THE WIZARD OF OZ

[Yumqqq]

Hello, this is Mengqiao Yu! I guess a lot of my classmates had heard the story of The Wizard of Oz for years, just like I had, and just watched the movie for the first time. Of course my favorite song in the movie is Somewhere Over the Rainbow. The first time I heard this song was about 10 years ago when I was a middle school student, funny that it took me 10 years to find out where it actually comes from.

In the beginning of the movie, Dorothy seems to be a young girl who lives in a world where no one actually understands here. She feels so sad when a woman tries to take away Toto, her cute puppy dog, from her, that she runs away. She has encountered a tornado that takes her and Toto to the place she always dreams about, and there she starts her journey in this wonderland. During the journey, Dorothy meets the scarecrow, tin man, and the lion, and tries to help them find a brain, a heart, and courage. They have a lot of challenges on their way, and the bad wizard also tries to kill them, but what matters during the journey is that they never give up on each other.

As for Dorothy, the most important that she learns may be that there is no place better than home. After she is carried to the wonderland by the tornado, Dorothy tries everything to find her way home. Her will to go back home becomes stronger each time she thinks of her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry, and she gradually grows to become a girl who never wants to run away from home. Dorothy is also a very kind-hearted girl, for the love that she gives to Toto and the sympathy she shows to her friends in wonderland.

After the movie, I also searched some information about the actress Judy Garland. I think it is quite an interesting thing to learn some background information of a movie, or of the actors and actress in each movie. The story of Judy Garland actually moves me more than the story of The Wizard of Oz, because she was a like a very beautiful and talented young woman who had devoted her life to her career, but didn't really end well. Compared to the great movies that she had been in, and the very famous Over the Rainbow she had sung, this beautiful woman herself worths more respect and sympathy from us.

- Yumqqq

Teacher's note: Thank you Yumqqq for taking the initiative of looking into the life of the actor who plays Dorothy, Judy Garland. Her life was tragic indeed, and it almost seems as if "The Wizard of Oz" and especially "Over the Rainbow" were spirits that would haunt Garland for the rest of her life. It's easy to imagine that Garland's early-life experience with Oz planted an idea into her mind (see "Inception") which lead to her early demise. . . Tragic indeed.

But on closer examination, IMHO there was much more to the story. History tells us that Judy Garland was a person who got exploited by everyone from her parents to anyone who saw a way to make a dollar off of her. This has happened with famous entertainers throughout history, maybe because of the intoxication of fame that creates irrational business choices, or maybe just simply because of greed. I really don't know, but for sure, one must tread very carefully in the face of fame.

--mike http://www.moviesgrowenglish.com

[haoqiulyu]

Hi it is Jessica, I am very glad to share my feelings about THE WIZARD OF OZ here. I have read the story since I was a little girl but actually it is my first to watch the movie. I like the song "Somewhere over the rainbow" very much, because it reminds me of a little British girl who sang the song in Britain's Got Talent to memorize her past grandmother. The lyrics touched me so very much, especially "Some day I'll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me/Where laughter falls like lemon drops away above the chimney tops/That's where you'll find me." Whenever I hear the song, I could not help imaging my families and friends and I live forever in a wonderland where there is no darkness or pain, only happiness and harmony.

I think the most important thing that Dorothy learnt during the journey is that there is no place like home. From the very beginning Dorothy was crossed because Miss Gulch wanted to take Toto away from her and auntie Em and uncle Henry seemed not care about her broken heart at all. Dorothy left her home angrily and only to find how much her families loved her. As Dorothy suddenly intruded into OZ, the only thing that sustained her journey was her love for her families. Although she made several good friends during the trip, what she wanted the most was still going back to home. Home is where we belong.

THE WIZARD OF OZ is kind of a "detective" movie where we can find a lot of trails and clues. All the fictitious figures in OZ correspond to Dorothy's friends in the real world in Kansas, and they all have pregnant meanings. Also, Sometimes we get the things we want without noticing on the way we fight for them. For example Dorothy always wanted to go back, although at last the wizard of OZ didn't help her at all, she already got the ability to go home.

To conclude, this movie is a classic.

Haoqiu

[JackieDu]

Hi everyone, after reading the answers from above posts, I might want to say something different. Forgive me if that will offend your feelings. "

"The wizard of OZ" was my most most favorite comic book when I was a little girl! I cannot remember how many times I have read the book. Every time I read it, I felt myself immersed in a beautiful and magic wonderland, and just felt too hard to leave. I almost built the whole scenes in my mind, with vivid figure of each character. But I have to admit when I finally saw the movie for 1st time, something got changed, and I don't know why. Everything is so beautiful and colorful, but so real and overwhelming! It took me for a while to connect the characters on screen with all the close friends in my deep mind.

I do like the song " Somewhere Over the Rainbow" as it really sounds like a very soothing lullaby, sliding into my brain, broadcasting itself from time to time. After class, subconsciously I started to sing the song:) It can drive people away from tedious stuff, and create some free space in mind, just for relaxing.

Throughout the journey, Dorothy finally realized there was no place better than home, and the most valuable things in life is family, relatives and dear friends. It's like a must-taken lesson for all the young people. When they are really young, they cannot wait to get away from home to look for new and different life, as far as possible; But when they become more mature, they start to understand the importance and meaning of family, and then settle down their own families. There's nothing right or wrong, it's just a journey throughout different life stages. In real life there's no black and white, no ever-lasting solution. We always struggle and try to keep balance between "taking adventure" and "enjoy peaceful family life:) But anyway, life is a journey. If you don't start, you won't find anything.

The journey tells several important things about life: we need have heart and emotions to take care of our beloved ones, we need have wisdom to overcome the difficulties, and we also need courage to face all the unknown challenges appearing from now and then. We should depend on ourselves to develop all these characteristics through hard working and endless searching. But most important of all, we should have faith to believe we can make it eventually.

[wenhuizhu]

I want to say that the Wizard of Oz shares many similarity of A Journey to the West, a very famous fiction in Ming Dynasty. A Journey to the West tells the story of Monkey King, Tang Monk and two other apprentices, went on a pilgrimage for Buddhist scriptures.

Similarly, the Wizard of Oz tells a similar story-Dorothy was forced to set off an unknown journey. During the journey, she met new friends, experienced difficulties and grew up finally. In this film, what touched me most is those words- “There’s no place like home.” Dorothy had dreamed of leaving home, staying in a child world without trouble. But finally, she experienced the test to become mature and understood the meaning of home. In a society where money is the only standard to measure the value of human nature, home and family are the last shelter for this value. This viewpoint is of great significance in a disappointing society, like U.S in 1930s.

The journey, to some extent, is a journey for Dorothy to find herself, to grow up, to understand the meaning of home and responsibility. She protected her dog, helped the Tin Man get a heart, the Lion find courage and the Scarecrow obtain a head. She kept making contributions and take responsibilities all the time. And she just wanted to get back home at the end.


My favorite song is Over the Rainbow definitely because of the words of the song – “Some day I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me, where troubles melt like lemon drops.” It is a world of imagination, a world of childhood, a world I dream of even though I’m 22 years old.


——by Wenhui

[chenyuer1118]

Hello! My name is YUER CHEN (Jessica). I have watched this movie before and for not only once. But, the previous watches were largely based on academic analysis which discussed about how colour is used in earlier films. However, from this time of wathcing the movie, I can have some time to think about the whole story in Wizard of Oz.

For sure the most famous song in the movie is "somewhere over the rainbow" and I do love this song very much. I think the song represents a very ideal world both described in the film and in children's dream. Also, I like this song because this particular song can display not only a warm feeling but also a sorrow one. I remebered I have watched an interview with Judy Gartland in her later years and she sung that song for the last time publicly. At that time, when she has experienced all the tragedies in her life, what you can hear from that song is instead sorrow, frustration. But it is still a beautiful song.

I think in the film the journey to Oz represent a kind of process of "growing up" and being courageous. Everybody must have experienced "growing up" in different phases of their life. Growing-up is hard and ruthless. However, you can still find in your journey of being a grown-up, there will be friends accompanying you. And when you finally achieved something and when you looked back, maybe you can find that everything you experienced is not that hard and you will be thankful to all the toughness you've been through. I think that is the most valuable idea that the film delivers. And the film delivered this idea in a beautiful and colourful fairy tale.

Thank you!

[yuzhang]

Finished watching two movies, I feel like The Wizard of Oz a Hollywood version of Spirited Away. Both of them tell a fairy tale about how an innocent girl falls into an adventure, make friends and fight their way back home, but slightly different in the structure. The other thing they share in common is that they both have abundant hinting and symbols.

In the story, all that Dorothy wants is to return home. However, after all the adventures she’s been through, she finds out that the key is under her feet all the time—the red slippers, which is gifted by the Good Witch at the beginning of the story. Why doesn’t the Good Witch tell her in the first place, but asked her to go to the Emerald City instead? On the other side, the three symbolic characters: Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion, all they want is a brain, a heart and courage. But the wizard actually gives them nothing at the end. Why is that happened?

That leads us to the heart of the story: you need to do it by yourself. This is how we grow up. There is no wizard in our life that can give you whatever you want. If you want to go home, you need to find your own way. Besides, no one is born smart, loving or brave. We need to experience difficulties and hardship to get a brain, a heart and courage, so that we can be a capable grown-up. That’s the reason why the Good Witch tells Dorothy nothing. As we are young, we need to be independent first.

[dr.musleh.dent]

I like the song “Somewhere over the rainbow”. The lyrics are beautiful and the melody is very calming.

The happiness most of time are close to us but sometimes we don't look at its. The family, home and our friends are the biggest part of our happiness and we should take care of them before we miss them.

We should take care of what we have. Every where, there are good and bad persons. We should believe in God who creat us and give us good things that we must know that every things we have are good if we look via optimistic vision.

The movie is good in general and I like the old way of the direct.

I would like to repeat that we have a lot of things; no need to look to something else

[reneeliu]

What is your favorite song and why?
Over the rainbow definitely is my favorite song, not only because of the peaceful melody but also the hope and bright expectation expressed in its lyric.

What does Dorothy learn in this story?
What Dorothy learned in this story is just the word she said at the end of the movie:” There's no place like home.” Kansas maybe is not a good place. Compared with the magical land of OZ, where grows vibrant trees and beautiful flowers, the weather in Kansas is very bad. Sometimes there was a cyclone. When a cyclone came, people had to stay under their houses, however, it never stopped Dorothy’s steps to come back home. No matter how dangerous it is, Dorothy always tried to figure out a way to conquer that problem.
Yes, home is always the best place. There are our parents here; there are also our favorite things here. At home, we feel safe, we feel comfortable, and we can relax ourselves.

In your opinion, what does the journey to Oz represent?
I think this journey is the process for four characters to find their true selves. Scarecrow used to take himself as a silly toy, whose brain was filled with straws. Tin Man felt upset because he did not have a real heart. Lion was obsessed with its timid personality. However, when they reached OZ, they found actually they already had owned what they wanted Scarecrow is absolutely cleaver, he understands things, he can think, he learn quickly, and he suggested Dorothy to cut down a tree to cross the river. The tin man has a kind heart, he laughs, he cries, he loves, he feels sorry for people. The Cowardly Lion is really brave, he did a lot of brave things, he carried the friends to go across the river, and he wanted to find some food for his friends and so on. Sometimes we just need a recognition from other people but ignoring that what we already own.

I was also extremely impressed by the technology used in the film shooting and production. I cannot image how brilliant the teams are to create such scenery in 1938, when the skills and technology fell much behind current digital production. They are amazing!

[ClaireL]

I am a big fan of old Hollywood movies. Some people may think the acting was exaggerated and the special effects were unreal; however, I find them very enjoyable. Therefore, I love this film very much!

Although this was my first time watching The Wizard of Oz, I have heard the song “Ding Dong the witch is dead” for many times from the popular TV show Glee. This is a very happy song, vividly conveying Munchkins’ excitement and joy, which makes you want to dance with those little guys together. And that’s the magic of music. As a musical, I think The Wizard of Oz successfully utilizes the music and lyrics to tell the story as well as express the emotions.

This movie is about the journey. Dorothy runs into a lot of troubles everyday and feels not understood. She wonders if there is a place over the rainbow where everything is just fine. But, “there is no place like home”. She tries very hard to find her way home from Oz and meets three good friends, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion, who represent the three farm hands. At the end of the journey, they finds out that the things they pursue (home, a brain, a heart and the courage) have always been there. This story is kind of like a famous Chinese story, Journey to the West. Both of them is about the journey towards something that appears to be simple at last. So why do they have to go this long way? I think the journey represents the growth, which can’t be taught and you have to experience it by yourself. And it is the journey that makes your destination so valuable.


Siyu Li
(Claire)

[zuhui]

What is your favorite song and why?
My favorite song in this movie is over the rainbow. I knew this song when I was a little child and at that time I didn't know where does this song come from. But I learnt to sing this song because it is a really soft and quit song which is my style. Then a Chinese female singer sing this in her album, made me love this song more. Because at that time my English was improved can understand the beautiful lyrics. Until 2013, I just got to know this song is from this film. It surprises me because it's hard to image at that old era, there is a song so fusion. And it makes me thinking that songs are not limited by time and countries.

What does Dorothy learn in this story?
I think in this story, Dorothy learns that the best place in the world is home. She missed her home very much in the journey. She was thinking about go to some places far away from home. But in the end she wants to be home. I really understand her, because I'm the girl who really want to go far away from home to explore the world by myself, but when I step outside of my hometown I didn't feel good. I miss my home, family and my country. I think she definitely feel the same as me or even worse.

In your opinion, what does the journey to Oz represent?
I think this journey is a listen for the people who don't use their own ability to solve the problem. This is no one can help you to solve any problems. The only one person that you can trust a hundred percent is yourself. Also this journey to Oz help people to find where they belong and what they lost. People need to lose then they can learn lessons. This journey is a lesson to Dorothy, finally a good ending is a best solution for her. She will be a really good girl.

Write a setup/opinion of THE WIZARD OF OZ.
I love this film, at the first I love musicals, love all the songs in this movie. Second, I love the story and the lesson it wants to tell us. This is a famous story in the world and I think it represents most of people's thinking. Home is a place we want to escape in the beginning but it is the place we always want to go back. I'm out of my hometown for 5 years, I really miss there and miss my family. I know sometimes we can't control something but when you have a choice don't lose the people who love you.