Choose one of the following and respond with about 200 words. Read messages posted before yours and do not duplicate!
- Is the film’s Dorothy stronger or more passive than the book’s version? Defend both points of view.
- In what way does the movie convey a different attitude toward the world (which you can take in any sense: gender roles, politics, human nature, economics, home, family, friendship, etc.), than the book did?
- This film has always had people trying to come up with a ‘master interpretation’ that argues what the film is really (or secretly) about. It’s said that the makers of the film put all sorts of things into it that weren’t in the book to advance this “secret agenda.” If it’s true that the film is trying to teach or advocate something through symbolism and allegory, what do you think it is? What elements of the plot or of the characterizations that differ from the book can you use to help defend that idea?
We will also discuss the following in class (but these are not writing options)...
- Who are the good and bad mother figures in this film, and what scenes convince you to regard them this way? Keep the emphasis on qualities that define them as mothers, not just good or bad women. What kind of theory can we form about Dorothy’s attitudes toward mothers when we look at their role in her life and in her dream?
- How is Dorothy’s quest a “feminine quest,” markedly different from the standard masculine quest? Begin by deciding what you think constitutes a masculine quest, thinking in terms of ultimate goal, steps along the way, techniques used to achieve, side characters encountered. Look to blockbuster movies or famous stories as examples.
- If the Wicked Witch is The Outsider in this movie, what minority groups is she being associated with to help the audience identify against her? That is, what popular prejudices does the film take advantage of to mark her as different/wrong? How do they accomplish this, specifically?
