MovieChat Forums > The Wizard of Oz (1939) Discussion > Why is this crap so famous in US?

Why is this crap so famous in US?

posted 5 years ago by Heisenberg (6313)
136 replies | jump to latest

This is an ok movie, I'm sure that back then its sfx were on par with Avatar (another just ok movie btw). But Americans decided to hold it as a classic for the ages for some reasons I can't quite fathom.

This is almost obscure outside of the US, something that will shock most Americans but that's a fact. Most people in the world know of the Wizard of Oz, as a name, that's about it.
No Dorothy, Toto, Tin Man etc. Nor very popular side icons like munchkins or witches of the East or flying monkeys. All that is not popular knowledge anywhere else. This is not shown every year on tv or whatever, at least not since 1939 :-)

So why do you think Americans keep it as something so special in their tradition?

[–] brux (14666) 5 years ago

I think it is a very well done and deeply affective movie that makes a deep impression on people because they see it as kids and usually in a generally positive situation. I remember our whole block used to get together and watch it, all the kids, while the parents would have a cocktail party. Everyone remembers that experience. Also, it is an intense movie, but not evil, terrible or violent. I remember my sister used to cry every time the wicked witch would show up on screen. There is a lot of depth to the movie, and the story, and it is done well.

[–] Wint3rFir3 (6917) 5 years ago

It continues to capture the hearts and imaginations of children worldwide on a huge scale, in a way a lot of children's films can't manage to do, but it's actually not necessarily just for children. So, in short, it has timeless international universal appeal.

Also, the munchkins, flying monkeys and witches are massively popular side icons. Just Google where they've been referenced and the list throughout pop culture is long. This movie made a pair of shoes iconic.

[–] rocklyn80 (658) 5 years ago

Because back when we didnt have the conveince of watching any movie we wanted at the touch of a button
The annual broadcast, usually shown during Easter time, was a tradition that many of us US kids looked forward to each year.

[–] davodikum (5970) 5 years ago

Plus its a trip of a movie

[–] hurricane (1908) 5 years ago

I'm from the UK, and this movie is well known. It's on television fairly regularly.

[–] samoanjoes (50931) 5 years ago

I don't know why you're getting so much hate here.

[–] BillySlater (4097) 4 years ago

He called a beloved classic children´s film crap for starters. Then made a bunch of false assumptions about it, like it being obscure outside the USA, just because its not well known in whatever country he is from.

[–] samoanjoes (50931) 4 years ago

He never called it crap. He said it was okay.

[–] BillySlater (4097) 4 years ago

The title of his thread is "Why is this crap so famous in the US?".

[–] samoanjoes (50931) 4 years ago

I missed that. Weird how he would put "crap" in the title and then say it's "okay" is the post.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

He's just trying to rile people up and start an arrgument.

[–] hyperjet (633) 4 years ago

The fact that people are judging this thing in this day and age speaks volumes about the quality of the film. This was made in the 1930s and is still better cinema than most of the stuff vomited out of the movie industry today. The tornado scene still sends shivers up my spine and it was created using an 80ft tall mechanical prop. No CG and it is unparalleled! I miss this kind of imagination and ingenuity.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Indeed. I detest so much of today's cinema.

[–] diezman (1801) 4 years ago

I enjoy this movie but I'll be first to admit that nostalgia has a great deal to do with it. When I was a kid The Wizard of Oz was only shown once or twice a year on network television. It was a big deal and an event in our household. We would make Jiffy Pop popcorn and the whole family would watch it. I guess I associate this movie with spending quality time with my family.

If I had never seen the movie I don't really know how I would really feel about it.

[–] Heisenberg (6313) 4 years ago

Yes, that's exaclty the way it's seen outside of the US: as a kid you see this goofy looking mise en scene and hear the songs and follow the plot and think "where did they pull this crap from? Gimme something cool to watch"
You really need all the added athmosphere to get into it, like parents or grandparents watching it with you AS A KID and explaining its magic as a classic, and maybe singing along.
You need some guidance to really appreciate it, THEN I can see it becoming special.

[–] Costumer (1786) 4 years ago

Nonsense. We did watch it as a family. However, my parents never "explained" it to me. It wasn't really a thing for parents to explain TV or movies to their kids unless they were specifically asked.

We always understood the magic of the movie and we always understood the moral being taught.

I do remember a talk show, Phil Donahue IIRC, with guest proposing a better explanation of this (and other stories/fairy tales). There basic argument about WOO was that kids would think the Scarecrow and the others were magically given their brains, etc, by the Wizard. They proposed some nonsense about the Scarecrow going back to Munchkinland and having to intern with a farmer to learn a real job.

I wish I could have been in that audience to ask them how they misunderstood a movie that any six year old understood.

[–] Heisenberg (6313) 4 years ago

What are you talking about?
That sounds like it happened to you 50 years ago.

It's 2020, show me any 6 years old that would sit and watch, not to mention like, this ancient crap.
Unless there's an adult next to them guiding (forcing) them, and showing them that it's not so bad (maybe singing along the songs, or laughing on cue etc ~ I see this viewing as an American holiday ritual that is force fed on kids, like peas or some food that they should get but won't, so you have to show them it's good and make the airplane with the spoon etc).
As opposed to most modern family movies that need zero hype.

[–] Costumer (1786) 4 years ago

You seem to really hate this movie. That is your right. However, it is an extremely popular film and many children even today love it and that is their right as well. No, I don't have children. But I do have friends who do and I do have nephews and a niece.

I'm not sure what you mean about forcing them to see it. Do you mean an adult puts in the DVD? They'll do that for any film. By your definition any and all films are "forced" on children.

[–] Heisenberg (6313) 4 years ago

I quite like this movie, but that doesn't mean I don't see it's crap.

I understand many American kids love it now and will in the future, it's part of their traditions and culture. They were inculcated with it.

That's what I mean by forcing it: put the dvd, tell them to watch it, tell them it's good, sit with them and show them you like it too. Make them like it.
Above all, ingrain in them the nice, wholesome, family holiday experience.

[–] Costumer (1786) 4 years ago

Ah, so any DVD is being forced on children. After all, the parents usually are the ones that are going to be watching. Many parenting experts tell parents to watch with their children and so forth.

And, of course, I do not agree that Wizard of Oz is crap. I think its one of the best films ever released.

[–] Heisenberg (6313) 4 years ago

No, when kids like a ovie or want to see a movie they ask for it on their own and don't care about who else is watching it.
Think about it.

[–] Costumer (1786) 4 years ago

I did. I disagree. I know quite a few parents. All of them control what their kids watch. If a kid asks, they put it in (or find it on their cable or streaming service.)

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. You think it crap. Fine. That is your choice. However, I think the vast majority of people who seen it do not.

Truly, while there are a few on these boards who have said they did not like it, I've never met anyone who didn't. And I run in circles that fantasy and SF are the focus.

[–] brux (14666) 3 years ago

>> Gimme something cool to watch"

Such as?

[–] snepts (11123) 4 years ago

I think many of us are afraid we might not have Courage, we might not have Brains (i.e., smarts), and what we really want is to be with Loved Ones who love us. The movie is a marvelous exploration in our subliminal fears and how we'd like them to be resolved.
And Dorothy is genuine, she looks like a young girl who is pretty but not unusually so. She can trust her comrades to help protect her and she will help protect them. It's a wonderful fantasy and allegory to what we wish life was really like, and a good and entertaining lesson for youngsters.

[–] chilidoggg (13047) 4 years ago

Dark Side of the Rainbow