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MiscellaneOz
Ozlection - A comment from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
speciesof1 made me wonder if I should be cross-posting my Oz posts to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
thelostoz, and I thought I'd put it to a vote. I ended up rejecting the Woggle-Bug's idea of everyone voting with their right shoes as impractical, but the Scarecrow helped me set up this straw poll.
[Poll #1378523]
Just Visiting - I've finally finished reading The Visitors from Oz, a collection of the Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz newspaper columns. Written not long after the second Oz book, these stories feature the main cast of Land (except for Tip, for obvious reasons) visiting the United States. Despite being the work of L. Frank Baum himself, I don't consider these stories canonical, for two main reasons. One is that they show the Ozites working all sorts of magic that they don't have access to in the main series, but more important than this is that Baum himself didn't seem to think of the stories as canonical. There's no mention of these adventures in the main Oz series, and Dorothy never acknowledges that the Ozites visited her in Kansas before the events of Ozma. Some people have also objected to artificial constructs like the Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead being fully alive in the Outside World, but I'm not sure this is a problem. After all, John Dough was fully alive in an American city, as were several non-flesh-and-blood people and creatures in Ruth Plumly Thompson's Oz books. On the other hand, all of these constructs did very quickly leave the United States for a magical land, usually under very suspicious circumstances. It's almost like the mundane world is rejecting them. That might be something to address in a future post. But getting back to Visitors, the stories are very inconsistent in quality. Some are adventure or morality tales, while others have the characters just observing something or hanging around and talking. I think I can see why these stories eventually just fizzled out, with no real conclusion. Also, I rarely see how anyone could possibly have figured out what the Woggle-Bug said at the end of the early stories. Speaking of the insect, the volume also includes The Woggle-Bug Book, a tie-in to the Queer Visitors stories with a plot involving the Woggle-Bug chasing after a plaid dress, and a cast of characters jam-packed with offensive stereotypes. No wonder these tales aren't especially popular nowadays. I have no complaints about the volume itself, though, which features plenty of new illustrations by Eric Shanower.
The City Is Always Greener - In an e-mail conversation withbilliedoll, the subject of the green glasses that the Wizard of Oz made everyone wear back when he ruled the Emerald City came up. I'll admit that this is something in the books that's always confused me. In Wizard, the Wizard confesses to Dorothy that the Emerald City isn't any more green than any other city, but the glasses make it look that way. This is hinted at when Dorothy's green dress fades to white upon leaving the city and the spectacles. When viewed from afar without glasses, however, the city still looks green. So is it only the wall and the buildings higher than the wall that are actually green? Did the Wizard institute the glasses because the builders ran out of green marble? As per Land, the policy of wearing spectacles continues on into the Scarecrow's reign, and the Guardian of the Gates dutifully gives glasses to Jack and the Sawhorse. Other characters enter the capital without the glasses, however, and nobody makes a comment as to how things no longer look green. Ozma apparently discontinued the use of green glasses, but there's no indication that the city didn't still look primarily green. The description in Emerald City states, "There are other jewels used in the decorations inside the houses and palaces, such as rubies, diamonds, sapphires, amethysts and turquoises. But in the streets and upon the outside of the buildings only emeralds appear, from which circumstance the place is named the Emerald City of Oz." While the green glasses fit well into the Wizard's role as humbug magician, Baum seems to have more or less forgotten about them by the time of Ozma, although the Guardian does wear a pair in Road. Any thoughts on this matter?
Confidentially Speaking - I tried out the demo of the game Emerald City Confidential, and I must say I liked it. It's sort of a noir take on the Oz series, featuring lots of characters from the books, but altering them somewhat to make them fit the style. It's obvious that the creators were familiar with the books, though, and I might just have to pay for the full download at some point. My main worry is that I'm not sure it would have any real replay value. Anyway, be sure to check it out here.
The Best of Both Rainbows - According to the director of the Hannah Montana movie, Miley Cyrus is the new Judy Garland. According to him, "Ms. Garland wasn't a hit until she was 16 as Dorothy in the overrated film, 'The Wizard of Oz'. Cyrus has been popular since she was 12 and got a role in Tim Burton's 'Big Fish' at age 6. Honestly, I believe she has more potential then Garland or even Shirley Temple." While Wizard was Judy's first real starring role, though, she was definitely acting before that. Really, while I don't have any love for Destiny Hope Cyrus, I can't say I've ever been a particular fan of Frances Ethel Gumm, either. I mean, she was a good singer, but wasn't her famous performance as Dorothy a bit overly frantic? As a fan of the Oz books, I have kind of a love-hate relationship with the 1939 MGM film anyway. On the one hand, it's pretty much impossible not to like the movie, and it IS cool that something Oz-related is such a significant part of our culture. And hey, there's a good chance I never would have heard of the books if it hadn't been for the movie. On the other hand, I do have to resent how thoroughly the film has superseded the book. But really, is referring to a beloved classic as "overrated" the best way to generate publicity for your movie? Oh, well. Probably most of the kids that the Hannah Montana film is geared toward don't even know who Judy Garland and Shirley Temple are.
They Say It's Your Birthday - Finally, happy birthday to fellow Oz fanshadarko!
speciesof1 made me wonder if I should be cross-posting my Oz posts to thelostoz, and I thought I'd put it to a vote. I ended up rejecting the Woggle-Bug's idea of everyone voting with their right shoes as impractical, but the Scarecrow helped me set up this straw poll.[Poll #1378523]
Just Visiting - I've finally finished reading The Visitors from Oz, a collection of the Queer Visitors from the Marvelous Land of Oz newspaper columns. Written not long after the second Oz book, these stories feature the main cast of Land (except for Tip, for obvious reasons) visiting the United States. Despite being the work of L. Frank Baum himself, I don't consider these stories canonical, for two main reasons. One is that they show the Ozites working all sorts of magic that they don't have access to in the main series, but more important than this is that Baum himself didn't seem to think of the stories as canonical. There's no mention of these adventures in the main Oz series, and Dorothy never acknowledges that the Ozites visited her in Kansas before the events of Ozma. Some people have also objected to artificial constructs like the Scarecrow and Jack Pumpkinhead being fully alive in the Outside World, but I'm not sure this is a problem. After all, John Dough was fully alive in an American city, as were several non-flesh-and-blood people and creatures in Ruth Plumly Thompson's Oz books. On the other hand, all of these constructs did very quickly leave the United States for a magical land, usually under very suspicious circumstances. It's almost like the mundane world is rejecting them. That might be something to address in a future post. But getting back to Visitors, the stories are very inconsistent in quality. Some are adventure or morality tales, while others have the characters just observing something or hanging around and talking. I think I can see why these stories eventually just fizzled out, with no real conclusion. Also, I rarely see how anyone could possibly have figured out what the Woggle-Bug said at the end of the early stories. Speaking of the insect, the volume also includes The Woggle-Bug Book, a tie-in to the Queer Visitors stories with a plot involving the Woggle-Bug chasing after a plaid dress, and a cast of characters jam-packed with offensive stereotypes. No wonder these tales aren't especially popular nowadays. I have no complaints about the volume itself, though, which features plenty of new illustrations by Eric Shanower.
The City Is Always Greener - In an e-mail conversation with
billiedoll, the subject of the green glasses that the Wizard of Oz made everyone wear back when he ruled the Emerald City came up. I'll admit that this is something in the books that's always confused me. In Wizard, the Wizard confesses to Dorothy that the Emerald City isn't any more green than any other city, but the glasses make it look that way. This is hinted at when Dorothy's green dress fades to white upon leaving the city and the spectacles. When viewed from afar without glasses, however, the city still looks green. So is it only the wall and the buildings higher than the wall that are actually green? Did the Wizard institute the glasses because the builders ran out of green marble? As per Land, the policy of wearing spectacles continues on into the Scarecrow's reign, and the Guardian of the Gates dutifully gives glasses to Jack and the Sawhorse. Other characters enter the capital without the glasses, however, and nobody makes a comment as to how things no longer look green. Ozma apparently discontinued the use of green glasses, but there's no indication that the city didn't still look primarily green. The description in Emerald City states, "There are other jewels used in the decorations inside the houses and palaces, such as rubies, diamonds, sapphires, amethysts and turquoises. But in the streets and upon the outside of the buildings only emeralds appear, from which circumstance the place is named the Emerald City of Oz." While the green glasses fit well into the Wizard's role as humbug magician, Baum seems to have more or less forgotten about them by the time of Ozma, although the Guardian does wear a pair in Road. Any thoughts on this matter?Confidentially Speaking - I tried out the demo of the game Emerald City Confidential, and I must say I liked it. It's sort of a noir take on the Oz series, featuring lots of characters from the books, but altering them somewhat to make them fit the style. It's obvious that the creators were familiar with the books, though, and I might just have to pay for the full download at some point. My main worry is that I'm not sure it would have any real replay value. Anyway, be sure to check it out here.
The Best of Both Rainbows - According to the director of the Hannah Montana movie, Miley Cyrus is the new Judy Garland. According to him, "Ms. Garland wasn't a hit until she was 16 as Dorothy in the overrated film, 'The Wizard of Oz'. Cyrus has been popular since she was 12 and got a role in Tim Burton's 'Big Fish' at age 6. Honestly, I believe she has more potential then Garland or even Shirley Temple." While Wizard was Judy's first real starring role, though, she was definitely acting before that. Really, while I don't have any love for Destiny Hope Cyrus, I can't say I've ever been a particular fan of Frances Ethel Gumm, either. I mean, she was a good singer, but wasn't her famous performance as Dorothy a bit overly frantic? As a fan of the Oz books, I have kind of a love-hate relationship with the 1939 MGM film anyway. On the one hand, it's pretty much impossible not to like the movie, and it IS cool that something Oz-related is such a significant part of our culture. And hey, there's a good chance I never would have heard of the books if it hadn't been for the movie. On the other hand, I do have to resent how thoroughly the film has superseded the book. But really, is referring to a beloved classic as "overrated" the best way to generate publicity for your movie? Oh, well. Probably most of the kids that the Hannah Montana film is geared toward don't even know who Judy Garland and Shirley Temple are.
They Say It's Your Birthday - Finally, happy birthday to fellow Oz fan
shadarko!