The Two Dorothys

From the Charlotte Observer’s web coverage of an Oz exhibit at the local UNC library:

In the novels, Dorothy is a heroine, an adventurer who strikes out on her own and often saves the male characters in the story. But in the movie, she’s the damsel in distress, who needs men to lead her to safety.

“In the book, Dorothy kicks butt. She takes action. She’s on a quest. She is the person in charge,” said [English professor Mark] West. “In the movie, Dorothy says, ‘If I ever seek my heart’s desire again, I shall look no further than my own backyard.’ She is basically like a dog with her tail between her legs.”

To be fair, in the movie Dorothy wets the Wicked Witch of the West while she’s saving the Scarecrow from fire. But in the book she deliberately throws water on the old lady because she’s angry.

I blame MGM and Louis B. Mayer’s rah-rah ideology for the changes.

(Hat tip to Blair Frodelius’s Daily Ozmapolitan.)