Bordwell and Thompson define narrative as "a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space" (Film Art, 75). Referring to the chapter "Narrative as Formal System" and Terry McMillian's essay on The Wizard of Oz (dir. Victor Fleming, 1939), identify and describe three questions McMillian poses to the film's narrative. For instance, when does McMillian pose questions to the film's cause and effect logic? How do the characters' traits inform her understanding of the film's causes and effects? For McMillian, how does the film's presentation of story information generate curiosity or suspense?
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Blog #6
Bordwell and Thompson define narrative as "a chain of events in cause-effect relationship occurring in time and space" (Film Art, 75). Referring to the chapter "Narrative as Formal System" and Terry McMillian's essay on The Wizard of Oz (dir. Victor Fleming, 1939), identify and describe three questions McMillian poses to the film's narrative. For instance, when does McMillian pose questions to the film's cause and effect logic? How do the characters' traits inform her understanding of the film's causes and effects? For McMillian, how does the film's presentation of story information generate curiosity or suspense?
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Danny D'Acquisto
Section 802
In her article McMillan talked a great deal about being able to identify more with the more abstract meanings of the causes in the Wizard of Oz as an adult. She posed a few questions about the characters and their traits that seemed to move the story along (also known as causes). For example, when referring to the scarecrow she asks her readers, “A brain? What did having one mean? What would not having one mean?” According to McMillan this particular characteristic coupled with the quest to satisfy the scarecrow’s need for a brain advances the story; this is a simple cause and effect. The same principles applied to the lion and his need for courage, and the tin man and his need for a heart.
McMillan also talked a bit about the presentation of story information. She mentioned that, in her experience watching the movie, she learned a lot about things like friendship, and perseverance. She said that the Wizard of Oz helped her realize things like, “… good always overcomes evil; maybe not immediately, but in the long run, it does.” This seemed to give her joy when she was able to explain to her son that the suspense behind the witch and the wizard would soon put to justice and good would win. To me, this revealed that she herself found the demise of the witch and the cowardice of the wizard to be comforting, and therefore the relationship between the viewer and both the witch and wizard seemed to generate a great deal of curiosity and suspense. I would venture to guess that this is because they are both presented to the viewers and strong and powerful (intimidating to a child), but as the story unravels they turn out to be simply mortal.
Terry McMillan reminds us in this essay that sometimes it takes the perspective of a child to really get to the root of cause-effect relationships. In our film analysis, we tend to look at the bigger picture – themes, styles, and ideologies – but children will look at a film as an example of pure storytelling. The camera, sets, and any other technical aspects that go into a movie are often unnoticed by kids.
For instance, McMillan mentions how the image changes as the story progresses: “I didn’t know little Dorothy was actually dreaming until she woke up and opened the door and everything was in color!” McMillan’s curiosity was aroused by this drastic change in the story – suddenly everything is magical and mysterious, and we know we are in the Land of Oz. Bordwell and Thompson talk about this concept in Film Art: “…character conflict isn’t the only way the formal principle of difference may manifest itself. Settings, actions, and other elements may be opposed.” The opposition of color and black and white in Oz exists for this very reason.
McMillan had many questions, when watching Oz as a child, about function. “Professor Marvel really pissed me off… …but I knew this man was going to be important, I just couldn’t figure out how.” She correctly guessed that Professor Marvel would play the role of a function, another part of film narrative. Function, according to Film Art, describes the roles that the elements of the film play. Professor Marvel is there to serve as a parallel to the Wizard himself, just as the three farmhands parallel the three friends in Oz, and Miss Gultch parallels the Wicked Witch of the West.
Another thing that the young McMillan questions is the film’s basic cause-effect relationship. “First of all, that she walked was stupid to me; I would’ve asked one of those Munchkins for a ride.” Of course, more adult viewers will realize that Dorothy needs to go on the journey – she needs to encounter obstacles, overcome them, and learn from them – but a child will look at the very root of the narrative. Why didn’t one of the Munchkins just give her a ride? Or, better yet, why didn’t Glenda just swoop them off to the Emerald City? It’s because cause-effect relationships are merely the base of narrative form. There are so many more layers needed to create a complex, enduring work of art. Of course, an 8 year old would never care. They just want to know if flying monkeys really do exists.
Lucy Derickson 802
Terry McMillian drew many parallels between the story of The Wizard of Oz and her own childhood, which allowed her to analyze the narrative and related her life to that of Dorothy. She poses questions of the film's logic in many ways. For example, when Terry mentions that the land of Oz is truly just a dream of Dorothy's, and that if Terry herself wanted to find a “paradise” that she may have to dream one up herself. However, she questions, even tough Dorothy is dreaming this land, she still manages to find trouble. Why wouldn't she dream of a place free from trouble, where she could just live happily? In fact, Terry questions why Dorothy would have wanted to leave in the first place. Considering she wanted to run away to begin with, as long as she could stay clear of the Wicked Witch, Oz was much more beautiful place then her old farm was.
Once Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion, these characters draw even more questions. All three characters are missing something. A part of their personality, or their humanity. The lack of these traits caused her to question what it really meant to not have these things. A brain, a heart, courage, all things she believed she had, yet the responsibility of these traits can produce various privileges. A brain can grant you choices, a heart can cause you heart ache, and courage can give you power.
The presentation of story information generates suspense in the part where Dorothy is trying to save her self from the tornado. Terry is able to recognize the storm cellar, and completely understood the severity of a tornado. Terry explains “I knew Dorothy was going to be locked out once Antie Em and the workers locked the door, and I also knew she wasn't going to be heard....” (McMillian, 46) This is an extremely dramatic event for a child. We see the house fly away, spinning and spinning, and then the neighbor turn into the Wicked Witch. These images created a suspenseful narrative in the film, and one that Terry completely understood.
McMillan writes in her article “The Wizard of Oz” that “…[W]hen Dorothy’s Auntie Em dismisses her and tell her to find somewhere she’ll stay out of trouble, and little Dorothy starts thinking about if there is in fact is such a place – one that is trouble free – I was right there with her, because I wanted to know too.” In this pondered statement, McMillan presents the first question and answer in her essay which relates to a cause and effect relationship within the story; without trouble can a story survive. As foolish as the narrative of The Wizard of OZ (dir. Victor Fleming, 1939) seemed to her at times, the idea of cause and effect was required. McMillan states quite clearly, “Hell, if I had dreamed up something like another world, it would’ve been a perfect one.” She questions the logic of a dreamed up world being anything other than happy and in every way a person would want it to be. However, the characters and the story would never progress without the evil (of which McMillan states several times that the overall lesson of this film was the idea of good defeating evil in the long run.)
McMillan also questions the motives of several characters. Their needs (brains, heart, and courage) are not merely things that they have been without, but also representations of greater ideals. Brains represent a sense of freedom, heart represents an ability to house emotions, and courage is the ability to act. All of these things create humanity and are also the driving force of the sub-plots. In that way, the need to be a complete human being is cause and effect enough for any story. Through the combination of those things a greater message arrives in the film. “I do believe that Oz taught me much about friendship,” says McMillan.
Curiosity and suspense are built in narrative form. McMillan questions the methods and thoughts of characters throughout the essay. The most obvious is the initial urge for Dorothy to run away. She plainly asks, “Where in the Hell was she going?” It is in the absence of fully revealing plot information points that curiosity thrives. The film remains chronological in its temporal order and therefore suspense is built slowly as each part of the story unfolds before the viewer’s eyes. McMillan points out numerous references to her childhood and to the childhood of her son suggesting that the fanciful fantasy of the film and story play on the imagination in this way so as to create curiosity.
Robert Francis Curtis
Section 802
McMillan proposes a number of questions about the narrative in the film The Wizard of Oz and she uses them to compare her own life experiences with. One of the first questions McMillan poses about the film's narrative that really stood out to me was when Dorothy first travels to Oz. McMillan doesn't understand since Oz is in fact a dream Dorothy is having, why isn't it a good dream instead of one filled with trouble and difficult situations. Why wouldn't she have a dream where she could easily find the wizard and not be constantly in danger. This is assuming of course, one can control their own dreams. Another question McMillan raises is one that has to do with the Tin Man. Since the Tin Man is searching for a heart, wouldn't he normally be dead? But then she realizes that a heart is not just made up of veins and muscle, but perhaps it is also a place that can hold emotions like jealousy, devotion, and love. Finally, McMillan talks about how the story hooks the viewer with its content. It is because of these obstacles and problems Dorothy has to face to reach her goal that makes you wonder if she can or cannot overcome them. It is these things that McMillan didn't think belonged in Dorothy's dream that actually make the viewer stay and watch how the film plays out. Because in the end, it turns out that Dorothy does overcome the obstacles that face her and it taught McMillan a valuable lesson in life: you can't just pass your fears up in real life. You must face them and overcome them yourself, no matter the odds. And in the end, it always works out O.K., or to quote McMillan, "good always overcomes evil; maybe not immediately, but in the long run, it does."
Travis Torok
Section 802
In McMillian’s essay on The Wizard of Oz she develops many ideas and questions through her engagement with the film. One question she raises deals with the idea of what happens next. She states, “Where in the hell was she going?” in reference to her thoughts when Dorothy runs away from home. It is the information that the viewer isn’t given at the time of Dorothy’s departure that creates suspense for the viewer, which causes them to engage with the film. In McMillian’s case she engaged with the film at this point by dreaming up all of the places that she would run away to. Bordwell and Thompson mention that “ natural occurrences set the situation up, human desires and goals usually enter the action to develop the narrative.” The tornado in The Wizard of Oz is the natural occurrence. This occurrence leads McMillian to ask, “Where it was going to land” in regards to Dorothy’s house. This is an example of the viewer seeking to make connections between events. McMillian considers the fact that the causal motivation of the Tornado may be to transport Dorothy to “paradise”. Another question that McMillian poses to the films narrative is why does Dorothy meet the scarecrow on the yellow brick road. His lacking character trait, his brain, caused McMillian to question what having a brain really means. Her people watching skills were engaged by the characters traits or lack there of, which lead to her coming to the conclusion that “having a brain meant you had choices.” This trait informed her understanding of the film because she sees that this lacking trait is necessary to advance the plot and that choices are a crucial part of the story.
Alyssa Holly
Section 802
McMillian’s response to the “wizard of oz” was quite personal, she didn’t only point out very specific points why the film caught her attention as a kid, and how she could relate to it, but also how the very narration of the film made her think about different aspects.( Ex: how to change it, if Dorothy can fallow thru another path) “what if she had just run away and kept going, maybe she would’ve end up in Los Angeles with a promising singing career.”(Mcmillian) And the most fun part of her essay is that she uses a lot of sarcasm. She poses questions to the logic of the film, questioning what means to have a brain, a heart and courage. She could see even as a kid, that these meant metaphors and that made her understand the concepts what the movie was trying to give to the audience. As far as character’s traits informing her understanding; being a kid and growing up in a very unhappy environment makes her question what could make people so happy when they were singing and dancing on the pop culture at the time, but “the wizard of oz” gave her a very realistic acting because she could connect to it. Because the cruelty that Dorothy had to deal with was relating to the relationship between her and her mom, she kind of puts herself in Dorothy’s(and the wicked witch’s) red glittery shoes, and thinks throughout the film about how she(both Dorothy and herself) can get out of the frustrating environment that they have to deal with. That makes her understand why Dorothy is trying to escape, and film’s causes and effects. She talks a lot about the story information and how it can create curiosity, even on her 7 year old son, when he keeps asking questions about what’s going to happen and getting scared by the witch, that shows that the narrative in the film creates suspension and curiosity (by making you question if the hero is going to get what he/she is going for at the end of the film), and creates a definite space (Kansas). “space is an important factor, events occur in the well defined locales such as Kansas”(page 82 art of film)
Nazli Dincel
McMillan discusses and questions how the narrative puts Dorothy in such precarious situations, such as with the witch or her aunt. She recognizes that this lends to the kindheartedness of Dorothy’s character and allows viewers to identify more with her, as McMillan did as a child by seeing similarities between her mother and Dorothy’s aunt. She also questions the cumulative effect of all the songs in the narrative other than “Somewhere over the Rainbow” and “Follow the Yellow Brick Road”.
McMillan poses questions to the cause and effect logic when she refers to Dorothy’s willingness and desire to return home to Kansas, even though the viewer recognizes it is a miserable place and wonders what would cause her to want to return. McMillan first refers to when Professor Marvel warns her that her aunt might be in trouble and she returns home. She also refers to Dorothy’s constant desire to leave the Land of Oz to get back home, even though it would appear to be a better place to be, minus the witch.
McMillan refers to Dorothy’s traits of being a believer and having faith despite the constant obstacles or knots the narrative threw in her way. And the effects of this constant struggle appear to be for the purpose of illustrating the triumph of good over evil as she wins out over the witch in the end.
Finally she says the film’s presentation of the story information creates drama, or suspense, because the viewer can sort of predict what is happening (like getting stuck in the cellar) and can identify with, and see themselves in that position. Also the questioning of the characters desires and decisions generates a curiosity in the film.
Chris Schasse
Section 802
I love at the end of this article, when McMillan is talking about the experience of watching Wizard of Oz with her son.
“At first he kept asking me if something was wrong with the TV because it wasn’t in color, but as he watched, he became mesmerized by the story.”
Cause and Effect have the greatest effect on children, because they have not yet learned to analyze the things around them. Kids are most receptive to the things around them, taking in bright colors and the contrast of things.
“Hell, if I had dreamed up something like another world, it would’ve been a perfect one.” McMillan poses the question on why Dorothy would go through so much trouble to find the wizard if it was her dream. If it was her dream (McMillan’s), she would have made everything go perfectly.
“What was really strange… was when Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Lion – all of whom were missing something I’ve never given thought to.” In a way, McMillan was moving with the narrative, discovery what it means to have a brain, a heart, and courage with the characters. She was moving with the cause-effect relationship of the film in her own way of self-discovery.
“I knew the wind was a tornado because in Michigan we had the same kind of trapdoor underground shelter that Auntie Em had on the farm.”
This scene was the most suspenseful for McMillan, because she understood that Dorothy was trapped, and understood the power of a tornado, even though she didn’t understand the concept of ‘drama’ or ‘suspense’ at the time.
The first question I noticed that McMillan asks about the narrative is on page 33 of the article when she says, "So yes, I rooted for Dorothy when she and Toto were vamoosing, only I wanted to know: Where in the hell was she going? Where would I go if I were to run away?" This is clearly a question about the plot and story of the film because McMillan is directly questioning what will happen next in the setting. But it is also a question that involves cause and effect because at the time that she was first watching The Wizard of Oz, McMillan identified with Dorothy in almost every way. She Dorothy's pain when her Auntie Em yelled at her because McMillan's mother did the same thing in real life. McMillan felt the necessity to escape to a fantasy world just as Dorothy did, and this led to certain expectations in the cause and effect of the story. McMillan's first question is one of desperation because she wants to believe that this new place that Dorothy is going off to could possibly be translated into a place in real life.
The second question that McMillan poses to the film's narrative, is when Dorothy meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Lion. Essentially she asks herself if what each of them is missing is simply a necessity to live such as an organ,(the Tin Man's missing heart) or if each of the missing components has a deeper and more spiritual meaning behind it. McMillan explains how at her age, she had never thought of not having a heart in terms of the deeper emotional meaning. This question relates to cause and effect because the problem that each character faces would not have even been brought up had there not been characters in the first place. Thus, in order for McMillan and millions of other young kids to understand the concept behind the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion, these specific characters had to be created first. After McMillan's thinks about it for a while, she begins to realize that a heart for instance is not just an organ that you need to live but, "...the house of emotions, where feelings of jealousy, devotion , and sentiment lived." (p.35)
The third question that McMillan poses is on page 32 of the article when she asks, "Who did she (Dorothy) have to play with besides that dog?" This question was very intriguing to me, because it shows just how young she was at the time. This type of question again relates to cause and effect, because McMillan has become very attached to Dorothy and is truly concerned about her in the story. McMillan identifies with Dorothy in so many ways, that she is now asking a question that would relate to herself. We know this because right after she asks the question in the article she goes on to say, "And even thought I lived in a house full of people, I knew how lonely Dorothy felt, or at least how isolated she must have felt."(p.33) McMillan felt sympathy for Dorothy even though she was a character in a movie. She did this because what happened to Dorothy in the film was very relatable to what she was going through in real life. This is a perfect example of someone identifying with a character, which in turn changes their expectations of what should happen next or what should happen in the end of the film.
Connor Murray
Section 802
McMillan seems to relate to the character of Dorothy to a point where she specifically asks herself, 'what would I have done?'. She begins by telling us how she relates to Dorothy, for instance, the fact that Auntie Em is "just like (her) mother - bossy and domineering" and how she identifies with the fact that no one listens to Dorothy. So when Dorothy decides to run away with Toto, McMillan is wondering where she might be going and asking herself, where would I go. When Dorothy finally got away from home McMillan was disappointed in the fact that Dorothy would choose to believe the professor at his word and go straight back home. McMillan used what she new of the world to try and relate it to what dorothy ws goin through. She was familiar with the outside attic door and was sure no one would be able to here Dorothy knock once the door was locked up and the wind was blowing. The realism of these events drew McMillan in and added to the thrill of the moments. The fact that they would scream when Dorothy gets hit in the head illustrates the extent to which they were sucked into the moment. Then When Dorothy's house began to spin McMillan put herself into Dorothy's shoes again. She places her mother in the chair instead of Auntie Em and she wonders "Where is this house going to land?". This is only the very beginning of the film and she has a long list of questions already.
Once Dorothy arrives in OZ, even though McMillan believes dorothy to be dreaming, she continues to question her judgements. IF she was Dorothy she would put all these obstacles in her way to get to the Emerald City and once she is at the Emerald City why wouldnt she just stay there after the witch is gone. But then Dorothy wouldn't have run into these new friends and it would have taken McMillan a little longer to question the ideas behind the character. She looks at what these character lack (brain, heart, courage) and questions what these traits are and why they are important. The ideas of courage and friendship that McMillan gets from her view of Wizard of OZ seems to have helped her to understand her own life and makes me want to watch this film again sometime.
Gina Waggoner
Sec 802
McMillian basically said that the cause and effect was Auntie Em telling Dorothy that she should go some place where she wouldn’t get into trouble, and then Dorothy tried to imagine if there was actually a trouble free place where she could go, (p. 32). McMillian says, “…I was right there with her because I wanted to know too,” (p. 32). Also, the effect was Dorothy’s dream of going to the place after she was knocked unconscious. McMillian felt some suspense and curiosity when Dorothy had decided to run away from the farm. She feared for her, but wondered why she’d want to live on the farm anyway, since all she seemed to do was chores and really had no friends, which is comparable to McMillian’s life. (Actually, McMillian’s story of her life was parallel with Dorothy’s). She also wondered where Dorothy had planned to go once she ran away and thought to herself where she herself would go if she were to run away, (p. 33). McMillian also discusses the tornado scene and says, “When Dorothy’s house began to spin and spin and spin, I was curious as to where it was going to land,” (p. 34). She also poses questions pertaining to the characters. She wonders what it would be like to be without a brain like the scarecrow, a heart like the tin man, and courage like the lion, and what it meant to her that she had all three of those. She had courage to stand up to her mother; she has a brain because she did well in school and is now a writer; she has a heart because she cares for a son of her own.
In McMillan’s article, she discusses Victor Fleming’s film “The Wizard of Oz”. McMillan goes into great length and detail about how the character Dorothy’s life on the farm seemed similar to his/her upbringing in Port Huron, Michigan. “So when Dorothy’s Auntie Em dismisses her and tells her to find somewhere where she’ll stay out of trouble, and little Dorothy starts thinking about if there in fact is such a place—one that is trouble free—I was right there with her, because I wanted to know, too.” This is the cause that starts the whole film. Sure there’s the tornado that gets her to Oz, but we find out that the end of the movie that the entire color portion of the film was really a dream all along. Therefore I would argue that the dream wouldn’t have happened without Dorothy’s longing for a land that was free of trouble. Each character is missing something in their lives: the Scarecrow wants a brain, the Tinman wants a heart, and the Lion wants courage, and Dorothy wants to go home. The Scarecrow’s brain is representative of his ability to make decisions and the Tinman really just wants to be able to have emotions. The Lion and Dorothy’s wishes are a bit more literal. The way McMillian wrote the article, it would seem that as a child she was completely entranced by the story and it held her curiosity and suspense like a vice grip. As an adult though, she was underwhelmed and couldn’t even watch the entire thing because of how corny the filmed seemed. I can understand this change it cinematic taste as I had a similar occurrence with “Bambi”.
Nelson Schneider
Section 802
In Terry McMillian’s essay “Going to the Movies” and specifically the section titled “The Wizard of Oz”, she describes her childhood experience of watching The Wizard of Oz and how the film effected her. She gives us her opinion of the movie and its narrative story while relating it to her experience as a child. McMillian questions the films narrative cause and effect when Dorothy enters Munchkin Land which is in her dream and therefore made by her completely. McMillian questions then why there are problems in this fantasy world and says, “Hell, if I had dreamed up something like another world, it would’ve been a perfect one.” (McMillian, 35) Also Dorothy’s similar traits make McMillian relate to her and feel actually within the narrative cause and effect. Auntie Em talked to Dorothy in the authoritative tone of voice that McMillian’s mother used throughout her childhood. Also no one had time to listen to McMillian when she was little and further identified with Dorothy because of that. McMillian’s house growing up had a violent unsupportive atmosphere and when Dorothy wanted to find a place without trouble McMillian, “was right there with her, because I wanted to know too.” (McMillian, 32) Lastly the film Wizard of Oz, according to McMillian, presented the narrative in a way that generated suspense and curiosity because its aesthetics and plot lines so closely related to McMillian’s childhood. McMillian grew up on a farm and saw tornados and so even though the film might not look realistic, she could understand what it represented and feel the real emotions of her previous, real memories. “now the entire set of this film looks so phony it’s ridiculous, but back then I knew the wind was a tornado because in Michigan we had the same kind of trapdoor underground shelter that Auntie Em had on the farm. I knew Dorothy was going to be locked out once Auntie Em and the workers locked the door, and I also knew she wasn’t going to be heard when she knocked on it. This was drama at its best…” (McMillian, 34) The Wizard of Oz played such a powerful role in McMillian’s childhood because she could relate to it so well and also because she could turn to Dorothy in hard times because she was facing similar problems.
Douglas Mellon
Section 802
McMillian was able to relate “The Wizard of Oz” to her childhood in various ways. When she was watching it for the first time she took in different causes and effects and now, older and with a child of her own, she is able to dissect what the effects actually did to her. Watching the film caused her to question her self a lot. She knew that Dorothy was the character to cheer and hope for but she “…wanted to know: Where in the hell was she going? Where would I go if I were to run away? I had no idea because there was nowhere to go.” (33) Not to far into the movie already and she is questioning where could she run off to because it was relatable with the type of house she lived in.
She then goes into questioning each trait of The Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man and is now able to see the cause and effect and how it keeps a movie going. Make it have reason, have plot. As a kid she just took the ideas of them needing something like a brain and thought “What did having one really mean? What would not having one mean?” (35) McMillian makes it clear that only an innocence of a child would pose these questions and having The Scarecrow desire a brain helps drive the movie into the purpose, which is curiosity, amazement and learning about your true personality and motives.
The film gives rise to curiosity and because we know as much as Dorothy for awhile, going on the journey with her, until we see the Wicked Witch planning to attack which ,gives the element of suspense, so curiosity and suspense is a cause and effect in itself.
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