Pondering The Wizard of Oz

I'm working on a small Wizard of Oz wall hanging.  Even though it's a simple project, the progress has been quite slow.  Hopefully I will be able to finish it this week.  This has always been one of my favorite movies.  So, as I was sewing, I found (first major accomplishment) my VHS copy of the movie and figured out how to make the old VHS player work (second major accomplishment) so that I could watch it as I sewed.  I realized a few things:  I still love this movie.  I love the characters, the old special effects that were cutting edge in their time, the songs....everything.  Back in the old days, you couldn't just sit down and watch a movie whenever you wanted.  I didn't see The Wizard of Oz in the theater until I was in college.  My first introduction was on TV.  And since you couldn't record TV back then, you had to plan to be available whenever it was going to be aired.  It seemed like this movie was aired about once a year and my mother made sure I was aware of the show time.  Commercials were your only opportunity for food or bathroom breaks if you didn't want to miss part of the show - there was no rewind.  After several years my family got our first color TV (yes, I'm THAT old!).  And I was introduced to the color extravaganza of The Wizard of Oz.  I loved it even more.  I thought it was so clever of the director to start and end the movie in black and white making the magic of Oz even more breathtaking.  I do admit to being scared of the wicked witch and her flying monkeys in those days, though.  And they were uglier and scarier in color.

As I was viewing the movie recently I think I realized some of my attraction to the story.  I like Dorothy.  I think I related to her without being aware of it back then.  She grew up, as I did, surrounded by adults.  (I'm the youngest in my family by 11 years).  And there were times for Dorothy, as for me, when being "good" basically meant staying out of the adults way.  But Dorothy also has spunk and I admired that in her.  She was willing to speak her mind and stand up for the less able including her dog and her companions.  She was scared of the witch and even the wizard to an extent, but she didn't back down.  And, most of all, she came home.  She was frustrated with home at first, but she quickly realized that home and the people there were important.  In a way, she grew up and learned to value what was right in front of her.

After all, there's no place like home.