The Wizard of OZ - Report Example

Running head: This is a narrative report about the Wizard of OZ This is a narrative report about the Wizard of OZ Name Course Tutor 23rd October, 2010 Narrative reports about the wizard of OZ all films, including narrative films consist of both the film’s story, and plot. However, distinguishing the two is a difficult task, so some people use them synonymously. As we study literature, art and film, we however find that the two are closely related, in that one develops from the other. A film is a form of art with qualifying aesthetic stance. Aesthetic principles of art make us draw emotions regarding the art work. Therefore, we can deduce that film is a form of art which possesses aesthetic values. A “story” of a film refers to the chronological arrangement of events in that film to create a perception in the mind of its audience. These events are deliberately organised in an attempt to reveal their emotional and dramatic importance in the film. A plot on the other hand, tells the story in rather detailed manner, not only to offer perceptions, but to entertain at the same time. The plot of a story follows a causal and detailed logical manner to connect the different events creating the flow of the story, and harmonising the events from each scene. The link of the story and plot of the film exist, “wizard of OZ”. To ease the understanding of this relationship, I will offer an example of both the story and plot of the film, then compare and contrast the two. Story: Wizard of the OZ Wizard of the OZ, a musical film, was produced in 1939. It tells the story of a young farm girl, Dorothy Gale, who lives with her aunt Em. She and her dog are swept by a tornado to a strange land, OZ. she goes on a mission to find the wizard of OZ to help her return safely home. On the way, she encounters a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion, which all have problems that need the wizard’s help. As they travel together, the wicked witch haunts them down, wanting Dorothy’s sleepers, as she claims, belong to her dead sister. Dorothy finds herself home at the farmhouse, surrounded by her aunt and other family members who convince her she had been unconscious and that her adventure was only a dream. Plot A 12 year old girl, Dorothy Gale lives with her Aunt Em, her uncle, Henry and other farm helpers, in a farm house in Kansas. One day her dog Toto bit a woman who reports to the sheriff for the dog to be taken away. Toto is taken away but escapes. Upon Toto’s return, Dorothy runs away with him, fearing that he could be harmed. She encounters fortune tellers who convince her of the sickness of the aunt. Dorothy returns home at the start of a heavy rain and gets refuge in the house rather than the storm cellar where her family went for safety. She is knocked unconscious by a window and when she awakes, finds herself and Toto inside the farmhouse being carried away by the tornado. She lands in a strange land, OZ. Glinda; a good witch suddenly appears to Dorothy telling her she had crushed the evil witch. With that news, Munchkins appear and sings their happiness about the evil witch’s death. Another wicked witch soon appears, claiming that Dorothy gives back her dead sister’s magical slippers. Glinda warns her nit to give out the slippers and that she should seek another powerful wizard’s helped. Dorothy sets on a journey to find “the wizard of OZ” who could perpetually help her get back home. She became one of the scarecrow that lacked brains, a man who considered himself heartless and a fearful lion. With the hope of solving their respective problems once they reach the wizard, they all accompany Dorothy and tot. On the way they realise they did have problems as they thought. The lion was quite courageous, the tin man was sympathetic and merciful and the scarecrow was quite intelligent. They found the wizard, but he told them to get the wicked witch’s broomstick if they wanted any help from him. Soon the three of them together with Toto go to the wicked width’s house but he senses them from far and sends flying monkeys that take away Dorothy and Toto. The wicked witch threatens Dorothy to give her the slippers pr she drowns Toto, but just as she was about to remove them, sparks distracted the witch and Toto escapes. Toto, scarecrow, lion and the man goes back to rescue Dorothy when the witch sets fire on the scarecrow. Dorothy pours water on scarecrow to prevent him from burning and fortunately, the water splashes on the witch who immediately melts away and Dorothy is given the broomstick. When they returned to the good witch to deliver the broomstick, Tot reveals that he was a liar, and that he was not a true witch. The good witch reveals to each of them the good qualities they possessed without knowing. He promises to get Dorothy back to Kansas with his balloon, but when the balloon was about to take off, Toto runs off and Dorothy follows suit. They are left behind but Glinda encourages her that she had powers that could take her back. She closed her eyes, tapped her feet on the ground and chanted “there is no place like home” and when she opens her eyes, she finds her self at home, surrounded by her Aunt and family. They convince her it was just a dream, and she promises never to go way from home. The above clearly differentiates Story and plot in a narrative film. The relationship between the two is that the plot, which originates from the story, explains events further, connecting them in a sequential manner. The story tells that Dorothy find out herself in OZ after a tornado, and later found herself back at home again. The plot tells us how she got herself in OZ, what she did in OZ, and how she got back home. As much as the plot depends on the story, the story also gets its credibility from the plot. It defines the story in a detailed understandable manner. The opening scene is that of a happy girl, in a farm house, with people she loves. Whose life changes dramatically, running way from home with her dog. The scene at the farm house leads to the creation of the following scenes (a tornado sweeping away a farm house) that lands on OZ. this was a family setting that any one would want to go back to, instead of wander in an unknown place. The quiet simple farm life is much more preferable than the controversial one at OZ. this gives her the desire to go back go home when at the end of the story. At the end, Dorothy is around by the good witch, Glinda, her friends Scarecrow, Lion and the tin man, just like at the beginning where she lives with her aunt, uncle and three farm workers. She is emotionally attached to these people as we see her become tearful when biding her friend’s goodbye; she also has a strong willing to go back home. There ares certain expectations scene after scene. At the beginning, When Toto escapes from the sheriff, you do not expect Dorothy to run away, and rather she is expected to do something to protect her dog, like hiding him. But she surprises by deciding to run away. This action of running away was important in the development of the story because when she comes back, she is unable to join the other family members. If she hadn’t run away, she could have probably been with them. When she is locked in the farmhouse, because of the rain, a window knocks her and she becomes unconscious. There exist the connection of the dog biting, coming back, and Dorothy’s need to run away. All these actions help in the formation of the story. We expect that she will be found in the farm house when the storm subsides but surprisingly, the storm is too heavy and it carries the three of them away. This is another example of a cause which produces results, (effect). The heavy rains are the causes of the house being carried away. To trace back in order to understand the sequences of these, we remember Dorothy running away, and meeting a fortune teller. If the fortune teller had carried her on his trailer; she could have probably gone to another land other than OZ. His actions resulted to her landing in OZ. The storm was important in making her reach OZ. On reaching OZ, Glinda appears mysteriously. We later find Glinda throughout the film especially at the closing scene. The most important scene is the meeting with Glinda. He informs her that her house killed the wicked witch. The expectations after this is that Dorothy will have a smooth journey in finding her way home, without problems from a wicked witch, but surprisingly, another wicked witch appears to divert the expectations. Dorothy’s journey is expected to be troublesome and that expectation d fulfilled by the coincidental fact that she is wearing the wicked witch’s magical sleepers. To demonstrate a cause and effect scenario, Glinda appeared and made the sleepers stick to Dorothy’s legs. If this had not happened, she could have given them to the witch to avoid confrontations and problems. This refusal to give back the sleeper encouraged the wicked witch to hate Dorothy and pursue her further, leading to the whole development of the story. If this had not happened, Dorothy could not have had the kind of adventure she had, seeking the witch’s broomstick. When Dorothy meets the three, (scarecrow, lion and the man) according to their description, i.e., cowardly, heartless and stupid, we expect them not to get along well and that Dorothy will have a hard time controlling their relationship, but they turn out very helpful in the long run. Without the three, she could not have escaped the wicked witch’s trap, and she could have killed her in return of the sleeper. The scarecrow’s presence is particular important as it lead to the witch’s death but melting. None of the other companions’ arm could have “burnt” easily like that, but because of the materials the scarecrow was made of; it could easily burn, leading to the melting of the witch by water. This made it easier to get the broom which was required for their problems to be solved. Toto’s presence was important in uncovering the wizard’s secret. If Toto hadn’t done this, he could have duped them into believing he could help, and Dorothy could not have gone back home. Glinda’s role also comes into place here if Dorothy had not met him, how could she have known that she had the powers to go back home (Bordwell and Thompson, 2009). The whole adventure was important to Dorothy to realise the need for her family, and to act as a lesson never to run away from home. Lack of the experience with difficulties, she faced; she could’nt have understood the importance of her family and home. We can therefore conclude that the story’s opening, had an effect on the end. If she had not tried to escape, she could not have known the love she had for her family. The wizard of OZ does not offer enough information on the events in the story. The information range is limited and is only provided to explain what event took place, and does not explain how it took place. E.g. Glinda’s appearing and disappearing acts are explained as miraculous, but where does he come from and where does he go to? How does he travel around, and how does he know that Dorothy needs assistance for him to “miraculously’ appear. They are not related in any way, and do not communicate before he makes an appearance. Another example is Dorothy’s acquisition of the sleepers. Where did she get them? And exactly when? References Bordwell, D. & Thompson, K. (2009). Film Art: An introduction. New York: McGraw-Hill Read More