I talked with a good friend last night about Oz and during the course of our dinner conversation I began thinking about the annual television showing of "The Wizard of Oz" and I couldn't help but wonder...(yes, that is my first blatant Carrie Bradshaw reference) does Oz mean the same to a younger generation?
Think about it: When my generation was growing up, we were just being introduced to VCRs and not everyone in my neighborhood had one. So, when we saw the first commercial for the annual showing of Oz, we got tremendously excited! Well, I got tremendously excited. I would scribble the date down on a piece of paper and I would pin it to my bookshelf as a constant reminder...a beacon of hope...that soon, very soon, I would have the yearly opportunity to see "The Wizard of Oz". I would plan my whole day around that day whenever it showed up on the calender. Here is my yearly routine as I remember it:
My mother would know to make sure I had plenty of time to eat dinner, take my bath and be in my favorite pajamas by showtime. My family knew that when 7:45 came around, I had control of the downstairs floor model television. (By the way, that television is still in perfect running condition.) I would drag out my sleeping bag from the downstairs closet - the very swanky polyester blend indoor only sleeping bag with the blue lining - and spread it out just perfectly in front of the television. Then, I would find my favorite blanket - if memory serves me correctly, it was almost flesh colored and the satin trimming was shredded and falling apart - and drape it over the sleeping bag. Next came the pile of pillows reserved for napping on the sofa. By the time I had all of that in place, it was 7:55 and I would be ready for my chocolate milk (the homemade kind my dad used to make from sugar and cocoa powder) and buttered toast (the good kind my mom made from the oven and NOT the toaster). My insides fairly quaked at the sheer excitement and anticipation of what was about to transpire.
7:58...commercials commercials commercials...all these damned commercials!!
News preview...yeah yeah yeah. Oh God...this is it...I know it...it's not a commercial this time...YES! The CBS Special Presentation logo!! WOO HOO!!! I can't take it!! My skin is actually bubbling with goosepimples....the fine, white blond hairs on my arms are full of electricity. Okay...okay...the preview is over. It's here! IT'S HERE!!! FINALLY!!! Alright....the screen is black....nothing is happening. WHAT THE??? WHERE IS IT?!?! IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH THE STATION?!?! WHY ISN'T IT COMING ON?? OH MY GOD...PLEASE DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME! I HAVE WAITED SO LONG TO SEE IT! ALLLL YEAR!!! WHY ME???!!! WAIT!! IT'S HAPPENING!! YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!! Oh dear God...those first tremulous, heart pounding, soul crashing chords of the overture!! (You know the ones I'm talking about.) There he is...Leo the Lion!! This is my favorite part!! No, wait....there's the title card! THAT'S my favorite part!! Breathless....i can hear nothing but the music and my heart pounding in my ears. I am not moving...not blinking. I can taste the chocolate milk and buttered toast - the perfect friends to have in my company.
And so it went...Kansas....Miss Gultch...Professor Marvel....the twister (OH MY GOD!!!) and then the big moment. The money shot...the one reason, I imagine, color televisions were invented: Munchkinland! Again...breathless....heart stopping. Dorothy walks closer to the camera....the shot changes to the door and her back (which was, actually, her double, Bobbie Koshay). The coloring is different...I know something amazing is getting ready to happen. THERE IT IS!!! Breathe...just breathe....
No other movie has had such an indelible hold on my imagination and no other movie ever will. (Surprised?) That is what made me think about the younger generation today. We now have CGI, computer animation, amazing technological special effects, HARRY POTTER!!! How can a 1939 film ever hope to compete with that?? I'll tell you how: what all of these new movies and effects and million dollar budgets fail to have is staying power. There is always something bigger and better coming out next. Oz was it. Oz WAS the biggest thing. For YEARS. It has lasted this long because there are GENERATIONS of people who planned their lives around one date a year. ONE. The only other television events that can come close to Oz are the holiday specials. Oz is shown constantly on some network or other. Kids own it on DVD and Blu Ray. It is so readily available that I am saddened to think my niece and nephew might never know the magic and wonder of waiting....waiting....waiting for that one night. That one chance you had to see the most amazing film you have ever seen...the most amazing story.
No...not yet...I'm not ready for it to be over!! She can't be back in Kansas already!! Shoot shoot shoot....she said it...No place like home....The End....cast listing....fade to black. Elation.....satisfaction....fatigue.....emptiness......sadness.......anticipation.....elation again........next year......next year.......
1 comment:
I remember anticipating television events. The Sound of Music, Wizard of Oz... heck, even the Battle of the Network Stars or an Unsolved Mysteries special (before it was a weekly show). We anticipate so few things now... with DVDs and so many channels. The closest feeling I get now is looking forward to the 24 Hours of A Christmas Story. I own that movie but will only watch it during those 24 hours... because it makes it special. :) I enjoyed this post. It brought back that feeling of anticipation. :) Thanks!
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