I think some of you need to read the original story again by L. Frank Baum. You have a skewed perspective of his Dorothy.
Dorothy is an orphan. Baum says so on the second page of his book. She is a happy child, and her laughter startles Aunt Em, who doesn't understand what Dorothy could possibly find to laugh at. The word "gray" is used multiple times in the opening paragraphs, to describe Dorothy's surroundings and even the pallor of Aunt Em's cheeks, which were once red when she was younger.
It's Dorothy's world in Kansas that is somber and subdued, but she doesn't hate it, she still laughs, mostly due to Toto, who makes her happy when they play.
Very little else is said about her or her home life before the tornado hits.
In MGM's Oz, Dorothy doesn't run away because she hates her aunt and uncle or her life in Kansas. She longs for "a place where there isn't any trouble," because of the threat Miss Gulch poses to Toto, and that's what drives her to run away. As soon as the tornado hits, she "has to get home to her right away." She's not looking for the nearest exit. She is not in charge of her destiny.
In both the Baum novel and the MGM film, Dorothy is a reluctant heroine. She is lifted out of her ordinary, gray life and dropped into a strange land where she is perceived as a "sorceress" for having killed the Wicked Witch of the East. Harry Potter is a reluctant hero as well, so it's not as if this formula doesn't work. He doesn't realize that by surviving Voldemort's curse, he is idolized in the wizard world. All he did was live.
It's not in the opening scene, but throughout the Baum novel that we get to know who Dorothy really is. She is determined, focused, simple, direct, and although she is frightened at times, she shows great courage and ingenuity throughout her journey to the Emerald City and beyond. She rises to the occasion many times to face frightening situations. And yes, occasionally, she stops to cry.
But all the time, she just wants to go home. That's not something she "discovers" along the way. That's her wish from the start. Her emotional journey is that we see her grow and face odd, fantastic adventures and help her friends and find that even with the magic and splendor and sometimes horror of Oz, she still knows that her home in Kansas is where her heart is.
MGM chose to add in the journey that "it wasn't enough just to want to see Auntie Em and Uncle Henry again." It's that her dreams and her desires lie within herself, not in the place or places where she lives. They are inside her all along and she need look "no further than her own backyard."
They didn't change Dorothy's character to add this in, which is why I'm fine with the additional layer of storytelling. The emotional journey works well with the physical one.
But to make Dorothy hate her life in Kansas and living with her aunt and uncle, why would she want to go home? Even if she realizes that every place (including the Land of Oz) has troubles, why would she "settle" for a place she hates? With people she doesn't care for? It makes the song "Home" lose its impact. It's a song about complacency and settling for what you have, even if it sucks.
This sounds like it was written by someone who has never lived outside a "big colorful city" and doesn't know or relate to anyone who would care for a simpler life "on a farm" in a small community. There must be something wrong for her to feel that way. All it does is call attention to the limited perspective of the writer and creative people who signed on for that message. "Dorothy finds that even though she hates everyone and everything at home, she'll go back there and make the best of it, because there is love there (somewhere) if she's big enough to accept it and be satisfied with it."
What a crock of horse sh*t.
And for the snot-nosed brats on the board who have lived less that two decades in this world, we're talking about a story that has endured for 115 years, not 15 years. If you can't relate to it, that says more about you and your problems than this story. Because it has survived countless retellings and adaptations, and it's not going anywhere. It's here to stay. It's a powerful story that many people around the world can relate to. It has earned the term "classic" to describe it. It's not the latest hit song by Adele, or the latest iPhone app. It's a classic. Something you can't wrap your little heads around. I don't think it's your age, though, just a narrow, shallow vision. And a total lack of basic understanding.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
