The Wizard of Oz (Film) Essay Questions

The Wizard of Oz is a musical, but it is not a traditional musical in certain respects. How so?

Traditionally, in musical theater, songs are meant to propel the narrative forward, to explain more about what the characters want in ways that they cannot in dialogue. While the musical interludes in The Wizard of Oz are entertaining and do propel the narrative somewhat, the movie would really not be considerably different without the songs. The way that musical numbers function in The Wizard of Oz is perhaps more similar to vaudeville than it is to traditional musical theater. The songs are more like character studies, representations of who the individuals are, and showcases for charming dances and comedic antics. Additionally, most musicals distribute songs a little more equitably among the characters. In The Wizard of Oz, the central character, Dorothy, gets only one song on her own, even if it is the most iconic song in the film. While it is true that the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion get their moment in the spotlight to sing about the characteristic they deem to be missing, these are really just repetitions of a motif. The closest that any other single character comes to getting a solo is the Cowardly Lion’s “If I were the King of the Forest."

How would the film have been significantly different—for better or worse—if the entire thing had been filmed either in all black and white or all Technicolor?

One of the most memorable transitional scenes in movie history occurs when Dorothy opens the front door of the farmhouse still stuck in her black and white (well, sepia-toned) Kansas world and enters into a world of Technicolor. Suddenly, viewers' eyes are treated to hues and shades so vivid and bright that it is almost overpowering. This moment has the effect of putting us in Dorothy's perspective, able to empathize with her transition from the dusty and mundane grays of Kansas to an overwhelming world of color and magic. It is not just that the film employed Technicolor to represent the magic of Oz, but that that color so fully contrasts with the other photography in the film that makes the film's photography so iconic. The switch between the two worlds is an essential part of the film's storytelling.

A double for Judy Garland wearing the same outfit crafted from sepia-toned material was required to pull off the trick shot. The fact that the makers went through so much trouble for that one shot lasting only a few seconds indicates perhaps better than anything else how essential this split between black and white and Technical really way. Take the color away from Oz or add color to Kansas, and you’ve got a Wizard of Oz of a different color altogether.

What do all of the characters learn by the end of the film?

In Oz, Dorothy sets down the yellow brick road in order to find the Wizard and ask him to help her get back to Kansas. The companions she picks up along the way—the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion—all also need something from the Wizard. After traveling far, facing many dangers, and even getting into a near-fatal squabble with the Wicked Witch of the West, they are disappointed to discover that the Wizard isn't even magical. Rather, he is just an ordinary man using technology to make himself appear larger-than-life. What he teaches them, however, is that they don't need magic to get what they wish for; they already have it. The Scarecrow learns that he is already bright, in spite of thinking he doesn't have a brain. The Tin Man learns that he already has a very fine access to his emotions, and that he doesn't need a heart. The Lion learns that he has been brave all along, and is not in need of any magical courage. Finally, Dorothy, after missing her hot air balloon ride to Kansas, learns from Glinda that she has had the power to return home the whole time, just using the meditative strength of her desire to return (and some magical help from the ruby slippers). Furthermore, the lesson that Dorothy tells Glinda she's learned in Oz is about how she should be more appreciative of what she has, and not go looking for new wonders until she's taking stock of what she has to be grateful for.

What are some of the things that make the film so iconic?

For one thing, the scale and spectacle of the film are notable. Shooting took place over the course of many months, and so many hours of work went towards making the world of the film into a compelling, magical, and awe-inspiring pageant. The sheer scale of the film—just how many extras are used, the size and height of the set pieces and backdrops, the brightness of the colors—is enough to leave even a modern viewer in awe of the money and work that must have gone into the film. Additionally, the allegory of the story, that of an innocent girl trying to get home and learning to grow up and be braver, is a universal one. The story is a traditional coming-of-age tale, which makes it compelling and relatable for both children and, as the opening dedication states, "The Young in Heart." Finally, the performances of the stars, the screenplay, and the delightful songs, make the film a classic and iconic representation of early Hollywood.

What does the film suggest about the relationship between magic and reality?

The film is undoubtedly a fantasy, inviting the viewer into a world of whimsy, wonder, and magic. As soon as Dorothy steps beyond the threshold of her house, she is in an uncanny and fantastical world with a logic all its own. Yet, the film is not simply a straightforward fantasy; it shows how fantasies are actually dreamscapes, extensions of the human imagination. This is alluded to early on, when Aunt Em tells Dorothy to try and stay out of trouble, not to get caught up in her own imagination. Dorothy's main flaw, in the eyes of her aunt, is that she cannot quite distinguish between fantasy and reality.

When she meets Professor Marvel, he is clearly a hack, no more psychic than any other man, and yet Dorothy accepts his story naively, not suspecting that he might be a charlatan. Marvel's equivalent in Oz is the Wizard, who is himself an ordinary man pretending, with the aid of technological gadgets like levers and microphone, and smoke machines, to have magical powers. The film suggests that behind every magical entity is a frightened man pulling levers behind a curtain. The key to magic then, lies not in the magical event itself, but rather in one's belief in the magical. As the Wizard tells the group, if they believe in their own qualities and powers, then they will have them. He can no sooner give them brains, heart, courage, than they can give it to themselves. Additionally, when Dorothy returns to Kansas, it becomes evident that the entire journey was in fact a hallucination, a dream. Yet Dorothy believes in the dream, believes that it was a "live event," and her belief makes it more meaningful, and helps her to internalize the lessons she learned in Oz.