Life after Oz
I’m enjoying a beautiful snowy evening in Atlanta watching The Wiz for the 125,067th time. There’s a scene where Dorothy, Scarecrow, Lion, and Tin Man are in the hotel after the Wiz tells Dorothy to kill Evilliene in exchange for her going home and her friend’s wishes being fulfilled. At that moment I asked myself again, How could Dorothy go back to a normal life after that shit? Could I?
If you haven’t seen The Wiz it’s on Netflix and I highly suggest you watch it. Instead of giving you the synopsis of the film here are some of the strange events and experiences that took place:
If you’re familiar with the story The Wizard of Oz, The Wiz is an afrofuturistic version of that film. Imagine the original movie but soulful.
Dorothy (played by Diana Ross) vanished from her home in a snowstorm, was swept into a snow funnel, and landed in an urban fantasy land.
She commits two murders.
Richard Pryor is a scammer.
She witnessed the best performances she’d probably ever see in her life.
And the obvious weirdness, she befriended a scarecrow, a tin man, and a cowardly lion.
I have always wondered what Dorothy’s life was like after those experiences, but this is the first time I have explored the idea of who she became when she walked through the door of her home. I remember just thinking maybe she became super confident in herself and started doing the things she believed in. She was free. But as heartwarming as the story is her experiences were very traumatic. I believe that if Dorothy were a real person she would have had a very human response to what she had been through.
I can imagine Dorothy gets home and no one even realized she was gone. She was in shock and too embarrassed to tell Aunt Em and Uncle Henry what happened and she didn’t think they’d believe her anyway so she never spoke about it to anyone. Although she continued everyday life as normal she spent the next 5 years confused, in denial, and depressed after the experience. It never left her.
Brand new day.
Thanksgiving and the 5th year of the anniversary of her visit to Oz, Dorothy starts her life. She finally embraces acceptance for what happened and that she is changed because of it.
Though she never told a soul about her visit to the Land of Oz, Dorothy creatively expresses the experience and what she’d learned from it in a series of young adult books she wrote during her recovery. In each story, a special person with an insecurity somehow winds up in an unknown fantasy land, meets unique friends, and goes through strange, dark, but light hearted journeys that teaches them that through wisdom, love, courage and support they will rise above the limitations that are put upon them by themselves and others. The same way it did for her.
The Wiz is a phenomenal story of personal and collective liberation and perseverance. As a black woman, I know that neither is a linear experience. Whenever I feel unsure about myself, where I am, and how to get to where I’m going, life takes me through a journey of eccentric but not quite Oz-like experiences that gives me guidance, support, and freedom. I know from experience that sometimes it takes a while to recover before we can truly accept those experiences (without feeling like we’re crazy).
This film, especially Dorothy’s character always inspires me to break out of the limitations I put on my vulnerability. By lifting these limitations I am liberating myself and possibly others too. The curiosity of this fictional character’s well-being motivated me to act on this feeling of inspiration. I’m proud to make something meaningful out of it.
Thanks for reading!
©I’m No Miss Cleo
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