Analyzing The Movie 'The Wizard Of Oz'

“We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!” This was a phrase probably used by the people who went out to see the movie, The Wizard of Oz when it premiered in theatres. As a communications student at Misericordia University, it is important to not only analyze the film, but to also analyze how the movie and the production company advertised themselves in getting the public to know about this movie. Before there was Fandango, Facebook, and other online resources to know when the movie was, word of mouth was the best source of communication. Whether it was postcards, or posters, once people knew it was going on, they made sure everyone and their mother’s knew what was going on. The primary source that will be discussed and analyzed in this

analysis is a movie poster from the movie, The Wizard of Oz.
The content in the poster contains many aspects that go into the movie.

The creator of the poster made sure the name of the movie was the main focus of the whole poster. They also included some of the main characters that are featured in the movie. They only included the actor’s true names such as Judy Garland and Frank Morgan. The poster believable because if one was to be present during the time of the release of the movie and if one was to have seen Judy Garland in previous movies, one would be able to recognize Judy Garland automatically. The only way it could be non-believable if one were to point out that there is no date visible in the movie poster (Brady).

Mercury Press & Media Ltd created the poster for the movie. Although the date is not visible, one can assume that it was made in 1939 when the movie premiered. There is no location to where the poster was created. This may be a reason why one must question why it may not be a reliable source because there is no location or date located on the movie poster. It is still reliable even though the location and date is not present. The company that made it Mercury Press & Media Ltd is still a present company that runs posters like the Wizard of Oz poster

(Brady).
During 1939, one of the major wars in American history was just beginning: World War II. Movies were made to get the mind off of the war that was going on. As magical as The Wizard of Oz was, it was a good movie for people in the United States to be able to relieve stress and get their minds off of the war (News and Events of 1939.)
Information that can be obtained through sources of seeing if the characters match up with the characters. Jack Haley does play The Tin Man as to Bert Larh plays as The Cowardly Lion. The directors also match up with the poster and the source as well. The director, Victor Fleming name is also viewed in the movie poster along with writer Noel Langley (The Wizard of Oz).
If one were to analyze this movie poster, they would ask if the creator is biased. In terms of it being a movie, the creator has to be biased. The creator is getting paid to make believe that movie is going to be worth more than Toto was to Dorothy. There was some information that was left out in the poster. Based upon common knowledge, the Wicked Witch of the West was not featured in the poster that is analyzed. The explanation of that would be that the producer of the creator wanted to keep that character a secret until one was to see the movie (Brady).
In an overall analysis, the poster of the movie, The Wizard of Oz is indeed a useful resource for when it comes to discussing whether or not it is a reliable resource. With the accurate actors in the movie, and the correct directors, it is safe to say that this indeed was a resource to people for when the movie came out.