Book & Original Film:
Time Viewpoints
"The Wizard of Oz" was set in the early 1900's/late 1800's. An important event that went on in his time, that would influence "The Wizard of Oz", was the suffragist movement. This was a key event as his mother-in-law (Matilda Joslyn Gage) was a suffragist that fought for her rights. Her ideas about women always being suspected of crimes like witchcraft was a massive influence of "The Wizard of Oz."
Baum's Life & Views
Baum was always interested in writing, but needed to make money for his family and found other work, which also didn't succeed. Finally, he decided to continue with writing after his mother-in-law influenced him to do so. The bond between Matilda and L. Frank was so strong that he took inspiration in everything she did. Baum most likely supported the suffragist movement because of the position of his mother-in-law played in the movement.
When Maud’s father, Henry Gage, died and Matilda Gage found cause to launch a new political campaign. She had grown disgusted that her two suffragist colleagues, Anthony and Stanton, were courting the support of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, whose main aim wasn’t to win rights for women but to take down the constitutional wall between church and state, enact prohibition nationally, and make the rest of America as dry and moral as Kansas. In response, Gage formed her own group, the National Women’s Liberal Union. She spoke and wrote about how governments and churches have persecuted innocent women throughout the centuries by accusing them of heresy and witchcraft. “As soon as a system of religion was adopted which taught the greater sinfulness of women,” Gage wrote in Woman, Church and State in 1893, “the saying arose: One wizard for every 10,000 witches, and the persecution for witchcraft became chiefly directed at women.” Baum the fantasist was haunted by his mother-in-law’s vivid descriptions of witch-hunting, a motif that would provide the climax in Oz when the Wizard commands Dorothy and her companions to hunt down the Wicked Witch of the West.
When his newspaper failed in early 1891, Baum was broke and desperate and left his wife and four sons in South Dakota to look for work in Chicago, a place of hopes and dreams that would soon host the Columbian Exposition. Builders were busy erecting a glimmering White City for the World’s Fair that would one day inspire Baum’s Emerald City of Oz. However, in the 1900, featuring lavish colour pictures by newspaper illustrator W.W. Denslow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published and sold out one print run after another, and prompted Baum to write thirteen Land of Oz sequels. In 1919, while finishing his final book, Glinda of Oz, he learned just before his death that Congress finally put forward a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. The generation of Americans who had grown up reading Baum’s story of a determined girl who leads self-doubting men down a golden road would now be asked to ratify the change.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, Matilda Joslyn Gage’s dream was about to come true.
When Maud’s father, Henry Gage, died and Matilda Gage found cause to launch a new political campaign. She had grown disgusted that her two suffragist colleagues, Anthony and Stanton, were courting the support of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, whose main aim wasn’t to win rights for women but to take down the constitutional wall between church and state, enact prohibition nationally, and make the rest of America as dry and moral as Kansas. In response, Gage formed her own group, the National Women’s Liberal Union. She spoke and wrote about how governments and churches have persecuted innocent women throughout the centuries by accusing them of heresy and witchcraft. “As soon as a system of religion was adopted which taught the greater sinfulness of women,” Gage wrote in Woman, Church and State in 1893, “the saying arose: One wizard for every 10,000 witches, and the persecution for witchcraft became chiefly directed at women.” Baum the fantasist was haunted by his mother-in-law’s vivid descriptions of witch-hunting, a motif that would provide the climax in Oz when the Wizard commands Dorothy and her companions to hunt down the Wicked Witch of the West.
When his newspaper failed in early 1891, Baum was broke and desperate and left his wife and four sons in South Dakota to look for work in Chicago, a place of hopes and dreams that would soon host the Columbian Exposition. Builders were busy erecting a glimmering White City for the World’s Fair that would one day inspire Baum’s Emerald City of Oz. However, in the 1900, featuring lavish colour pictures by newspaper illustrator W.W. Denslow, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published and sold out one print run after another, and prompted Baum to write thirteen Land of Oz sequels. In 1919, while finishing his final book, Glinda of Oz, he learned just before his death that Congress finally put forward a constitutional amendment giving women the right to vote. The generation of Americans who had grown up reading Baum’s story of a determined girl who leads self-doubting men down a golden road would now be asked to ratify the change.
Somewhere, over the rainbow, Matilda Joslyn Gage’s dream was about to come true.
Source(s) -
https://prezi.com/dww07r9kchqb/the-historical-context-of-the-wizard-of-oz/
https://www.historynet.com/matilda-josyln-gage-the-unlikely-inspiration-for-the-wizard-of-oz.htm
https://prezi.com/dww07r9kchqb/the-historical-context-of-the-wizard-of-oz/
https://www.historynet.com/matilda-josyln-gage-the-unlikely-inspiration-for-the-wizard-of-oz.htm
1975 Film & The Broadway:
The tale of how 'The Wiz' went from an ambitious idea to almost not happening to becoming a seven Tony Award-winning Broadway hit is a microcosm of the perseverance of black people dreams in America. The brainchild of former disc jockey Ken Harper, The Wiz aimed to remix “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” from traditional Broadway play to a live stage performance with a Motown feel. In his presentation to Fox, Harper exhibited the foresight to promote the appeal that a musical inspired by black performing art could succeed in theaters across the country.
The show opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore and debuted on Broadway on January 5th, 1975. Despite a opening night fraught with technical issues and suggestions to quit while they were ahead, "The Wiz, The Super Soul Musical 'Wonderful Wizard of Oz"' received standing ovations and curtain calls. Mixed reviews be damned, Fox continued to support financially. Harper and his team utilized the funds to assemble a media blitz, trading airtime on radio for free tickets to shows and conducting as many interviews with the cast as possible. The most fruitful promotion strategy for The Wiz emerged as a television ad of the cast reenacting the Yellow Brick Road scene, singing the paramount theme song “Ease On Down The Road”. Before long, the show would receive critical and commercial praise, resulting in seven Tony award wins in 1975, including “Best Musical.”
The show opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre in Baltimore and debuted on Broadway on January 5th, 1975. Despite a opening night fraught with technical issues and suggestions to quit while they were ahead, "The Wiz, The Super Soul Musical 'Wonderful Wizard of Oz"' received standing ovations and curtain calls. Mixed reviews be damned, Fox continued to support financially. Harper and his team utilized the funds to assemble a media blitz, trading airtime on radio for free tickets to shows and conducting as many interviews with the cast as possible. The most fruitful promotion strategy for The Wiz emerged as a television ad of the cast reenacting the Yellow Brick Road scene, singing the paramount theme song “Ease On Down The Road”. Before long, the show would receive critical and commercial praise, resulting in seven Tony award wins in 1975, including “Best Musical.”
Source(s) -
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/essay-wiz-pure-black-excellence-n471586
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/essay-wiz-pure-black-excellence-n471586
THe Wiz Live!:
Unlike films where popular actors are cast in films hoping that name recognition will translate to commercial success, The Wiz concocted a harmonious mix of talent greater than the sum of its parts. For anyone watching in 2015, the familiar faces resonate based upon more recent accomplishments. Fans of “The Cosby Show,” “A Different World,” comedy and Michael Jackson/Jackson 5 music will embrace any of these characters with a breath of familiarity reserved when reminiscing on fond memories of friends or relatives. Prominent African-American actors whom you can identify with throughout your life. This cast had established icons and future legends, who would be cemented in black culture from that point forward.
Like the musical and motion picture, The Wiz Live! boasts a robust conglomerate of African-American stars from music (Ne-Yo, Mary J. Blige), comedy (David Alan Grier) entertainment (Uzo Aduba) Broadway legends (Stephanie Mills) and even young stars (Shaniece Williams, Elijah Kelley). So how will The Wiz Live! translate to viewers in 2015? Will the same classic tales get lost in the modernization of the current entertainment environment? Claudia hopes this isn’t the case. “In the live version I'm looking forward to seeing what they kept and what changes they made. I hope the changes aren't too drastic because The Wiz is a classic that is not dated and doesn't need to be fixed or improved.”
Like the musical and motion picture, The Wiz Live! boasts a robust conglomerate of African-American stars from music (Ne-Yo, Mary J. Blige), comedy (David Alan Grier) entertainment (Uzo Aduba) Broadway legends (Stephanie Mills) and even young stars (Shaniece Williams, Elijah Kelley). So how will The Wiz Live! translate to viewers in 2015? Will the same classic tales get lost in the modernization of the current entertainment environment? Claudia hopes this isn’t the case. “In the live version I'm looking forward to seeing what they kept and what changes they made. I hope the changes aren't too drastic because The Wiz is a classic that is not dated and doesn't need to be fixed or improved.”
Source(s) -
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/essay-wiz-pure-black-excellence-n471586
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/essay-wiz-pure-black-excellence-n471586