Entertaining, but Baum's great story lost in big screen transition

Rating: 8/10 (31 July 2018)

There is no question that from a Hollywood screenplay and production perspective, the "Wizard of Oz" is high on the list of achievements for excellence. The movie, in terms of cast, score, production is exciting, entertaining and thrilling. The movie is sure to get glowing reviews for decades to come. However, there is a difference between a review which states the obvious about cast and production, and one which goes a bit further. Despite its grandness, my overall complaint about the movie is a problem not specific to this film itself, it is the industry problem of not staying true to the book for any number of reasons, particularly sensitive issues. Sadly, the more movies one reviews which have their beginnings in literature, the more visible the altering of story lines becomes visible and troubling, as do the motives for such alteration. The Hollywood credo seems to be that Issues of politics, social condition, religion and race must be handled "delicately."

After decades of study, what we now know about "The Wizard of Oz" is that it is not a simple fairy tale for children. That the book was banned in libraries across the country, and religious leader called on movie house to ban screenings, should give you enough pause. The story itself is a social and political commentary on America and the rise of populism, the challenge to the US monetary gold system, the struggle of farmers and factory workers and so on. Don't fell bad if you missed this. It took about 30 years for scholars to figure this one out.
The brilliance of Baum's writings and legacy is that he never acknowledged the story as a parable, nor did he discuss the metaphors and symbolisms in this text. Years later, literary scholars who studied the story as written agreed that there was overwhelming evidence, based upon the journalistic writings and political leanings of the writer, the times he lived in and the issues of the day. The coincidences were simply too many to ignore. Think about it, who picks as characters, a scarecrow, tin man, cowardly lion and a young girl from Kansas, to journey down a yellow brick road to an emerald city. So, the question in my mind is a tricky one. Does the movie pay sufficient homage to the issues of the day, if it deviates substantially from the original manuscript? And if not, how do we rate this movie? Many reviewers take the position that it's just entertainment. To which I say cop out, I disagree. Movies and books contain messages and social ques as do omissions. Literary works contain messages which the writer puts there for a reason. A movie is not just a movie, nor is a book just a book. Yes, for decades, I missed this one, it went over me like the "Matrix" first got by me. The bottom line is that if a movie contributes to ignorance through suppression and omission of an original text, we must temper our jubilation. Enjoy, the movie, but realize that this movie is just really good entertainment and not the story as intended.