MovieChat Forums > The Wizard of Oz (1939) Discussion > Why is this crap so famous in US?

Why is this crap so famous in US?

posted 6 years ago by Heisenberg (6730)
144 replies | jump to latest

This is an ok movie, I'm sure that back then its sfx were on par with Avatar (another just ok movie btw). But Americans decided to hold it as a classic for the ages for some reasons I can't quite fathom.

This is almost obscure outside of the US, something that will shock most Americans but that's a fact. Most people in the world know of the Wizard of Oz, as a name, that's about it.
No Dorothy, Toto, Tin Man etc. Nor very popular side icons like munchkins or witches of the East or flying monkeys. All that is not popular knowledge anywhere else. This is not shown every year on tv or whatever, at least not since 1939 :-)

So why do you think Americans keep it as something so special in their tradition?

[–] liscarkat (19427) 5 years ago

So sorry you can't fathom it's popularity. So sad for you.

You make a big deal out of your claim that it's not as famous outside the U.S. So what if it isn't, who cares?

[–] Drusilla (565) 4 years ago

Not surprising you wouldn't find it great if you are not American. Nothing wrong with that. I am sure there are many movies from your country we wouldn't revere either.

[–] brux (14840) 4 years ago

You can ask why it is so famous, but to call it crap is just stupid - precisely because it is so famous. There is something about it that is really great. One thing is that it was one of the first color movies. Another was the famous Judy Garland as the star. Another was that it was just a good story and had the best special effects.

You could figure all that out yourself, so your point here was just to insult a beloved American movie. Too bad for you.

[–] Heisenberg (6730) 4 years ago

Do you understand that most famous stuff is crap?
This one is not the crappiest, but I wouldn't consider it much (and neither would you) if it wasn't so famous.

[–] brux (14840) 4 years ago

>> Do you understand that most famous stuff is crap?

90% of everything is crap. So what? That does not mean everything is crap, and it does not indicate any probability that TWOO is crap. Like so many of your comments it's purposefully irrelevant and misleading.

[–] Heisenberg (6730) 4 years ago

I was just replying to your crap, trying to explain that this being famous doesn't make it not-crap.
How the hell is that irrelevant or misleading?

[–] brux (14840) 4 years ago

Take a frickin' logic class.

[–] Heisenberg (6730) 4 years ago

You should do exactly that.
YOU started this whole bs about it being famous hence it cannot be crap.

[–] brux (14840) 4 years ago

>> Title of the thread: Why is this crap so famous in US?
...
>> YOU started this whole bs about it being famous hence it cannot be crap.

That is what you said. I never said anything of the sort. You deliberately tried to troll me for purpose hostile to discussion. There is psychopathology behind your behavior. If not in your in your "employment".

> You can ask why it is so famous, but to call it crap is just stupid - precisely because it is so famous.

That is what I said, and I think you did not bother to read, parse or understand.

You have to define your terms, and crap is one undefined terms that can mean different things to different people. To me, crap means something of no value. The fact that so many people throughout many decades have enjoyed and found value in as far as a movie can provide value means that TWOZ is not crap.

You used the term crap in your title, putting emphasis on it, and yet never qualifying it. You do that so you can troll back and forth to make discussion impossible or meaningless. To me, if I want to actually point to something that is close to "crap" in this discussion place it is your posts and your communications.

You are a crappy contributor because you are almost exclusively contributing trolling content with no point and no meaning ... just like I said earlier.

[–] Furienna (3377) 4 years ago

Well, it is true that I'm not American either (I'm Swedish) and I never watched this movie as a kid.
So I guess that that is at least partly why I must agree with your mostly negative opinion on it.
When I got around to watch it as a grown-up, I just felt that it was boring and terribly dated.
Not to mention that I found Judy Garland to be too old for her role as it was written.
When I couldn't even like it because of nostalgia, I decided to give up after two failed attempts to finish it.

Indeed, I do prefer the much less acclaimed "The Wiz" from 1978 with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.
That is rather weird though, since I was a white girl from the countryside outside a small town in Sweden.
So you'd think that this movie would be more relatable to me than one bout black people in New York City.
But I just love Michael Jackson and find Diana Ross's take on the Dorothy character really interesting.
And I now have three songs from the soundtrack on playlists on Spotify.
But I could never enjoy TWOO, even though I must admit that it's prettier to look at than "The Wiz".
Maybe I happened to simply see another version of the story first and thus couldn't be blown away by this movie.
But I must prefer "The Wiz", even though I will admit that it's not a flawless masterpiece either.
That is how I feel, even though I know that most people will disagree with me on this.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7993) 4 years ago

If you and the TC are turned off by the movie, you should at least give the book it's based on a try. Unlike the movie, the book has a lot of graphic violence in it. It's definitely not for kids. But it is a good read. Just to let you know the book is just titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. And that's important cause the sequel book that was also written before the 1930s movie is titled Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz. Yeah. That makes it confusing. I guess The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 2 didn't sound like a good title to the author. I just started reading the sequel I just mentioned a few months ago and hadn't finished it. And there are 2 other books in the series with similar names as well.

[–] Furienna (3377) 4 years ago

Graphic violence, you say? I'm sorry, but that is not my thing at all.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7993) 4 years ago

To be fair it's mostly stuff like killing these animals that are attacking them. ANd I don't mean animals as in calling a person an animal. I mean wild animals attacking them and them reacting in self defense. Actually it's only the tin man doing that.

Except for the Tin Man's origin which in the book is really messed up.

[–] Furienna (3377) 4 years ago

Well, I think I will pass on that book for now anyhow.

[–] ducksoup (3933) 4 years ago

There's a lot of Oz books out there, and that's before you even get into the Philip Jose Farmer stuff. Patchwork girl, the Mechanical man... it was a great fantasy series as a kid. Better than Narnia. (And I loved Narnia.)

[–] AnubisRaydeen (7897) 4 years ago

The Wiz is like 10% adaptation of TWOO and 90% massive dance ensemble with random stuff galore. Like the last 15 minutes of Xanadu. I liked a song or two but the movie is hardly even a movie.

[–] Furienna (3377) 4 years ago

Maybe that is how you feel, but I must still consider TWOO as inferior to "The Wiz".
That movie has an adorable scarecrow, an original take on the Dorothy character and some nice tunes.
And even if some scenes drag on, it is both more poignant and funnier than TWOO to me.
And it also is more faithful to the book by L. Frank Baum in some respects.
Most importantly, they included both the good witches instead of turning them into one crazy bitch.
And that is enough to tip the scales in favor of "The Wiz" for me, despite what people might think.
But I know that I'm in a minority about this, so I get that fans of TWOO must wonder if I'm totally nuts.

[–] BensGirl (590) 4 years ago

Where are you from?

[–] Heisenberg (6730) 4 years ago

Somewhere over the rainbow.

[–] BensGirl (590) 4 years ago

I knew you’d be ashamed..

[–] ducksoup (3933) 4 years ago

You have to watch it as a kid. If you see it before the age of 10, you will love it your whole life.

[–] Heisenberg (6730) 4 years ago

I agree, but what surprises me is kids at 10 actually enjoying it.
But like I already wrote, if a parent sits them down to watch it together, it becomes special right then no matter how great or bad it is.

[–] Bloodworth79 (5739) 3 years ago

There are a lot of things obscure outside the u.s..
Hygiene for 1

[–] Heisenberg (6730) 3 years ago

Coming from somebody that doesn't even own a single bidet....

[–] Bloodworth79 (5739) 3 years ago

Lol, good 1

[–] marktayloruk (2590) 3 years ago

I first saw it at the pictures in the 60s. It's been shown on TV frequently. I live in Britain