tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post594176644085884939..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: My thoughts on OZ: THE GREAT & POWERFUL and the origins of villainsThe Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-14864387605067422022013-04-15T03:51:03.527-07:002013-04-15T03:51:03.527-07:00Sadly, they did not explore this at all... :(Sadly, they did not explore this at all... :(Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-39996350210919220312013-03-15T08:33:39.677-07:002013-03-15T08:33:39.677-07:00I didn’t have a problem with Theodora’s transforma...I didn’t have a problem with Theodora’s transformation from good to evil; however, I didn’t like that there was no back story for Evanora--how did she end up becoming wicked? I hate when stories make a character evil just because they want someone for the main protagonist to beat up--real people are just not born that way (in my opinion)…<br /><br />Theodora also confused me--when she cried as a good witch, her face melted. What does that mean, would the burn marks have healed themselves on their own or would the condition have proved to be fatal to her? Theodora’s power is never explained.<br /><br />I also didn’t understand how magic worked in the film. Obviously a witch’s power, to warp reality, comes from rubies--OK—so, why didn't they just give the James Franco a ruby and make him “The wizard?”<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-44718175750821743202013-03-13T11:28:53.006-07:002013-03-13T11:28:53.006-07:00I liked this Elisabeth Rappe article from Jezebel ...I liked this Elisabeth Rappe article from Jezebel about the script's departure from Baum's female-centric Oz mythology. An excerpt: "Though Baum brushed off claims that Oz was at all political, he made a decided choice to make women front and center of the series. They're princesses, ordinary farmgirls, witches (both good and bad), rag dolls, generals, pastry chefs, and problem-solving faeries. They have adventures, lead search parties, rescue one another, solve difficulties, and challenge the Nome King in combat. Perhaps most significantly, none of the characters -– not Ozma, Glinda, Betsy or Dorothy –- ever engage in romantic relationships. Baum made a point of avoiding such trappings as love interests, because he believed children would find passionate romance boring, and an emotional element which they wouldn't truly understand. Perhaps there was a personal element in this as well, as Baum, conscious of what Maud sacrificed in order to marry him, allowed his heroines perpetual youth and personal freedom."<br /><br />http://jezebel.com/5989268/why-oz-the-great-and-powerful-is-a-major-step-back-for-witches-and-womenashley p. quachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02872653869210202834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-66915161081377937152013-03-11T12:42:04.088-07:002013-03-11T12:42:04.088-07:00Bitter,
Agree with you about Theorda's transf...Bitter,<br /><br />Agree with you about Theorda's transformation. It was weak. BUT the latest "OZ" movie had other problems that bothered me FAR more than that. I thought the supporting characters arround James' Franco's character were especially lacking. The monkey buddy was especially poor. No comic relief there, and the monkey was rather dull. Why? <br /><br />The world of "OZ" needed some work too. Not the vivid imagry, which was outstanding, but the people groups inside Oz were quite flat and poor. The original did a far better job with the varrious people groups in Oz. <br /><br />What I did like about this latest Oz movie was how the lead character was protrayed as a mediocre magican, who had asperations to be better. THAT worked. Also like Michelle Willams and Glinda. Her smile and long hair... Ohh la la, I could watch that all day. Yes, she make me horny!!<br /><br />Bitter, in regaurds to Annakin Skywalker discent into darkness. I really liked how the storytellers set that up. The discussion between Palpatine and Annakin were Palpatine circles arround him and you're not sure if he's going to attack him or not, was EXCELLENT. I think most peole are too hard on Star Wars. It's like no one wants to give George Lucas any credit for what he did that was RIGHT. Well, I'm not one of THOSE people. I think they handled Annakin's switch to the dark side very well. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-41750217149275145482013-03-11T12:37:24.163-07:002013-03-11T12:37:24.163-07:00I hated the whole premise of Oz being a womanizer ...I hated the whole premise of Oz being a womanizer and Theodora being the bitter woman scorned. Her only beef with Glenda is that she got the guy? I get that this is supposed to be the precursor to a 1939 movie based on a 100+ year old tale, but come on!Erikahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18057078159864005627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-75783693330294027922013-03-11T11:50:17.425-07:002013-03-11T11:50:17.425-07:00Just kind of bouncing off what you're saying (...Just kind of bouncing off what you're saying (and having seen the movie): The thing about Spider-man is that, to me, his origin moment isn't that he gets bitten by the spider. It's the choices he makes that result in Uncle Ben's death, which lead to him choosing to become a hero. <br /><br />The implication I got in the movie is that Theodora gets a power boost because of the apple, which would be one thing, particularly if the power boost lead her to make choices that sent her down the path of evil. <br /><br />I think part of it is that it's REALLY hard to give origins for iconic characters of pure evil that don't feel weird or contrived. Take the Joker, for example. In most, (although not all) incarnations, he really doesn't have a solid backstory of who he was before he either took a chemical bath or started painting his face. And that fits well, because the Joker simply IS evil. The Wicked Witch is almost the same way in the original Oz. <br /><br />Wicked got around it mostly by showing that the Wicked Witch wasn't actually evil like we thought she was.Patrick Reganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14414873303788211236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-61848937800493248682013-03-11T11:20:24.422-07:002013-03-11T11:20:24.422-07:00I felt the change was a little abrupt also.
I th...I felt the change was a little abrupt also. <br /><br />I thought they could have helped this with a little extra dialog in the beginning. If her dialog when she meets OZ had expressed some underlying self-centered, now-you're-here-I'll-be-queen and I-want-to-defeat-my-sisters-who-I'm-jealous-of-at-all-costs attitude, the transision would have been better. <br /><br />Overall, I liked the move a lot. This bit about Theodora and trying to sell OZ as a love 'em and leave 'em ladies man, which I didn't buy either, were the big weaknesses. <br />Patrick OToolehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09897735998230880627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-77060463839223998192013-03-11T08:43:34.791-07:002013-03-11T08:43:34.791-07:00I would agree, it's the culture. The concept o...I would agree, it's the culture. The concept of evil, unto itself, is a lot to contend with, and in today's non-judgmental society it's simpler, and less politically loaded, to present someone who goes over to the dark side as a victim, like all the rest of us.<br /><br />The moral tableau becomes like a snake eating its tail, consuming bigtime evil-doers like Hitler and the Left-wing tyrants until they're ready for prime time presentation as "victims themselves."<br /><br />The idea that trusting can lead to evil is one aspect of this conundrum that the makers of O:tG&P could have focused on, to greater creative profit....Jack Dawehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06284738545713910943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-83302693218128074882013-03-11T06:51:23.059-07:002013-03-11T06:51:23.059-07:00while i agree with the ideas behind your thoughts...while i agree with the ideas behind your thoughts, i have a different, yet simple viewpoint on this. Being good, has a naive aspect to it and it's rooted in this theme that her trusting allowed her to go to the dark side. <br /><br />It is literally a retelling of little red riding hood's adventure, so with that said, i think it is a perfect progression that mirrors todays society.<br /><br />RustinAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04513325599318764316noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-88869300477613029452013-03-11T05:21:29.876-07:002013-03-11T05:21:29.876-07:00Not sure if it was explained in the first film, an...Not sure if it was explained in the first film, and I haven't seen this one yet, so I'm talking out of extreme ignorance. I just hope they set up the "water" death. Being a 1930s film I've seen, oh, once, I can't remember if we understood throughout that water would destroy the wicked witch. If not, it is imperative that they set it up in this one. But now that the wicked witch was actually just a spurned regular witch, what symbolic significance do they attach to the water so that it affects her the way it ultimately does? Maybe this is all amply explained, I hope so.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12917994627898754577noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-68167934409407043992013-03-11T00:21:15.401-07:002013-03-11T00:21:15.401-07:00Having not seen this, it is still an informative n...Having not seen this, it is still an informative note. How many times have we heard about the passive protagonist? This is a not so distant cousin to the same concept. However, it is interesting that a superhero like Spiderman can be bitten by a radioactive spider (or whatever the hell it was) and get these superpowers that he uses for good but this wicked witch has something kind of similar happen (eat the apple) and her evil just happens as a result. At least spiderman had to come to terms with his new abilities and make a sweet costume. Sounds like the wicked witch just ate a bad apple and became... bad. The Urban Hobohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162056742514862860noreply@blogger.com