Here are three quotes from Rushdie's book that will help us analyse the video."The Wizard of Oz is a film whose driving force is the inadequacy of adults, even of good adults, and how the weakness of grown-ups forces children to take control of their own destinies, and so, ironically, grow up themselves."
" 'There’s no place like home,' which, to me, is the least convincing idea in the film (it’s one thing for Dorothy to want to get home, quite another that she can do so only by eulogizing the ideal state, which Kansas so obviously is not)."
" I remember (or I imagine I remember) that when I first saw this film, Dorothy’s place struck me as being pretty much a dump. I was lucky, and had a good, comfortable home, and so, I reasoned to myself, if I’d been whisked off to Oz, I’d naturally want to get home again. But Dorothy? Maybe we should invite her over to stay. Anywhere looks better
than that."
Salman Rushdie, in his book The Wizard of Oz, makes a thorough analysis of the iconic movie of the same title by using personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes references. He mentions his childhood in Bombay, and makes a parallel of Dorothy's journey to his own travels between India, England and Pakistan. He ultimately points out that the film's Hollywood ending is rather pathetic and inconsistent with the overall message of the movie. Dorothy found Kansas gray and sad, she longed for a better place, a better family, a fantasy. She found that in Oz, where she was seen a heroin, where she had flawed, but loving, interesting friends. To Rushdie Dorothy's quest is also in every child who wonders what else is out there, who wishes to escape their own bleakness and inadequacies.
India is a former English colony, that up until recently struggled with extreme poverty. It is now a growing developing economy, however there are still extreme gaps between the rich and the poor. In India, English is taught at schools, the vast majority of the jobs exist in order to provide products and services to Westerners, English speaking foreigners. Their own culture has been reshaped and deeply influenced by Western culture. It is inevitable to rationalize that perhaps England or the US are a little like Oz to Indian children. Places that have yellow brick roads and emerald cities, a escape from poverty.
The Indian children singing a song from the Wizard of Oz illustrates how, from an early age, Indian kids are affected by Western culture. The teacher's voice can be heard in the background when she says in English: "very good"; as the kids on stage pretend to be playing, pretend to be happy. Their gray uniform and short hair are linked to their struggles. Kids in India are under a lot of pressure from adults to succeed academically. The adults instill harsh discipline and chop the kid's hair off in order to avoid lice. The kid's own imagination and individuality are curbed. They probably desire to leave, to find their own fantasy, their freedom, like Dorothy did.
" 'There’s no place like home,' which, to me, is the least convincing idea in the film (it’s one thing for Dorothy to want to get home, quite another that she can do so only by eulogizing the ideal state, which Kansas so obviously is not)."
" I remember (or I imagine I remember) that when I first saw this film, Dorothy’s place struck me as being pretty much a dump. I was lucky, and had a good, comfortable home, and so, I reasoned to myself, if I’d been whisked off to Oz, I’d naturally want to get home again. But Dorothy? Maybe we should invite her over to stay. Anywhere looks better
than that."
Salman Rushdie, in his book The Wizard of Oz, makes a thorough analysis of the iconic movie of the same title by using personal anecdotes and behind-the-scenes references. He mentions his childhood in Bombay, and makes a parallel of Dorothy's journey to his own travels between India, England and Pakistan. He ultimately points out that the film's Hollywood ending is rather pathetic and inconsistent with the overall message of the movie. Dorothy found Kansas gray and sad, she longed for a better place, a better family, a fantasy. She found that in Oz, where she was seen a heroin, where she had flawed, but loving, interesting friends. To Rushdie Dorothy's quest is also in every child who wonders what else is out there, who wishes to escape their own bleakness and inadequacies.
India is a former English colony, that up until recently struggled with extreme poverty. It is now a growing developing economy, however there are still extreme gaps between the rich and the poor. In India, English is taught at schools, the vast majority of the jobs exist in order to provide products and services to Westerners, English speaking foreigners. Their own culture has been reshaped and deeply influenced by Western culture. It is inevitable to rationalize that perhaps England or the US are a little like Oz to Indian children. Places that have yellow brick roads and emerald cities, a escape from poverty.
The Indian children singing a song from the Wizard of Oz illustrates how, from an early age, Indian kids are affected by Western culture. The teacher's voice can be heard in the background when she says in English: "very good"; as the kids on stage pretend to be playing, pretend to be happy. Their gray uniform and short hair are linked to their struggles. Kids in India are under a lot of pressure from adults to succeed academically. The adults instill harsh discipline and chop the kid's hair off in order to avoid lice. The kid's own imagination and individuality are curbed. They probably desire to leave, to find their own fantasy, their freedom, like Dorothy did.
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