To me the Wizard of Oz has always been a tale of adventure and nothing more. Mostly because the only time I had ever seen the film was when I was very young and not at a stage where I could really analyse the aspects of the movie. After watching it again last week, I realised that The Wizard of Oz is still primarily a tale of adventure but I also noted the present themes of adolescence, appreciation and gratitude, and escape via a fantasy world. These themes according to Bordwell and Thompson’s different forms of meaning, I think would come under explicit and implicit meaning. Explicit refers to the overall themes within a film, whilst implicit refers more to the smaller, key meanings within a film or text.

Dorothy is a relatable character in that she wishes for more and to run away from her troubles. When she arrives in Oz it seems that she has been successful in doing so. However, much like her home, it isn’t soon before Oz begins to reveal a darker side as Dorothy is not always safe there with the witch on her back. This reiterated the idea that you really can’t have the negative without the positive, the light without the dark and that as nice as it would be to escape all of your troubles in a magical land, it still isn’t a realistic option. This is again reinforced literally with the film’s colour scheme. The movie begins in black and white, which confused me last week as I had always remembered The Wizard of Oz as being vividly colourful. This all made much more sense as she stepped through the door and entered Oz, a beautifully vibrant, colourful world. As a result the contrast between the two worlds became much more evident. As this was also the first film to ever introduce colour, the transition between black and white and full colour within the same movie is all the more bedazzling.