The Wizard of Oz
A lot of us growing up watched "The Wizard of Oz" on TV. It used to come on on a Sunday night in January. This meant getting everything done, homework, any household chore, bath and getting your PJ's on so you could watch it and then go to bed when the program was over. I think my earliest rememberance of the movie was at the age of 6. I liked the "we're off to see the wizard" song, I remember skipping from the living room to my bedroom I shared with Sharon which at the time was the middle bedroom. Every since then there are certain characters that stick out in my mind as I relate them to people in my life. People like the farm hands and later the Scarecrow and the Tin Man reminded me of classmates, not that they looked like anybody, just that the had characteristics of people I know. I hate to say this but theWicked Witch of the West reminds me of my second grade teacher. Many people liked her and I am sure she was a good teacher, but to me she reminded me of the wicked witch.
Now to understand this I must give you some background. I started school at age five, at a two room school in Mabscott. This was before integration in 1963. They were trying to keep the school open. Mrs. Annie Fergerson and Mrs. Ruby Coats were the teachers, they knew my mom and dad and they knew I was almost old enough to go to school. I wanted to go to school , because all of the kids in the neighborhood were going to school. So my dad drove me to Mabscott every morning on his way to work and I stayed with my aunt and cousins until time to go to school. It was a short walk to school, they lived right next door to the teacher. So me and my "Beverly Hillbillies" lunchbox went to school. In my classroom the first four grades were taught Mrs. Fergeson, the other grades 5-8 were taught by Mrs. Coats who also served as principal of the school. When I finished first grade I was passed to the second grade. When I started school at Piney Oakes they said I had to repeat first grade, because I wasn't old enough when I started school. My dad didn't like that one bit, he went to talk to the principal. Mr. Austin and my first grade teacher Mrs. Jones and after being in first grade for a few weeks I was moved to second grade. A transition that was traumatic for me, because I do not adjust to change well. I had a little trouble keeping up with the work and that teacher was hard on me. She should have realized that I was younger than most of the students in her class. The first year at Piney Oakes was hard.
Getting back to "The Wizard of Oz", it provided an escape to many people. In 1939 when the movie was released, people went to movies to escape life. They were transported from the everyday life of chores and hard times to a place "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". Where good triumphed over evil, where you have friends and people liked you. We all pulled for Dorothy to get back to Kansas. I didn't think of any secret messages in the movie. The studio MGM was experimenting with something called Technicolor, and of couse you had ruby slippers and a bright yellow brick road to follow and lots of things. Which were quite different from L. Frank Baum's book. That was OK. I read the book when I was ten.
I wasn't worried about witches or wizards, I knew they weren't real. As an adult and as a minister I know that these things do exist, but I don't look for them in everything. I know we live in a mean world full of hidden agendas and underlying messages. Here are some of the underlying messages I got from the movie.
1. Being at the wrong place at the wrong can get you in a world of hurt. A house shouldn't have to fall on you to get your attention
2.Good triumphs over evil, evildoers always get theirs.
3. There is no place you can go where there is no trouble.
4. The devil entices you on a power trip and you think when you get this item or position you will be all powerful. The witch wanting the ruby slippers, "when I get those slippers I will have all the power that I need." There is only an all powerful GOD and no one else. He will not share His glory with anyone.
5. Sometimes we get over-wrought about a situation and the solution is right in front of us. Dorothy had the power to get home all along she didn't realize it.
6. Lighten up life is serious enough, relax and enjoy some of it.
This movie took me back to my childhood, a place where I felt safe and loved. My parents both made sacrifices to see that we had the things we needed and it was a simpler time.
Now to understand this I must give you some background. I started school at age five, at a two room school in Mabscott. This was before integration in 1963. They were trying to keep the school open. Mrs. Annie Fergerson and Mrs. Ruby Coats were the teachers, they knew my mom and dad and they knew I was almost old enough to go to school. I wanted to go to school , because all of the kids in the neighborhood were going to school. So my dad drove me to Mabscott every morning on his way to work and I stayed with my aunt and cousins until time to go to school. It was a short walk to school, they lived right next door to the teacher. So me and my "Beverly Hillbillies" lunchbox went to school. In my classroom the first four grades were taught Mrs. Fergeson, the other grades 5-8 were taught by Mrs. Coats who also served as principal of the school. When I finished first grade I was passed to the second grade. When I started school at Piney Oakes they said I had to repeat first grade, because I wasn't old enough when I started school. My dad didn't like that one bit, he went to talk to the principal. Mr. Austin and my first grade teacher Mrs. Jones and after being in first grade for a few weeks I was moved to second grade. A transition that was traumatic for me, because I do not adjust to change well. I had a little trouble keeping up with the work and that teacher was hard on me. She should have realized that I was younger than most of the students in her class. The first year at Piney Oakes was hard.
Getting back to "The Wizard of Oz", it provided an escape to many people. In 1939 when the movie was released, people went to movies to escape life. They were transported from the everyday life of chores and hard times to a place "Somewhere Over The Rainbow". Where good triumphed over evil, where you have friends and people liked you. We all pulled for Dorothy to get back to Kansas. I didn't think of any secret messages in the movie. The studio MGM was experimenting with something called Technicolor, and of couse you had ruby slippers and a bright yellow brick road to follow and lots of things. Which were quite different from L. Frank Baum's book. That was OK. I read the book when I was ten.
I wasn't worried about witches or wizards, I knew they weren't real. As an adult and as a minister I know that these things do exist, but I don't look for them in everything. I know we live in a mean world full of hidden agendas and underlying messages. Here are some of the underlying messages I got from the movie.
1. Being at the wrong place at the wrong can get you in a world of hurt. A house shouldn't have to fall on you to get your attention
2.Good triumphs over evil, evildoers always get theirs.
3. There is no place you can go where there is no trouble.
4. The devil entices you on a power trip and you think when you get this item or position you will be all powerful. The witch wanting the ruby slippers, "when I get those slippers I will have all the power that I need." There is only an all powerful GOD and no one else. He will not share His glory with anyone.
5. Sometimes we get over-wrought about a situation and the solution is right in front of us. Dorothy had the power to get home all along she didn't realize it.
6. Lighten up life is serious enough, relax and enjoy some of it.
This movie took me back to my childhood, a place where I felt safe and loved. My parents both made sacrifices to see that we had the things we needed and it was a simpler time.
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