The Critical Analysis

by Aisha Gilani

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Salman Rushdie, best known for his controversial novel, The Satanic Verses, was also influenced by The Wizard of Oz. On the back cover of his book, Rushdie's theories about The Wizard of Oz are described as follows: "The Wizard of Oz was my first literary influence", writes Salman Rushdie in his account of the great MGM children's classic. At the age of ten he had written a story, "Over the Rainbow", about a colourful fantasy world. But for Rushdie The Wizard of Oz is more than a children's film, and more than a fantasy. It is a story "whose driving force is the inadequacy of adults", in which the "weaknesses of grown-ups forces children to take control of their own destinies". Rushdie rejects the conventional view that its fantasy of escape from reality ends with a comforting return to home, sweet home. "On the contrary, it is a film, which speaks to the exile. The Wizard of Oz shows that imagination can become reality, that there is no such place as home, or rather that the only home is the one we make for ourselves."

Rushdie's range is remarkable. He moves from his childhood in Bombay, when he first saw The Wizard of Oz to the life of L. Frank Baum to how the technical effects were done to why the silver slippers became ruby slippers without missing a beat.

"I have been known to murmur that there is no place like home during stressful staff meetings, but in truth, I always wondered about Dorothy's declaration about finding her heart's desire in her own back yard. As an often literal-minded child, I remember vague childhood feelings of guilt at walking into my back yard and not feeling completely satisfied. Later, I understood Dorothy's metaphor, but I still didn't accept it."

Rushdie also questions the message presented by the end of the movie and notes how inconsistent it is with Dorothy's new strength.

 

 

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