Modern man making myth

Rating: 8/10 (12 January 2010)

Michael Crichton wrote in his 1987 novel Sphere that whereas Greek mythology was "common knowledge" in ancient times, today there are educated people who do not know it. Is it that we have abandoned myth altogether? Maybe not- he goes on to write "Perhaps these are our new myths. Dorothy and Toto and the Wicked Witch..." The Wizard of Oz, the classic 1939 movie, attempts to bring a modern-day, American-made mythology to life. And there's no doubt it succeeded. The film has reached legendary status, to the point where others have referenced it- Oz references appear in various places in my DVD collection, from Arrested Development to Futurama, and from The Simpsons to Gremlins 2.
What gives the movie its power? There is some emotion in the movie, thanks in part to Judy Garland who played Dorothy. I felt sad for her when her dog Toto was taken away to be put down. The dog escaped and went back to her, and she ran away to keep the dog safe. Then a tornado hits- and she's lost in a fantastic land. First off, I'll note Oz has great colour- better colour than some movies made decades later. The things we see there are a triumph of imagination: talking trees, a horse of a different colour, flying monkeys. Some of it is twisted- the munchkins celebrate the death of a witch, complete with a munchkin coroner. That's a little morbid, and later the wizard sends Dorothy and her friends to kill the other evil witch. If this is a little dark, well, so was Greek myth.
The underlying message of the movie is that "There's no place like home"- don't leave home. Of course, we often do have to leave home when we grow up. And what about Toto? When they go back to Kansas, the dog still might be put down, right? This is a point that may have been too bleak to say outright in the movie- the dog probably will be put down, but that's not a reason to run away. So the "don't leave home" message is aimed primarily at kids, it seems. Maybe there's stuff of interest to adults too- maybe the scarecrow and the tin man represent the common people, farmers and woodsmen, subject to powerful people who can be either good or wicked (the witches- the Wicked Witch's Kansas counterpart is said to be a major land or business owner). Either way, the movie is a landmark in the history of fantasy fiction.