Week 10

             My paper is going to be about the symbols used in the movie, The Wizard of Oz. There are many different topics I could have chosen, but this one was the one with the most sources available. This topic is one that I am extremely interested in not only because it is one of my favorite movies, but also it has such deep relations with other aspects of the world. Almost everything in the film is a symbol for something in the late 1800’s or 1930’s and is affiliated with either the government or the economy. For example, one of the main characters, the Tin Man, is a symbol for the industrial workers who faced the hardships in their careers and have the lives they lead. This symbol is also affiliated and used with other symbols throughout the movie, which make learning about this very interesting. Other symbols in the movie include the main character Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West, and of course the grand Emerald City in the Land of Oz.  I am interested in what I am researching about, but coming up with sources and the actual writing of the paper itself is proving to be difficult.  Just from writing the proposal, I had major difficulty deciding how I wanted to start my paper, and even more of a hard time coming up with the right words to say it.

            Something that reminds me of these symbols are the symbols used in the musical Wiked. Although this musical is associated with The Wizard of Oz, it too has different symbols within it.  I love this musical just because it is based off of The Wizard of Oz and Kristin Chenoworth has the voice of an angel! I remember watching her and thinking that could be me oneday… boy I was wrong.

Word Count: 302

Week 8

Recently, I watched the movie The Wizard of Oz and found it to be, as usual, one of the best movies to be made in the history of cinematography. As you can tell from the preceding sentence, I really like this movie and watch it multiple times every year. I recommend this movie to anyone who isn’t a negative or anti-happy-sentiment kind of person. This movie has a positive pull to it, and is a great movie for people of all ages. The main audience of this film is generally children, but it is also a text that is relatable to adults as well.

To those who are not familiar with the film, The Wizard of Oz is a story about a girl from a small farm in Kansas named Dorothy Gale who is unhappy with her current situation in Kansas. She lives at the farm with her Auntie Em, and Uncle Henry along with their three workers who are her only friends around. In the beginning of the film, we are told through Dorothy how she wishes she could live “Somewhere over the Rainbow” where life is new and exciting and not at all like her home in Kansas. She is then magically transported via “twister” to the Land of Oz where everything is different and new. It is there Dorothy faces conflicts with a Wicked Witch and must survive with the help of her new friends the Tin Man, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion. The movie ends with a heartfelt family life-lesson and leaves the viewer in a happy state of mind.

In my opinion, the overall tone of this movie is self-discover in regards to who you are as a person and where you’re true home is. If you are at all interested in watching a movie with these kinds of discoveries then The Wizard of Oz is the movie for you! I have deducted this by the way people have reacted with me when we watched it together. A common subject that was discussed was how family is something very important to whom we are as people.

         The main text and language used in this movie was mostly formal English. There were a few parts where some slang words would be used, but a majority of the movie was formal and quick to comprehend. The directing of this movie was also done in a formal way. There weren’t many “odd angle shots” or random scenes that didn’t make any sense as some films today have. An example of a less formal kind of directing as compared to the directing of The Wizard of Oz is The Blair Witch Project. In that movie the directing is a more modern technique where a smooth transition is not necessary all of the time. Personally I rather watch a more professionally directed movie than an informal one.

Being classified as a “classic” movie, it is not surprising to see that this movie was originally aired on T.V. in 1939. Because the film is an older movie, some people feel as if the movie’s plot does not relate well to our current situation. In reality, I believe that many of the topics that were covered in the film are still relevant to today’s society.  For example, government was a key component to the movie’s plot because of the economic situation that engulfed the United States at that time; likewise today government still plays a huge role in our lives and shares many similar issues as those shown in the original movie. The Wizard of Oz was made during the 1930’s in the middle of The Great Depression when the government was viewed to be evil and rich. This sentiment was portrayed in the movie through the Emerald City when Dorothy goes there to receive help to go home, and she finds that the Great Wizard of Oz (who resides in the Emerald City) has no means of helping her unless she kills the Wicked Witch. This task is similar to the situation that the people in America had to face where they needed to find a way to find work in an economy that was floundering without any help from the government. This is just one example of the many different symbols used in this film to relate this magical world to our world.

Overall, the movie The Wizard of Oz is a fun-filled family style movie that is meant for people of all ages who (like I said earlier) are generally happy people and enjoy life.

Review on Amazon 

http://www.amazon.com/review/R2G11HEYK5KZDA

       pen-name: Leesie-Girl92

Word Count: 722

Week 7

              As any other college student is portrayed to do during spring break, I’m going to……..FLORIDA! More specifically Naples, Florida. I am so excited that I have woken up multiple times this week thinking that it has been Friday and I get to go home and catch my plane the next morning… I have been sadly mistaken every morning and has been putting a damper on each day it happens. Luckily, tomorrow it will actually be true and I won’t have to be sad! Yay! I’m going down there with my three friends from Purdue, and our goal is to fix this problem of paleness. It’s a horrible disease that encompasses a good majority of people today, but I am going to fix this and come back with a tan! There is also a good chance I will probably come back with sunburn, which would totally suck, but it happens almost every time due to my stupid Swedish ancestors who thought having light hair, eyes and pale skin was a grand idea. It’s not; I look like a ghost during winter, then a lobster during the summer sometimes. It’s a sad life… sniffle sniffle.  So, to prepare for this wonderful vacation I am going to go on I need to remind myself of what I need to get done before I leave, and here it is: go home, get my hair cut (bangs in face=bad idea), go to target, buy travel stuff, get a dress :) maybe some sandals… yea I’ll get some, and finish it off by getting a Shamrock Shake at McDonalds. I have been craving these Shamrock Shakes for WEEKS!!!!! And this stupid diet I’ve been on has not been helping this craving either. In order to follow my diet and still have the shake, I’m planning on not having any carbs Friday; only fruits and veggies and treat myself when I get home. I’m so excited for this shake, and break (hey, that rhymed!!) its ridiculous! Yay for spring break!

Word Count 333

Week 6

Today, Eileen and I took a lovely little stroll out in the beautiful weather (who knew that March would start off with a sunny, and semi-warm day!? Not this girl!) to the cute little store entitled, The Movie Fan. I had never been in this store before, but I had heard that it was THE place to rent movies. I expected it to be something like a small business I had at home that rented movies, but I was blown away by what I encountered instead! We walked in and immediately I knew that this place was like nothing I have been to before. My initial response was something like “ Ohmygoodness. This place would be a great place for the TV. show Hoarders to tape! Not that I didn’t like it there, it just had sooooo many racks and racks of movies and videocassettes!! It reminded me of my childhood and watching all of my Disney movies on VHS… I just had a moment. Anyways, I was extremely surprised to see the amount of movies out there that I have never heard or seen! This place is truly a unique store, and I give the owner so much credit for finding all of these movies! Like seriously, where does he find out about all of these movies? If it is not advertised on T.V. or on a billboard or even online I have no clue it is created or even viewed by a certain audience. My favorite part of the whole experience was going to the Family section of the store and re-living my childhood with all of the children’s movies I totally forgot about! All in all, this was a great experience! I foresee The Movie Fan and myself spending some much needed quality movie time together in the near future.

Word Count: 303