Nov 14
Wizard of Oz’ pop culture seeds
After I had the opportunity to watch The Wizard of Oz (imdb, Wikipedia) yesterday, I noticed various hints that this 1939 masterpiece inpired various works of popular culture. Here’s my list of observations:
- The Tin Man’s sway - Michael Jackson’s gravity defying sway moves at the end of the “Smooth Criminal” music video.
- The Scarecrow, the Cowardly Lion and the Tin Man masquerade as guards of the Wicked Witch to sneak into the castle to rescue Dorothy - in Star Wars Luke and Han Solo aboard the Death Star masquerade as Storm Troopers to sneak into the cell block to recue Pricess Lea.
- Jack Haley’s portrayal of the Tin Man was obviously in tone, movement and costume an inspiration for George Lucas’ creation of C-3PO in the Star Wars franchise.
More implications seem to be (according to imdb’s trivia page):
- Judy Garland’s portrayal of Dorothy was the main inspiration for the character of Mary Ann on “Gilligan’s Island” (1964)
- The Tin Woodsman costume worn by Jack Haley was reportedly so stiff that he had to lean against a board to rest. Thirty-eight years later, Anthony Daniels (who played C-3PO in the Star Wars movie series) had the same problem with his costume.
