This is one of my all-time favorite movies, although I was not even alive when it came out. I think a lot of the critiques of this movie stem from an expectation that it will be the same as the original. While it derives from the same name and has some of the same imagery, I think people need to understand the films as being essentially different. For instance, the original (although slightly adulterated) Judy Garland version is ultimately an allegory about progressivism and the industrial era, with a surface story about a young girl's search for her identity. The Wiz is ultimately a commentary about African-American life in urban America (including de-industrialization, racism, drug and alcohol abuse, etc.) with a similar surface story--but about a young(ish) woman rather than a girl.
I love the film b/c it is subtle in many ways (in other ways its not) but through much of the dialogue, lyrics, and imagery references a particular experience for these black characters within new york. Its like viewing a parallel universe in which the institutional, cultural, community experiences of this population are made apparent. For instance, Ms. One, the numbers runner (a la Detroit Red---if you know who that is) in the neighborhood, "you can't win" is an indictment on the hopelessness faced by many in the community, the coping mechanisms they unfortunately turn to and an internalization of those feelings of inefficacy. The "poison poppies" are a stand-in for drug abuse, the constant changing of the fashionable "color" once the characters arrived at Oz was a critique of the materialism and failure to prioritize ("gave up two month's feed") that befalls many trying to achieve status through appearance; and then, of course, there is the ubiquitous failure to get a cab--which I am sure no one missed.
I think this movie can be appreciated on many levels. I love the subtlety of some of the imagery (like the fact that the lion's outfit is really a pimp-suit--complete with platform heels) and I just don't think that a remake of this movie would do as good of a job capturing that again.
Its a unique movie--not just a remake of The Wizard of Oz, and needs to be appreciated as such. If you can manage to come into it with a fresh eye, and expect it merely to be a commentary on urban America, then I think this is a film you can really enjoy.
By the way, Michael Jackson is GREAT in this movie (and he looks so cute!!), as is Nipsy Russell ("stuck in a position I had assumed all too often...")and Lena Horne's singing is amazing. I could admittedly do without Diana Ross, but she's not the whole movie.
I love the film b/c it is subtle in many ways (in other ways its not) but through much of the dialogue, lyrics, and imagery references a particular experience for these black characters within new york. Its like viewing a parallel universe in which the institutional, cultural, community experiences of this population are made apparent. For instance, Ms. One, the numbers runner (a la Detroit Red---if you know who that is) in the neighborhood, "you can't win" is an indictment on the hopelessness faced by many in the community, the coping mechanisms they unfortunately turn to and an internalization of those feelings of inefficacy. The "poison poppies" are a stand-in for drug abuse, the constant changing of the fashionable "color" once the characters arrived at Oz was a critique of the materialism and failure to prioritize ("gave up two month's feed") that befalls many trying to achieve status through appearance; and then, of course, there is the ubiquitous failure to get a cab--which I am sure no one missed.
I think this movie can be appreciated on many levels. I love the subtlety of some of the imagery (like the fact that the lion's outfit is really a pimp-suit--complete with platform heels) and I just don't think that a remake of this movie would do as good of a job capturing that again.
Its a unique movie--not just a remake of The Wizard of Oz, and needs to be appreciated as such. If you can manage to come into it with a fresh eye, and expect it merely to be a commentary on urban America, then I think this is a film you can really enjoy.
By the way, Michael Jackson is GREAT in this movie (and he looks so cute!!), as is Nipsy Russell ("stuck in a position I had assumed all too often...")and Lena Horne's singing is amazing. I could admittedly do without Diana Ross, but she's not the whole movie.