Twisted Utopian Visions

Recently, bethje was telling me how she doesn't like books, TV shows, and such where everything was too easy for the characters. I can see her point, but my favorite series of books (which, for the benefit of anyone who might be looking at my journal for the first time, is the Oz series) is one where things are often REALLY easy for the main characters. Early on in the series, Ozma and her friends are given access to a Magic Belt that can transform or transport just about anyone or anything, a Magic Picture that can show whatever it's asked to show [1], and a Book of Records that records almost everything that's going on in the world. Later on, the Wizard of Oz learns a magic word that can accomplish any transformation; and new royal treasures include three emerald necklaces that grant wishes, and a silver hammer that summons a powerful elf who has to obey the summoner. Add to that the facts that no one can die [2] and there's no money [3], and it seems like pretty much any challenge can be easily overcome. I guess a lot of series tend to get this way over time. In order for villains to accomplish anything, they usually have to steal the kindgom's main magic (as Ugu does in The Lost Princess of Oz, as does the Wizard of Wutz in Handy Mandy in Oz), have equally powerful magic of their own, or rely on a fortuitous coincidence. Indeed, most of the time, both the villain's initial success AND eventual defeat are based on unlikely coincidences. Nonetheless, I greatly enjoy the series, and I think part of it is the escapism factor, which is to say that I like reading about a place where everything usually works out. That's not to say that that's ALL I enjoy reading, but Oz is more of a place I wish were real than other imaginary countries.

Speaking of Oz, I've solved two of the sudoku-style puzzles that were in the most recent Oziana, but the third one continues to confound me. The thing is, the letters on the bottom row are supposed to spell out an Oz term, and I've already figured THAT out. (Really, it just amounts to a simple word scramble, made even simpler by the fact that some of the letters are already filled in.) Would it be cheating to write in the letters at the bottom and work from there? Probably. I'm not totally sure it would help that much, either.

And for something totally (and I do mean TOTALLY) unrelated to Oz, Beth and I watched Boogie Nights last night, and I thought it was a very well-made movie. I'm not quite sure of the film's message, but it seems to be saying that a life in the porno business might or might not work out for you, but doing drugs never will. Ah, people in the seventies and their cocaine addictions. It's a good thing we've progressed past that in our modern society. Oh, wait...

( A few quiz results )

And in closing, I had a dream last night that involved a display of puppies outside some mansion, fireworks being set off indoors, the Three Little Pigs, and learning about automobile assembly at what was supposed to be my library job. Talk about a hodge-podge of material! {g}

EDIT: As a correction to the first sentence, it's just that Beth doesn't like it when things are too easy IN books and such, not that she doesn't like said books and such THEMSELVES.

[1] This also brings in another interesting factor in fiction, that being that, once someone is defined as being one of the good characters, the readers will often root for them even if they do things they wouldn't approve of in real life. Bush's domestic spying program is small potatoes compared to what Ozma can do. Since Ozma is presented as a good, just, and nearly universally loved ruler, she can get away with a lot. It does make me wonder whether there's any kind of Ozian Civil Liberties Union that disapproves of the Magic Picture and other devices that are constantly employed by their government. And whether or not Ozma is actually as good a ruler as L. Frank Baum was always claiming has been the subject of several essays.
[2] As it usually seems to be stated, the rule is that no one can die, but it IS possible to be "totally destroyed." Exactly what constitutes such destruction is usually left vague, probably intentionally so. Being eaten, torn to pieces, and blown up are generally presented as being just as fatal in Oz as anywhere else. There's a lot of gray area with other means of death and/or destruction, though.
[3] Baum, who'd had a lot of financial trouble throughout his life, introduced this rule in The Road to Oz, and expanded upon it in The Emerald City of Oz. He wasn't always totally consistent with it, though, and later authors often ignored it entirely.