Wizard of Oz Better as Book or Film - Term Paper Example

Wizard of Oz Better as Book or Film In recent years, it seems, there have been no few new stories told. Instead, most of Hollywood seems intent on recreating favored stories of the past. We see remakes of Snow White and Cinderella, Beowulf and Beauty and the Beast. However, this seeming recent trend actually has a long history. Examples of this exist as far back as the beginning of the film industry with Hollywood’s early interpretation of Tennyson’s poem “Enoch Arden” in 1911. Unfortunately, film representations such as this struggle desperately to provide an accurate recreation of text originally presented in novel form. The many fans of the Harry Potter series are fully aware that film, while interesting and entertaining in its ability to bring out certain elements of the story that might have been missed in the reading, can never duplicate the full depth and artistry of the novel. Yet translating book to film is not always fully detractive. Sometimes, film can add artistic elements that may or may not help to inform the meanings intended within the book. Because more recent films are able to dazzle with amazing special effects and digital imagery, it is better to compare a film of the past which was more limited to simply telling the story. To illustrate the differences between film and novel, then, it is helpful to compare something like Victor Fleming's 1939 filmic rendition of Frank L. Baum's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz both in terms of medium and zeitgeist of the age in which each were made. Numerous differences exist between the film and the novel, many of which can be said to be minor but which also tend to generalize significant details of the book. Clearly, the film is limited in its ability to tell the story because of time constraints. While the novel could be as long as it needed to be to properly tell the story, the film is limited to two or three hours at most before it starts losing the interest of the audience. It is for this reason that the more specific details of the book are lost within the film. However, the film adds additional components such as sound in the form of music and voice. This creates a stronger emotional draw than just reading the words. Throughout the film, the actors are also able to provide a greater sense of personality as they carry thoughts and emotions through facial expressions and actions rather than simply in narration. Some changes were made purely as part of the zeitgeist and change of medium, such as changing the silver slippers from the book to ruby red slippers for the film. This change was made to take advantage of the new color film technology that was then being introduced in Hollywood and used as a distinguishing feature between Kansas and Oz. Changes in wording, such as transitioning from the Tin Woodsman found in the novel to Tinman in the film are reflective of the changes in language that took place between 1900 England and 1937 America. However, even such a small change causes the story to lose some of the artistic wordplay present in the book. While these are all small changes, larger changes are also present. In both presentations, book and novel, the story begins in a gray and drab Kansas, but this depiction is quite different between the two mediums, again reflecting changing zeitgeist. In the book, Dorothy and her family are quite isolated to the point that Dorothy can "see nothing but the great gray prairie on every side. Not a tree nor a house broke the broad sweep of flat country that reached to the edge of the sky in all directions” (1-2). In the film, Dorothy is not quite as isolated as she is first seen making her way home from school along a dirt road on which she is able to interact with several other members of her community. Dorothy's house has also been changed from the simple "four walls, a floor and a roof" described in the book to a comfortable frame house in the film in which Dorothy has her own room indicating the family exists in a comfortable middle class income bracket. These changes cause the audience to automatically begin forming completely different opinions about Dorothy and her position in life from what they might have formed just reading the book. Changes made for the film for entertainment or brevity's sake also affect the interpretation of the story. Rather than the grey of Kansas reflecting Dorothy's internal state of loneliness and isolation as in the book, Kansas is grey as a means of representing the real world. This is a significant change of interpretation as the book suggests the grey of Dorothy's world is a matter of her own impressions while the film suggests it is a condition of reality, unavoidable regardless of internal outlook. The film also adds real life counterparts to the three friends Dorothy makes in Oz as well as the wicked witch of the west. “Miss Gulch ‘owns half the county,’ and it is clear that this monetary fact makes her will the dominant factor in Kansas” (Conlon, 1990: 100) instead of the isolation and harshness of settler life which is the true source of contention in the book just as Dorothy's friends in Oz are intended to represent qualities she develops in herself in the book. Within the film, though, the story is reduced to little more than a pretty dream for a young girl. While she reaches a similar resolution and newfound appreciation for her home in both stories, the depth of her change is significantly reduced in the film as compared to the book. The return to the frame story at the end of both film and novel also highlights the changes in characters from the book to the film. Since the film expands the frame story, Aunt Em and Uncle Henry's masks are stripped away from the start, revealing their softer sides immediately and making it difficult for the audience to understand just why Dorothy has such a hard time accepting her life at home. As a result, the frame story is forced to build stronger motivations for Dorothy, such as leaving home in order to save Toto from Ms. Gulch. In addition, the story loses its message of understanding since “the characters in Oz [Scarecrow, Tinman and the Lion – all of whom are the ‘mirror’ of the Kansas farmhands] are willing to share with Dorothy their deepest need and desire. Such frank self-assessment and openness are not a part of Kansas where men do not admit and discuss their cowardice” (Conlon, 1990: 103). Although this change might tend to weaken the characters, making them relatively shallow, the film also provides greater detail regarding the characters' backgrounds, bringing them into closer alignment with the characters of the book. For example, the Scarecrow tells Dorothy about the impressions he had on the day the farmer created him and the Tin Woodman tells her of his history and how he was changed into tin. However, even this is shorthand to try to make up for the missing scenes from the book such as their encounter with the Kalidahs on the way to Emerald City during which Scarecrow demonstrates his true intelligence and the Lion demonstrates true courage. The detour they take down the river in the book also reveals much deeper character traits than simple narration within the film. Many omissions made in the creation of the film from the book could be argued to have been made in the interest of the time constraint, but other important details seem to have been ignored as well. In the book, Dorothy and her friends encounter a numerous different people on their journey. They often stop at little farmhouses and villages for food, news or directions along the way thus making it clear that this is a lengthy journey they've undertaken. In the film, these people are rolled up into one community of Munchkins as they perform a grand choreographed song and dance number upon Dorothy’s arrival in Oz. Some of the more sophisticated characters have been added to the cast found at the Emerald City, before and after the travelers have made their requests of the Great and Powerful Oz. The producer again eliminated an important character from the film who appears in the book in his decision to transform the good witch of the north, who greets Dorothy upon her arrival in Oz and grants her the silver slippers in the book, to the good witch of the south who also sends Dorothy home at the end of both book and film. Within the film, this change seems to indicate a somewhat malicious witch even in the good witch since she should have been as able to send Dorothy home at the beginning of the film as at the end, since she had the secret formula to help Dorothy get there. In the book, the good witch of the north does not know the secret of the shoes and thus sends Dorothy on her quest in good faith. Not only is their journey shortened in terms of time and space, but Dorothy and her friends are not shown to learn as much about themselves in the film as they do in the book. Instead, they already seem to know it and just have to be brought to a place where they can state it out loud. By making the ending a dream rather than returning Dorothy to a rebuilt house and an Aunt Em who had given her up for dead, the film drives home the message that "there is no place like home" even when it's full of such grey reality. This is a different message than the complex array of meanings that can be derived from the book, most of which focus on personal development and the power to effect change. In conclusion, while both the film and the book tell similar stories, the thematic focus of the original book is significantly altered in its translation to film through ways that are not limited strictly to format. Clearly, the change in format does necessitate some changes such as the condensing of the story to fit within available time constraints and the addition of color to accommodate the new technology of the time, but other changes are brought about both due to changes in zeitgeist and in delivery. These changes alter the story's focus and attention, highlighting some elements of the novel while de-emphasizing others. Changing zeitgeist, from England to America and with a significant 40 years interval between the two, undoubtedly brought about several of these changes as the world attempted to focus on creating a brighter, more hopeful, less lonely future for itself. However, in its attempt to lighten the storyline, the film perhaps inadvertently changes the focus from the strength, resiliency and self-possession of the young girl, reflecting a pre-war dedication to hard work and self-awareness, to a message regarding the need to root oneself in home and family, accepting of the constraints of one's society, and the need for cooperation and togetherness. Separated by World War I and the Great Depression, these ideals were clearly more significant for the filmmakers after such desperate times and with the specter of World War II hovering along the distant horizon than they were for Baum writing nearly 40 years earlier before any of these disastrous, world-changing events took place. Works Cited Baum, L. Frank. The Wizard of Oz. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1900 (1956). Print. Conlon, James. “Kansas, Oz, and the Function of Art.” Journal of Aesthetic Education. Vol. 24, N. 3, (Autumn 1990): 99-106. Print. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Dir. Victor Fleming. Perf. Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Roy Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939. Film. Read More