Don't We All Live in Oz?
When Kirk posed the question "Would you live in Oz?", I thought to myself, don't we all live in an Oz? Oz may have been a dictator who ruled over his lackeys that were duped into following his own beliefs and values. But really, isn't that similar to the society we live in today? Our President feels that his "citizens" need to be listened to with illegal wire-tapping devices so that they can live without fear of "terrorism". Does that not constitute as a form of dictatorship?As for Lauren’s comment about Oz having emphasis on social status and class rank, that is exactly how it is in modern society, at least in America. Depending on where you live, the type of clothes you wear dictate your social status. Other people also judge your rank in society based on the square footage of your house or the type of car you drive. Isn’t that placing a caste system upon our nation?
In L. Frank Baum’s “Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” he states that “if you do not put on spectacles the brightness and glory of the Emerald City would blind you. Even those who live in the City must wear spectacles night and day. They are all locked on, for Oz so ordered it when the City was built, and I have the only key that will unlock them.” (Baum, 171) Isn’t that similar to the perception people have of Americans? Foreign countries, generally speaking, believe we feel superior to them, while we as Americans feel that we are misunderstood. Aren’t those our “Emerald spectacles”?
The advancement of politics and gender equality also raises an interesting question in Oz and in our society. While women technically have equality in the workplace, they are still not as highly paid as men and when it comes to promotions are second best to men. Along with the fact that women allow themselves to be used as objects and demeaned by selling their bodies and posing for magazines.
I don’t believe that Oz is so different from our society; our government, our way of life, even our thinking coincides with the people of Oz. It sounds harsh, but if you examine the reality of our society, you will realize that we all wear emerald spectacles.
posted by Taylor @ 11:38 PM
1 Comments:
I agree with you there are similarities between the United States and OZ in “Wicked.” Elphaba at one point has a vision of the Wizard’s world in which a sign reads “NO IRISH NEED APPLY.”( (383).The Wizard is from our world. But one of the advantages of fantasy is transcends narrow times and definitions.
The beginning of “Wicked” (unnumbered) quotes War and Peace. The full quote is too long to give but it says, “In historical events great men-so called—are but the labels that serve to give a name to an event and like the labels have the last possible connection with the event itself.” It goes on to say that actions are “predestined” through History.
The love the hatred the love the prejudice in OZ are universal we can relate the events of OZ to the Holocaust the Civil Rights the War on Terror or the genocide in Darfur. "Wicked” is an adaptation of a fantasy so in that sense it didn’t not start with a blank slate. But all fantasy comes from reality’s sparks and likewise to process fantasy we must view it through reality. Bring it back down.
In a historical work the author might describe a house and you’d fill in the gaps. But someone who’s been to that house could tell you while you imagined it blue he’s been to the house and it’s red. In reading fantasy such corrections don't happen or at least not frequently. In fantasy the author’s word are the only authority after that your interpretation is as valid as anyone else’s, and you must relate to the place in whatever way you can through history and reality because it is the only way to get to imagined lands
by JD'
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