THE WIZARD OF OZ

[Xiaoyu]

What your favorite song:
I like the song somewhere over the rainbow in the movie because the song is soft and the lyrics are cheering. I remembered that the first time I listen to it when I was young, I fell in love with it immediately.

What does Dorothy learn from the story.
In my opinion, Dorothy learned from the adventure that home and family is the most important thing in this world. So that's why she tried her best to go back home.

In your opinion, what does the journey to OZ represent?
Form my prospective, I believe that this journey represent once live. It full of adventures and challenges.

Write down your opinions about the movie.
I really love this movie as the music in this movie is so beautiful. And I watched this movie when I was young. It's a beautiful memory for me.

[Amber]

Hello, everyone~ This is Amber.
This movie is really different from those I watched in the past. To me, it is more like an opera than a movie.

The story of the movie is classic, and I have read part of it before. From this story I learned that sometimes we assume ourselves lack of certain abilities but that's not the truth. On contrary, it is possible that we have already had that in our mind, and all we need is a little bit encouragement from others. For example, the straw man is wise enough to come up with bright ideas. He just did not realize that he had the brain. It is similar in our life; sometimes we might just need a little bit appreciation from other people. In other words, we need to be more confident of ourselves. Meanwhile, it is a good thing if we give our praise to others more, because we do not know what kind of effect it will have to help them.

[Taro]

“There is no place like home.” The sentence really impressed me and I felt a little bit homesick then. The wizard of Oz is one of a classic movie that I like most. Every time I watched it I felt not losing myself. Over the rainbow is my favorite when I felt frustrated.

Dorothy was a girl who really wanted to find herself. She was tired of her life and want to go over the rainbow. However, when she accidently went to another place, she really missed home. Although that place is wonderful with the beautiful girls and interesting fairies, Dorothy wants to go back home where her uncle and aunt are and where the source of her dreams is.

In the Journey of Oz, Dorothy met lots of people and each of them represent different meanings. The Scarecrow who wants to have a brain from the Wizard of Oz indicates the desire of pursuing knowledge and intelligence; the Cowardly Lion held the dream of being brave; the Tin Man whose appearance seems to be tough actually has the softest heart and he symbolizes people’s aspiration of loving and being loved. In all, Intelligence, courage, love and the mysterious future (that Dorothy represented) are all the things one would want in his or her whole life.

As for me, no matter how high and how far I fly, there is still a bridge between my home and me. Pursuing dreams are good, but when I was frustrated or wondered where to go next, I would definitely go back home where the dearest people are, where the final destination is. I miss my family so much.

Looking forward to see another movie next class.


Taro (Siyu Wei)

[YiminGu]

The Wizard of Oz is probably one of the most recognized films of all time. It is amazing that seventy-six years on, it hasn't faded in the slightest. My mom used to put me into sleep with this story. Watching this movie, my childhood memory flooded my mind.

The shift from B&W to color, the soothing music and the amazing special effects are some of the highlights. But what makes this movie stand the test of time is the story- a story about growing up. For kids of a certain age, they want so much to free themselves from home, to see what is going on over the rainbow, without knowing how dangerous this beauty is. When they finally reach there, when they are finally not in Texas, they are terrified and crying for mom. Stranded in this strange land, kids have every reason to be afraid but they have to do what they can do to find themselves a way home. On the way, they meet new friend, who might not be impeccable but who stand for each other. For example, when the coward lion wanted to flee away, Dorothy and the other two friends stopped and persuaded him to go and find courage. When they help each other seeking for heart, for courage and for wisdom, they themselves have developed these characteristics.

During this journey of exploration and adventure, kids, like Dorothy, realize that there is no place like home. When they eventually learn independence (Dorothy finds out by herself that the ruby slippers can take her home), it’s time to go home. “Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons.”

The story touches the kids and adults because kids see their awe, fear and insecurities in it and adults recall the journeys they have taken. I would definitely watch this movie with my children in the future.

[Gus]

What is your favorite song and why?
There are a lot of great songs during the movie but the song somewhere over the rainbow is a classic and really beautiful that survived for all these years, so it's really impressive how this song still makes success still today.

What does Dorothy learn in this story?
In the beginning of the story, Dorothy wanted to go to other places and she wanted to leave home, but during the film events she passed through a lot of adventures like she wanted but she realized that even with these adventures, she missed home and then in the final part of the movie she realized that there wasn't any place like home, this fact remembers for me when i go to a trip, i visit another place but soon after some time you started to miss your home and you want to come back, that's the lesson of the story.

In your opinion, What does the journey to Oz represent?
The journey of Oz tries to pass many messages but one of them is that there isn't anybody perfect. Everyone has strong points and weak points about each other as you can see in Tin Man, Lion and scarecrow, but you have to accept yourself as you are and try to see the positive in yourself, in the final part of the movie they didn't get what they want but they gain something that was good enough to accept themselves better. Other thing that the film tries to pass is that even through adventures, it always has a home back to you where you have the parents, best friends, etc.

I think the wizard of Oz is a great movie with a spectacular soundtrack and still influenced so many movies even nowadays. It's one of the types of movies that it is marked through the history of the movies.

[Yoni chang]

the most famous song of the movie "somewhere over the rainbow" sounds great! I am very familiar with the song and the movie Wizard of OZ, but i do not have any chance to watch the movie which is very classic. Finally, i watched the Wizard of OZ, and i was impressed with the quality of the movie, especially for full colored in that period.

Dorothy was a girl who were living in Kansas, and always want to experience outside world. Through the adventure in OZ, Dorothy realized that there is no place like a home. Dorothy learned the importance of family, and she also experienced the true friendship with lion, tin man and scarecrow.

In the journey of OZ, Dorothy met three companions, and they lacked one thing; Scarecrow did not have the brain, and Tin man does not have the heart. Also, timid lion eager to have the brave. They obtained those things during the journey, so Scarecrow gained the intelligence and the ability to think. Tin man acquired the soft and emotional minds and timid lion got the brave when the lion stands in front of the Wizard of OZ. In other words, they were developed through challenges in the journey.

[Yuqing sun]

Personally speaking, my favorite song in this movie is Over the Rainbow. The first time I heard this song is when I was a little girl, just like Dorothy, dreaming about growing up and someplace made of magic. I was so moved by one sentence in the lyric that the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. Sometime growing up can make us confused and lose the courage to make fearless dreams. Why can’t we look back and find the simple and courageous self?

The journey to OZ is the journey for a child to build his or her own personality. Scarecrow needs mind to think wisely, Tin Man needs heart to love and to feel and the Lion needs courage to rule the forest. If we think carefully, these are the characters and personalities that a child may need to become a grow-up.

One of the most important and informative message this movie wants to convey is that home is the most comfortable shelter no matter how far we travel and how long we've been away. At the end of the movie, Dorothy said if I ever go looking for heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard. So touching the words that they lingered in my head for a really longtime. This is my first month in America. At first I may indulged in how colorful and amazing LA is but then, whenever I am all alone, I start to miss my life in Beijing and my family there. No place like home, a simple truth that reveal the most delicate part of a soul.

[Daeyoungkim]

The Wizard of Oz" is one of my favorite movies growing up as a child, and to this day. Everyone knows about this movie's story, characters, music, and even everything. This is a very famous movie in the world because everyone knows the movie's songs especially, the song `somewhere over the rainbow`.

Dorothy is a young girl who living in Kansas farm with their family.A day, she met a tornado and disappeared with her dog Toto. When woke up, she was in a magical and mysterious land known as Oz. When she was travel to meet Oz, she met important friends, scarecrow, tin man and lion. During the jorney, although wizard of north was interrupted, finally, she arrived and seek out a great wizard who should be able to help her get back home.

The Wizard of Oz is a timeless classic. How does this movie is still memorable to many people? It has a lot to do with the perfect cast, great songs, and amazing special effects at that time, 75 years ago!. The story of The Wizard of Oz shows us how young Dorothy is learning about overcome their difficult tasks. This movie is good for not only children also adults who have lots of memories about this movie and at the age.

There is no debt this movie is perfect. In my opinion, "The Wizard Of Oz" is one of the best films in the our history.

[xueting]

At the end of this movie, Dorothy said, “If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own backyard. Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with!” This impressed me most because it was a great conclusion of what she had learned from the experience into the Oz. She had been thinking about getting rid of home and starting her new life elsewhere, but as she was finally far away, she got to recognize that it was home that she should treasure most.

In my opinion, the "home" here represents the present real life people are going through which is, unlike the life people imagine, more real or substantial that people can definitely rely on, though it's not that exciting sometimes. People should have dreams as well as expectations, but what they shouldn't forget are all they are in possession with because after a journey of persuing different kinds of goals, people will always find that what they can never lose are not what they can not gain, but what they've already had.

"Life is elsewhere", a French poet said, which accurately depicts most people's minds. However, life is here. That's what Dorothy learnt from her experience into Oz. And so as I.

[RayXiao]

The Wizard of Oz obviously has a huge influence on the American culture. From the unparalleled black and white to coloured transition, to the famous line "Not in Kansas anymore", and the everlasting theme song "Somewhere over the rainbow". This classic movie just has so much to remember for many American generations and I can see why it also has worldwide recognition.

Undoubtedly, my favourite song of the movie is "Somewhere over the rainbow" and although it is not an unexpected choice, it deserves to be the only option because it perfectly represents and concludes this movie and is beautifully composed and performed. Considering the time this movie was produced, I believe that this song, along with the movie itself, speaks for many Americans their hope for their lives, the country and the future to be better. To put it in the historical timeframe, 1930s is trauma economically for many Americans owing to the disastrous Great Depression, and people need to have faith and hope in tough days like this. So now it seems easier for me to understand why Jody Garland had to keep on singing this song over and over again in her entertainment career later on. What this song symbolises is not only an epoch-making movie, but also a national trauma and its people's hope for a recovery and a better future.

To make the topic less serious, I actually love this song for its versatility. Because it can be performed in various music styles and never fades away. Originated as an opera genre, it was later made jazz, soul, R&B, country, folk rock, acoustic rock, and even electric dance music! I highly recommend one of the covers of this song by Jewel. Her cozy but powerful vocal gives me a magically feeling about this song.