Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, a Zen master? The Tin Man an enlightenment seeker? “Follow the Yellow Brick Road” a mantra?
Joey Green’s, The Zen of Oz, is a witty, whimsical, and surprisingly insightful introduction to Eastern Philosophy via one of the world’s most beloved movies. It delivers universal truths in a charming, non-preachy, fashion allowing you to explore Dorothy’s yellow brick road, as well as your own.
Along the way, you will discover original song lyrics, your favorite dialogue, all of the charming characters, and the amazing scenes from the motion picture, The Wizard of Oz, illustrated in a Japanese style.
Green investigates deeper interpretations, and portrayals of many aspects of the tale of Oz, and tries to establish a truth. He lays out ten spiritual lessons in an attempt to bring the story of The Wizard of Oz, as well as yourself, closer to uncovering the purpose to life, as well as to establish a relationship between the character’s experiences and your own. He offers the reader guidance, and uses the characters from the motion picture, not just to entertain, but to enlighten. Each section is filled with wonderful ideas and stories which seek to inspire audiences into finding their own spiritual enlightenment.
Does The Wizard of Oz touch a spiritual chord in all of us? Glinda, the Good Witch, is clearly a Zen master who sets Dorothy out on the Yellow Brick Road to self-awareness. When she is joined by the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion, they must all let go of their conscious leaning and free their minds to achieve a brain, a heart and courage, effortlessly. However, Dorothy’s achievement is far greater than that of the rest. She encounters her true Self, her “Oneness with the cosmos,” (pg. 43), attains satori, the Zen experience of “awakening” – and ultimately, her home.
“Your happiness is
determined by your karma.” (pg.21) Right away, Green opens with some spiritual advice from over the rainbow. He embarks on a mission to explore the Law of Karma, “what goes around comes around”, and how Isaac Newton put it, “ for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Simply, every choice you make has a consequence, whether or not you make that choice consciously. “Whenever you face a choice, consider the consequences of that choice.” Will the consequences nourish happiness? Green believes that t...
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...ster’s death, but to eliminate any possible threats to her plans to take over Oz. Her motives are selfish, and she has no heart. She loves no one, and no one loves her in return.
He then goes onto discuss the Wizard of Oz, and illustrates that he is loved by the citizens of Emerald City, as long as he protects them from the wicked Witch of the West. But the Wizard’s love for the citizens is not genuine; in fact, he only protects the city so he can maintain his power. His love is conditional and insincere. In this case, he is loved
deeply by the citizens yet returns no love in exchange. Green’s explanation of the koan exposes a contradiction in itself.
The Zen of Oz is truly inspiring! It is easy to read and profoundly interesting. It is a definite must-read! It includes fascinating tales accompanied by perfect construction, flowing from chapter to chapter never letting you take your eyes off it. It encourages you to free your mind to learn of the thoughtful lessons hidden in the magical film, The Wizard of Oz. By appealing to this famous film, all audiences
...you'll see if you take a walk some night on a suburban street and pass house after house on both sides of the street each with the lamplight of the living room, shining golden, and inside the little blue square of the television, each living family riveting its attention probably on one show; nobody talking; silence in the yards; dogs barking at you because you pass on human feet instead of wheels. You'll see what I mean, when it begins to appear like everybody in the world is soon going to be thinking the same way and the Zen Lunatics have long joined dust, laughter on their dust lips. (104)
Frank Baums, The Wizard of Oz is arguably one of the most popular films made. Even though it was released in 1939, nearly three-quarters of a century ago, the film continues to entertain audiences and speak to them in a personal way. The question that comes to the mind when analyzing this film is: What is it about this film that gives it such timelessness? When reflecting on the film’s timeless qualities, it seems clear the plot is one of the things that enable it to maintain its relevance. Primarily, the plot of The Wizard of Oz is timeless because it is such an excellent example of the heroic journey, both in literally and cinematically. This journey of self-awareness is a metaphor for growth, which is something we all search to discover at some time in our lives.
In conclusion, the protagonist of The Wizard of Oz Dorothy Gale, is initially unsatisfied with her life on her Aunt and Uncle’s farm and dreams of a foreign land over the rainbow, where there are no worries or disasters. Although as the story progresses, Victor Fleming incorporates a wide range of
Tests and decisions are as numerous in any man's life as are the beats of his heart. The consequences follow him forever - he is judged by them and they affect his entire existence. However, judgement should not be passed on a man's single decisions individually, but only by observing how he has chosen to live his life.
L. Frank Baum shared an imaginary tale to the world when she wrote the “The Wonderful Land of Oz”. His passion and reasoning for writing this story was “written solely to pleasure the children of today”. Although not everyone agreed with this reason and thought otherwise. Quentin P. Taylor believed the “The Wonderful land of Oz” was a political symbolism and even thought that it was a populist allegory. Taylor accused the author of this imaginary tale that he was putting hidden messages or meaning in his story. Not only was Taylor accusing Mr. Baum of these actions but used different examples to prove his point. The biggest and most iconic example was the shoes Dorothy wore. In the movie “The Wizard of Oz” Dorothy wore shiny red ruby slippers but in Baum story Dorothy wears a pair of silver slippers. Taylor believe that not only was the slippers an issue but the yellow brick road with attaching the silver slippers was an Populist platform in which it demanded “ free and unlimited coinage of gold and silver”.
“Were off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of oz” One of the infamous phrases from one of the most well know classics of all time. The original movie titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was made in 1939 by Frank Baum. This film featured stars such as Judy Garland, Jack Hayley and many others. This was not only a movie, it was a fantasy, and a musical storytelling adventure with unusual characters that shook the audience. This was one of the first films to make it to the big screen with color. Because of its success, this film has been remade many times with multiple different spins making it rhetorical. Over the years this film has become one of the best films of all time and is still watched today among all ages
Shot 1: Wide shot. View behind Dorothy in black and white. Dorothy opens the door to the color world of Oz. She steps out into Oz and stops. Straight on shot, camera moves into Oz first through the door, followed by Dorothy appearing again in the foreground. Light symphonies playing magical music, birds are singing in the background.
Through the eyes of Christians, it appears that Dorothy embarks on a journey to seek enlightenment, however, is encounter by great evils along the way. Where the Emerald City represents heaven and Oz represents God. Yet, through the eyes of Atheists, it can be taken to mean just the opposite, on this excursion Dorothy learns that God is actually not real at all, and is merely an idea or illusion.
In her travels Dorothy meets the green people of Emerald city, the yellow winkies, and the blue munchkins. Each of the three different types of people reacted to Dorothy and her people differently, the munchkins were warm and welcoming, the people of Emerald city were cautious and courteous and the yellow winkies were curious and helpful. The distinction in color was made because each color represented a defining characteristic, the people of Emerald city represented greed as they were not only green, the color of money, but they were also heavily isolated from the rest of the people of Oz; the people of Emerald city lived in the richest city as seen with the jewels that surrounded the houses as such they did not openly welcome strangers nor did they treat them kindly a sign of disdain for outsiders, they represented the higher class in society, or the richest class. The yellow winkies represented hard workers, and the working to lower class as they were not only very skilled at every craft but their enslavement to the much more powerful which represented the constant oppression of the less powerful, or poorer class in society. The blue munchkins represented the middle class, not necessarily know for wealth or for being poor, they are kind and strive to be successful as seen with Boq one of the richest munchkins. Each of the different people of Oz and
“The Wizard of Oz” is a beloved, classical movie among children and adults alike. The story is about a young Kansas girl who dreams of being picked up from her uncle’s farm in a storm; in the dream, she is carried away to a land different from anything she has ever seen. Along the way she meets new friends who all wish to ask something of the Great Wizard of Oz for themselves. Once they reach the great Emerald City, however, they find the city to be a fraud; the very thing each had been searching for was found within each of them. Historian Hugh Rockoff claims The Wizard of Oz contains numerous symbols of the political and social issues. His analysis is listed in the Journal of Political Economy. (Journal of Political Economy, Vol. 98, 1990, pp. 739-760).
If children or adults think of the great classical fairy tales today, be it Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, or Cinderella, they will think Walt Disney. Their first and perhaps lasting impression of these tales and others will have emanated from Disney film, book, or artefacts (Zipes 72)
The biggest and probably most memorable special effect of the movie is the transition from black and white film to color. The film starts in black and white while Dorothy is in Kansas then as soon as she lands in Oz the film magically transitions to color. This was extra unique because during the time it was made, most movies were strictly in black and white. “As a child I simply did not notice whether a movie was in color or not. The movies themselves were such an overwhelming mystery that if they wanted to be in black and white, that was their business. It was not until I saw ‘The Wizard of Oz’ for the first time that I consciously noticed B&W versus color” Here, Ebert expresses just how wowing that effect was to him and how it really added to the movie (Ebert 1). There are so, so many other special effects expressed in The Wizard of Oz like the house getting spun up in the tornado, trees coming to life and throwing apples or a beautiful woman in a beautiful dress traveling by bubble. Frank Nugent from The New York Times makes a comment on these effects “They are entertaining conceits all of them, presented with a naive relish for their absurdity and out of an obvious—and thoroughly natural—desire on the part of their fabricators to show what they could do” even though the gentlemen does almost mock the people in charge of these effects here, he does
High-key lighting is typical in use with musicals, and Oz is no exception. The technique of brightly lighting the set to rid the film of dark shadows injects a happier feel, a lighter tone to the movie. Excellent use of low-key lighting in the film can be seen when the characters meet the wizard for the first time. The use of low-key lighting and the play of shadows here creates a sense of suspense in the viewer. The tone is dark, and the controlling color is
Sometimes, the hardest parts of life can make one a better person in the long run, it just takes time. In the novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, Dorothy learns the importance of being independent and brave. By going on the journey to Oz, she runs into many challenges throughout the novel that help her grow into a hero at the end of the novel. In the story, Dorothy lives a normal life, but then there was a twister that hit her house and flew her away into a different land. This land was called, munchkin land. Here, Dorothy was welcomed, then she tells the princess she wants to go home and the princess tells her the only way to get home was to follow the yellow brick road to Oz. So she follows the road and runs into many obstacles, but in the end, Dorothy ends up talking to Oz and getting home safely. Dorothy grows into a hero because she had to face her fear of defeating the witch and makes it back home, while also helping out the scarecrow, tiger, and the tin man and she has to learn how it is important to be independent.
The Wizard of Oz was directed by Victor Fleming and was released in 1939. The movie is about Dorothy Gale, a young girl living on a farm in Kansas with her Aunt Em and Uncle Henry. Dorothy gets into some trouble with her neighbor, Miss Gulch, but everyone else on the farm is too busy to pay attention to her. Miss Gulch arrives with the sheriff to take away Dorothy’s dog Toto, because he bit her leg. Toto escapes the sheriff and Dorothy decides to run away with Toto. She meets a fortune teller who makes her, falsely, believe that Aunt Em is ill. So she runs home straight away, but as she gets there a tornado starts coming up. Not being able to get into the cellar, she is knocked out by flying debris and awakens to the house being carried away by the twister. The house lands in the World of Oz in Munchkin Land. Dorothy is greeted by Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, and the Munchkins. Dorothy is treated like a heroine because she killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Glinda transfers the witch’s ruby slippers to Dorothy’s feet, and the Wicked Witch of the West swears revenge on her. Dorothy is told to follow the yellow brick road to the Emerald City and talk to the Wizard of Oz to get her back home. On the way, she befriends the brainless Scarecrow, the heartless Tin Man, and the cowardly Lion. They get into some trouble, along the way, but they get to the Wizard. He said that he wouldn’t help unless they return with the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West. After a lot of danger and the kidnapping of Dorothy, her new friends save her and Dorothy kills the evil witch. The witch’s guards rejoice and give Dorothy the broom. Back in the Emerald City the Wizard still will not grant the groups wishes and Toto exposes the Wizard to be ...