Google has done it again.....supplied me with a bit of trivia that I would not have otherwise realized: Today is the seventy-first anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz". I can remember the first time I saw "The Wizard of Oz". I was scared, mesmerized, and enchanted......all at once.
Children who see the original will be gripped with fear when the tornado comes, but will be put at ease when Dorothy emerges, complete with her pooch and the red shoes. Adults, and children as well, are taken with the incomparable voice of Judy Garland who sings her way to even greater stardom. And, who can forget the supporting cast of characters like the witches, Scarecrow, Tin Man, The Cowardly Lion, little green people running about and the now, immortal Yellow Brick Road? So many spin-off musicals, books, and songs have sprung from "The Wizard of Oz" that it would be time-consuming to compile a list.
I once had a school district administer a personality test to all its employees based on the personality profiles of "Wizard of Oz" characters. It was both fascinating and mind-boggling that a school district would utilize such a test. Fortunately the results were SUPPOSED to be simply for personal use.......or that is what the employees were told. Did any teacher really want to be described as a Tin Man, devoid of a heart?
Then there is the now-famous line, "You're not in Kansas any more." which is used to describe a situation similar (in my humble opinion) to "Will it play in Peoria?" The yin and yang of life. Wanting to do something different - think outside the box, but realize that you are held in parameters that may not welcome your different-ness or independent thinking.
Thank you, "Wizard of Oz" for bringing so much pop-psychology to all of us. Where would be be today without the now-familiar characters, story line and music?
Perhaps in Peoria or Kansas?
Ancora imparo
