Reminder: you should begin reading The Wizard of Oz.
Now for the online questions...post a comment to this entry of about 150-250 words. You don't need the elaborate introduction of an essay; just jump right into your concise answer.
Answer any ONE of the following (and please make it clear in your first sentence which question you're answering). Feel free to reply with disagreements or additions to other student comments.
1) What specific moments show marriage being parodied. Think in literary terms (actions, dialogue, characterizations, plot outcomes) but also film terms (camerawork, lighting, music, and sequencing).
2) Discuss Muriel’s more peculiar lies to see if you can find any plausible, psychological reason for them (either a deliberate reason on her part, or more likely an explanation of why her subconscious prompts her to come up with them): 1) her lie that her mom has cancer (instead of Rhonda); 2) her lie that her husband’s name is Bill (her dad)
3) Why does Muriel decide to find a husband through the classifieds in precisely the moment that Rhonda is diagnosed with cancer?
4) Is Muriel’s father portrayed as the source of all trouble in the family or a victim of them? Are there things going on in the family that the father clearly can’t be blamed for?
5) Discuss the specific moments in which the “traditional” role of women is parodied. This role includes behavior, personality, appearance, expectations, and sexuality among other things. Think in terms of actions, dialogue, characterizations, plot outcomes, the implied messages conveyed by camerawork, lighting, music, and sequencing. Also remember to pay attention to things that are not said, shown, or done (that are conspicuous in their absence).
6) Muriel’s Wedding can be viewed as a (very) twisted variation of the Cinderella myth. Explain what plot elements, character traits, and patterns correspond to elements of Cinderella. Also, these variations were presumably made for a reason, to critique the moral message of Cinderella. Give your best theory as to what purpose the makers of Muriel’s Wedding had in rewriting the Cinderella story in this way. That is, what’s their response to the moral message of Cinderella?
