The Wiz - Lauren's second meditation
While I find The Wiz a pretty entertaining movie, (aside from the fact that the moviemakers could have cut about half the songs and I would have been ecstatic) I really do not see it as anything award-worthy or even note-worthy, aside from the fact that it was a musical with a all-black cast, which is rare in musicals.I do believe that The Wiz was intended to make a point amongst the racial tension in the 70s, but I think whatever points they were trying to make was lost in the campy, over-the-top way the movie was done.
The moviemakers cast huge names in the film, most notably Michael Jackson and Diana Ross. Just the fact that these huge stars were in the movie made people want to go see it, not for the original story it was modeled after or even because it had an all black cast.
What The Wiz was able to do, aside from draw big names to the cast, was to draw audiences with its flashy scenes and costumes. The whole scene were Dorothy falls into the playground and the Munchkins and Miss One tell her about the land of Oz and the great Wizard was intense, from the lighting to the movements to the lavish but sparse set.
The scene with the hooker Poppies was a chance to attract men to the audience, as well as show off some cool sets once again – the neon signs hung seemingly in the air, the smoke that billows out to our travelers and knocks them out – this is all done as a big production, as is the courtyard scene when our travelers first enter Oz. The costumes are loud and vibrant; the song and dance is memorable and entertaining to watch.
The general story of Dorothy and her visit to Oz is completely, totally, and utterly lost in the remake or reinterpretation. I find that while The Wiz may have been made to pay homage or even make a social commentary, it has mostly served as a comedy, a parody of the original story. None of the original morals really remain. The Wiz seems like it only fulfilled one of its main goals – to make money.
posted by Anonymous @ 12:32 PM
2 Comments:
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Apparently someone disagreed with your assessment that The Wiz is not “award-worthy”. I say this because the Broadway version won 7 Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Choreography. Here is the link for the Internet Broadway Database, where I found this information:
http://www.ibdb.com/production.asp?ID=3716
I personally disagree with what you said about this version not including any morals… just like the 1939 movie and Baum’s book the main characters are searching for brains, heart and courage, and they find it, but through Dorothy not through a phony Wizard. I think that this is an essential theme/moral in every version of The Wizard of Oz. The idea that your friends love you and want the best for you and will help you find what you are searching for is a very important.
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