The Wizard of Oz Essay

1. Short summary of the film. – Dorothy and her dog Toto are caught in a tornado’s path and somehow end up in the land of Oz. Here she meets some memorable friends and foes in her journey to meet the Wizard of Oz who everyone says can help her return home and possibly grant her new friends their goals of a brain, heart and courage 2. The film’s genre. – Fantasy, Children’s novel 3. Major character’s conflict and change. – Dorothy only considers herself as an ordinary girl, but she is more.

She liberates or improves nearly everyone who comes into contact with her. Not only does she help the scarecrow, Tin Woodman, and the Cowardly Lion, she defeats the wicked Witch of the West. Throughout the journey that Dorothy had to make to get back home, she made many friends, went through hardships, and followed her guide to achieve her goal. 4. Cinematic significance of one scene in the film. – The opening and closing Kansas scenes were filmed in black-and-white, while the Oz scenes were done in sumptuous (and expensive) Technicolor.

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Dorothy’s amazement at entering the world of color mirrored audiences’ feelings about the new technology. 5. One important use of camera angles. – The directors also used the camera to add to the mise en scene of certain sequences such as the shots when Dorothy is clicking the ruby slippers together and saying, “There’s no place like home. ” The shot is long in duration and is a close up on Dorothy. The lens slightly blurs the focus and then eventually overlays three images together: Dorothy’s face, her ruby slippers, and a starburst-like pattern.

This helps add to the idea that Dorothy is crossing back into the real world from the dream world. 6. One important use of color. – Technicolorful land of Oz. 7. Target audience of the film. – Family and children 8. One aspect of the film’s style. – The usage of monochrome for the Kansas sequences was a stylistic choice to represent a contrast from her home for the bright colors of Oz 9. Does the film follow a traditional Hollywood narrative? – 10. What point is the film maker trying to make in the film? In other words, what is the theme of the film; what does it mean? At the core of the story is a theme that speaks to children and adults in similar, yet different, ways. Dorothy’s dream may be to travel to a far off land, but, when she finds herself there, all she wants is to go home – to a place where she’s safe, loved, and warm. This is a dilemma that all children face – the desire to cut the apron strings balanced by the overpowering yearning for the comfortable and familiar. As adults, we can watch The Wizard of Oz and fondly remember our own pilgrimage from childhood to adulthood and how, in many ways, it mirrors the one Dorothy is taking.

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