Karen F. Carazo
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1. Lions are ferocious beasts who kill.
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2. Lions are cuddly and cute.
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3. It would be fun to be King.
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4. It is important to do whatever you have to do to achieve your goals.
After viewing this film, we will then discuss each statement and whether we agree or disagree based on what we have seen in
The Lion King
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The Wizard of Oz,
written by L. Frank Baum, tells the story of Dorothy, a young girl from Kansas who is blown away by a tornado. Dorothy and her dog, Toto, land in the magical land of Oz. To get home, Dorothy must find the Wizard of Oz, who lives in the Emerald City. Along the way, Dorothy encounters a Scarecrow, a Tin Man, and a Cowardly Lion, who for personal reasons, decide to join Dorothy in her search for the Wizard. However, their journey to the Emerald City is complicated by the Wicked Witch of the West who wants her dead sister’s ruby slippers returned. Everyone loves Glinda, the Good Witch of the North while they love to hate the Wicked Witch of the West. The Wicked Witch is portrayed as old, ugly, colored green, and dressed in dark, drab clothing whereas Glinda, the Good Witch is young, beautiful with milky white skin, and wears an elegantly bejeweled, flowing costume, clearly demonstrating that “UGLY” is “BAD” and “BEAUTY” is “GOOD”. Similarly, Dorothy herself is portrayed as young, thin, and cute with her long, curly ponytails while the Wizard is projected as powerful, old, ugly, and scary looking with flames and smoke engulfing his face. Once again, signifying that youth and beauty is acceptable whereas being old and unattractive is not. The audience is compelled to regard the Wicked Witch and the Wizard as representations of evil because they are portrayed as old and ugly. On the other hand, they identity with Glinda, the Good Witch and Dorothy because of their goodness which is portrayed as young and beautiful. However, appearances can be deceiving when the Wizard is revealed for the man he really is. While now just a stout, bald, weak man, his inner goodness attracts us to him and enables us to identify with him finally. Thus demonstrating that a person’s inner beauty is what makes a person attractive. Following The
Wizard of Oz
we will construct a Feelings Chart as shown below which will analyze characters’ feelings/reactions to particular events in the film. It will also serve as a vehicle for comparing and contrasting characters. I will give students 3-4 events from the film and ask them to list adjectives describing Dorothy’s, the Wicked Witch’s, the Good Witch’s, and the Scarecrow’s, Tin Man’s, and Cowardly Lion’s feelings/reactions to each of these occurrences. (The students will be asked to describe the Scarecrow’s, Tin Man’s, and Cowardly Lion’s feelings/reactions as a group rather than individually as their responses are basically the same.)
