Comparing the movie to the book
- Symbolism of items in the stories
- Symbolism of characters
- The mythological perspective
- The political perspective
- The philosophical/ possibly psychological perspectives
- What makes a text a “classic”
- A history and timeline of the story
- Myths and rumors explored
There will be other sub-topics as I come across them. I am very excited about this research, and plan to begin my readings tomorrow.
Feedback would be lovely
The Basic Outlook
Posted by: Haylie L. on: January 21, 2010
Well, to begin, this is my first official post for my Senior Exit Project. I’ve only blogged one other time, for summer reading, and this is all new, so bear with my as I figure out the system.
Ever since Freshmen year I’ve been worried about the “Senior Exit Project” and what that all entails; what would my topic be, who to choose for in my panel of adults, and — holy cow — a ten page essay and a speech that goes for days. The day finally came. First order of business: choose a topic.
We had a few options to choose from, most of my peers have chosen to take an issue and show both sides of the argument. I debated on doing that, something like childhood obesity, but then one night I was watching TV and a movie came on. I hadn’t seen The Wizard of Oz in years, but strangely I still knew all the words and songs and felt the same emotional connection with it as if I were seven again.
My mother was also watching the movie with me, and began remembering her childhood related to The Wizard of Oz. She told me of times when they would put the soundtrack record on; and her and her siblings would go on acting out the movie, arguing over who would play Dorothy that time. It struck me funny that the movie had the same effect on her childhood as it did mine.
As the movie played, and being on TBS, there were commercials added. One caught my interest though. It was sponsered by TBS about the movie playing, and it said that they were celebrating “The Wizard of Oz’s 70th Year” (this movie-watching-event occurred in December 2009). After seeing “70 years”, I was curious about how this particular movie has captivated both children and adults for seven decades.
(I also made another connection between the movie, my family, and the generations affected by it. My grandma is in her late 60′s, and her name happens to be Dorothy, just like the main character of the Wizard of Oz, which came out a few years before her birth. freaky coincidence? Maybe).
I became interested in this movie as a potential topic, but since I am in AP Literature, and not Film Lit, I was afraid that this idea may not fit into what my teacher, Mr. Coffee, was looking for. I researched a little (on Wikipedia..shh) and found out that the movie is based on a book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz written in 1900 by L. Frank Baum.
It was a stretch, but one of the Senior Exit Project options was to find a “classic” piece of literature and explain what made it a classic. I Gmailed Mr. Coffee with my idea, and my worries about The Wizard of Oz being a film, and he helped inspire my current topic.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
For my Senior Exit project, I would like to explore how a book inspired countless musicals, sequels, and one of the most recognized and loved films of all time. (It’s slightly deviated from the given option, so I guess I’m sort of making my own option). I’m mixing mediums. I’m not sure how I will approach this as a whole, but I will gather as much information as I can and figure it out from there.
Mr. Coffee mentioned the mythological aspects in the Wizard of Oz, and there was a link on wikipedia on how the movie can be interpreted politically, so I think I will research different interpretations and see how they all affect us. I plan to read the original book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and other texts relating to the story. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m excited to hear them!
This subject is much different from what I’ve seen my classmates researching, and I think it will be interesting to see how this unfolds.
If you have any feedback or suggestions, It would be really helpful to hear.
(Mr. Coffee, you told us to tell a story..and this was my interpretation of those instructions. Sorry if this isn’t what you were looking for!)
Hello world!
Posted by: Haylie L. on: January 12, 2010
Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!
