Sequence Analysis Wizard of Oz
Sequence Analysis: Wizard of Oz
Rabi Kumaraswamy
October 31, 2014
DRAMA 3030
Dr. Aaron Taylor
In the Wizard of Oz, we see the journey of a girl, Dorothy Gale, in her dreams to escape her dismal life on the farm and her troubles with her aunt and uncle. It is only after she dreams of being in a place unfamiliar and troublesome that she realizes how much her family means to her. From this we can see the film’s explicit meaning: “There’s no place like home.” Although this line can in ordinary be a cliché, it relates back to Dorothy’s desires and ordeals toward her goal of returning home from Oz. The general idea we take away from this film is that maturation of not only Dorothy but her colleagues, play a role in understanding that being able to acknowledge our past and learn from it, can help to push through to discover one’s already perceived potential. This can be seen in another explicit meaning: “Somewhere over the rainbow,” which when joined with, “There’s no place like home,” creates a combined overall purpose. To explain, this means that, ‘somewhere over the rainbow,’ may look adventurous and possibly hold a new future, but remembering what has been done in the past to get you there will only enlarge the past memories or capabilities gained from ‘home’ or the beginning. The directors do a marvelous job of representing them throughout the film, not only through narrative but also through the film’s mise-en-scene. We can see some of these elements explored through the revealing of the Wizard towards the end of the film.
In this scene, we see the revealing of the Wizard himself to find an old man behind the curtain, who resembles Professor Marvel pulling levers and speaking into a microphone. This character functions as a foreshadow, when Dorothy encounters Professor Marvel before entering the land of Oz. Although Professor Marvel and the Wizard are displayed as two different characters they play very similar roles in Dorothy’s journey. With Professor
Rabi Kumaraswamy
October 31, 2014
DRAMA 3030
Dr. Aaron Taylor
In the Wizard of Oz, we see the journey of a girl, Dorothy Gale, in her dreams to escape her dismal life on the farm and her troubles with her aunt and uncle. It is only after she dreams of being in a place unfamiliar and troublesome that she realizes how much her family means to her. From this we can see the film’s explicit meaning: “There’s no place like home.” Although this line can in ordinary be a cliché, it relates back to Dorothy’s desires and ordeals toward her goal of returning home from Oz. The general idea we take away from this film is that maturation of not only Dorothy but her colleagues, play a role in understanding that being able to acknowledge our past and learn from it, can help to push through to discover one’s already perceived potential. This can be seen in another explicit meaning: “Somewhere over the rainbow,” which when joined with, “There’s no place like home,” creates a combined overall purpose. To explain, this means that, ‘somewhere over the rainbow,’ may look adventurous and possibly hold a new future, but remembering what has been done in the past to get you there will only enlarge the past memories or capabilities gained from ‘home’ or the beginning. The directors do a marvelous job of representing them throughout the film, not only through narrative but also through the film’s mise-en-scene. We can see some of these elements explored through the revealing of the Wizard towards the end of the film.
In this scene, we see the revealing of the Wizard himself to find an old man behind the curtain, who resembles Professor Marvel pulling levers and speaking into a microphone. This character functions as a foreshadow, when Dorothy encounters Professor Marvel before entering the land of Oz. Although Professor Marvel and the Wizard are displayed as two different characters they play very similar roles in Dorothy’s journey. With Professor