What is the point of The Wiz?

“The Wiz” is foremost a story of racial liberation, and an early piece of Afrofuturism — the combination of science fiction, fantasy, magic realism and ancient African tradition that critiques historical events or envisions a black future, inspiring such recent groundbreaking films as “Get Out” and “Black Panther” — ...
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What is the message behind The Wiz?

Both the film and stage productions of The Wiz have one common theme – they highlight the perseverance of Black people in adversity and they're a rallying call for racial liberation. Aside from the contextual underpinnings of the plot, The Wiz stands out for its take and celebration of African dressing and hairstyles.
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What is special about The Wiz?

Its importance in American history spans far beyond the work on stage. As Kent reminded us, The Wiz was one of the first Broadway musical with a majority African-American creative team and producer. Costume design sketch for the character of Dorothy in The Wiz at Ford's Theatre.
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What was Dorothy's purpose in The Wiz?

She embarks on a quest to find The Wiz to help her get home to New York City. Along the way she befriends the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Cowardly Lion who join her in her quest.
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What are the criticism of The Wiz?

Many white folks didn't understand the cultural nuances, the Black language, or the stylistic choices, and many didn't try. Mainstream critics—most of them white men—were eager to dismiss The Wiz as an inferior movie product, a bad Hollywood investment, and an intrusion on the original film.
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10 Things You Didn't Know About The Wiz

Why was The Wiz a failure?

Critical reception. Critics panned The Wiz upon its October 1978 release. Many reviewers directed their criticism at Diana Ross, whom they believed was too old to play Dorothy. Most agreed that what had worked so successfully on stage simply did not translate well to the screen.
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Why didn t people like The Wiz?

The film was not well-received by critics. Many critics found the film to be too different from the original Wizard of Oz, and criticized the casting of Diana Ross as Dorothy. The film was expensive to make. The Wiz had a budget of $24 million, which was a lot of money for a film at the time.
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What does the Scarecrow represent in The Wiz?

Dorothy represents Everyman; the Tin Woodman is the industrial worker, the Scarecrow is the farmer, the Cowardly Lion is William Jennings Bryan, the Wizard is the President, the munchkins are the "little people" and the Yellow Brick Road is the gold standard.
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Who was killed when Dorothy's house landed?

The Wicked Witch of the East was featured in the film The Wizard of Oz (1939), in which she is the sister of the Wicked Witch of the West. As in the book, she is killed when Dorothy's house falls on her.
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What does the Scarecrow want on Wiz?

“The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” - children's book

Toto are joined by the Scarecrow, who wishes he had brains; the Tin Woodman, who longs for a heart; and the Cowardly Lion, who seeks courage.
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Why was The Wiz controversial?

Prior to its debut and certainly much after, The Wiz was criticized for having an all black cast. It was deemed racists by majority of the white audience.
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Is The Wiz the Black version of The Wizard of Oz?

An adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" that tries to capture the essence of the African-American experience.
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What do the Munchkins represent in The Wiz?

Munchkins: The little people, the munchkins, are said to represent the common people or ordinary U.S. citizens. The Lollipop Guild is seen as representing child labor. Silver Slippers: In the novel, Dorothy's slippers are silver and not ruby.
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What does Emerald City represent in The Wiz?

Scholars who interpret The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as a political allegory see the Emerald City as a metaphor for Washington, D.C., and unsecured "greenback" paper money.
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Who was Cowardly Lion in The Wiz?

Theodore Ross Roberts (June 30, 1934 – September 3, 2002) was an American actor best known for his role as the Lion in The Wiz, an all-African American reinterpretation of The Wizard of Oz.
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Who is the evil lady in The Wiz?

The Wiz (1978) - Mabel King as Evillene - IMDb.
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Is Glinda The Wicked Witch's Sister?

She introduces herself as Glinda and explains that the true Wicked Witch is her half-sister, Evanora. Years ago, she poisoned their father, the King, so she could rule Oz uncontested. Before he died, the King predicted that a powerful Wizard would come and take his place.
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What is the moral lesson of The Wizard of Oz?

When choosing between love and hate, good and evil, love and good will always triumph. This is an obvious theme in The Wizard of Oz, and it's the best way to live. The very first person that Dorothy encounters in the land of Oz is Glenda the good witch.
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Who stole Dorothy's dog?

Miss Gulch shows up with an order to take Toto to the sheriff to be euthanize him, but Toto jumps out of the basket on the back of Miss Gulch's bicycle and runs back to Dorothy. Fearing that Miss Gulch, who does not know that Toto has escaped, will return, Dorothy takes the dog and runs away from home.
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What does Toto symbolize in The Wizard of Oz?

In The Wizard of Oz, characters like Glinda the Good Witch represent the mother archetype because she looks out for Dorothy, and Toto represent the trickster, because he is always creating problems.
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What does the yellow brick road symbolize in The Wizard of Oz?

The Yellow Brick Road represents strategy—how you will get there; the path you identify as the best, smartest way to accomplish your goal. And each of the shiny yellow bricks in the road represents an action step—the smaller tactics that go into executing your strategy.
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Why didn t Dorothy leave in the balloon with Oz?

Toto took off chasing a kitten. Dorothy couldn't leave without him. Once she had found Toto and was racing toward the balloon, the ropes holding the balloon cracked, and the balloon took off without Dorothy in it.
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What is the scariest scene in The Wiz?

The subway scene, from the growing puppets, sharp-toothed sentient trash cans and moving pillars. The puppets are indubitably the scariest of the bunch. From their slinky noises slowing turning into a constant, grinding growl-like sound, to the uncanny way they jiggle and walk ominously without stopping.
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Why is there a black version of Wizard of Oz?

The Locations

Iconically, Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz is from a farm in rural Kansas. In The Wiz, Dorothy is instead from Harlem, New York City, what could be considered a polar opposite of the character's original home. This change was done to represent urban Black communities that audiences could better relate to.
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Who didn't have a heart in The Wiz?

The Tin Woodman states unequivocally that he has neither heart nor brain, but cares nothing for the loss of his brain. Near the end of the novel, Glinda the Good Witch praises his brain as not quite that of the Scarecrow's.
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