The Wizard of Oz
Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend delves into adjacent queer and queer headlines from the past that deserve a watch or re-watch.
The Magical: The Wizard of Oz
Film Institution The Wizard of Oz turns 82 this week, and on this momentous occasion, we again grapple with the question: is this the greatest film ever to be made?
What more can we say about the 1939 classic that hundreds of other writers have never observed before? We could rave about the film’s jaw-dropping visual style, a combination of sepia and Technicolor tones mimicked by countless other films. We could praise the revolutionary makeup and special effects, which made wicked witches, houses and monkeys fly, turned humans into scarecrow, iron man and lion, and brought to life a giant, flaming floating head. . We could complain about the movie’s unforgettable music and endless dialogue: songs almost everyone knows the lyrics to, and lines recited as often as Shakespeare at his best. We were able to pay tribute to the performers, each giving a show for the ages, led by the incomparable work of Judy Garland.
We could go on and on for days on end, and yet, somehow, The Wizard of Oz would make just about any puny hyperbole look. This, dear reader, is a perfect movie.
Why does The Wizard of Oz appeal so well to a queer audience? Again, countless other writers have speculated. For us, Dorothy Gale’s fate has always struck a chord. Growing up queer, we always felt different from the regular, straight world. Like Dorothy, no one could quite understand us. For many LGBTQ viewers, going out also meant traveling to shimmering cities to find our heart’s desire. Along the way, we also had to learn to have enough courage, heart and intelligence to survive in a strange and dangerous world. And, after teaming up with our chosen family to fight enemies, bullies, and the occasional Green Bitch, we learned that we had the power to make our dreams come true within us from the start. We just had to put on our most fabulous shoes.
The great Roger Ebert has already hypothesized that The Wizard of Oz tapped into something primitive and unconscious in every viewer. He was right, at least when it came to homosexuals. Just like Dorothy, we still see the rainbow as a symbol of hope, as a promise that one day the dreams we dare to dream can truly come true. With this in mind, and to celebrate 82 years of perfection, we are offering The Wizard of Oz both as a photo album from the past and as a map of the future. Life itself is a big yellow brick road. With friends, however imperfect, by our side, we know we can go home.
But wait, you ask? Is The Wizard of Oz the greatest movie ever to be made? Give him a watch and think about the mystery. We too will go to the sorcerer.
Streamed on HBO Max, Amazon, VUDU, and YouTube.
