approach paper
Topic Selection
I selected The Wizard of Oz in part because of my love for the musical Wicked. When I first saw it in Chicago, I loved it so much I got a black cat with green eyes and named her Elphaba, after the main character. That was in 2005. My sweet and loving companion passed away in April. I chose this project in part to honor her and learn more about the story that inspired her namesake.
Until I started this project, I had never read the book. I had seen the movie plenty of times, and watched The Wiz Live! when it aired on NBC. My high school show choir did a Wizard of Oz medley and I was a soloist and sang the part of Dorothy. I am very familiar with the cultural impact of this children's book, but I had no idea how much the book differed from the movie.
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In hindsight, I am also so glad that this project allowed me to escape to Oz. While currently in the midst of the (new) highest peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is nice to have a refuge from the dismal reality we're living in.
questions & statement of need
Does The Wizard of Oz deserve the often used title "first American Fairy Tale?"
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What is the impact of The Wizard of Oz on popular culture? What works were inspired or based on characters or settings in The Wizard of Oz? So many creators have been inspired by Oz, is it possible I can list them all?
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How did the publisher's collaboration and demands shape the final work from the creator's original vision?
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How did the decreasing number and quality of presentation of Denslow's original illustrations change in subsequent printings, editions, and publishers?
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There also isn't a resource I've found that examines The Wonderful Wizard of Oz as an artifact, printed/artist work, commodity, etc. using historiography terms. The one exception is the artist work aspect which at this point is well worn territory. There are many biographies of L. Frank Baum. The rest of the historiography questions haven't been explored or extrapolated from existing information, and if so not explicitly in each category.
challenges
Syracuse University has a large collection of documents, photographs, correspondence, etc. of L. Frank Baum and W. W. Denslow, and other key Wizard of Oz related persons. However, these primary resources haven't been digitized and made available to the public. I would have liked to examine at least some of the materials for my project.
This fact finding mission was not even an option due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I have already informed my significant other that we will be visiting several Oz related museums and special collection libraries in the (hopefully) near future. My appetite for knowledge of all things Oz must be quenched!
Methodology
When conducting my research I used a combination of historical reasoning, primary source analysis, and consulted some oral history mostly related to the Oz film.
My process was to first familiarize myself with secondary sources and what possible questions, themes, and topics were of interest for further examination. I found that by consulting source lists from these books and articles I could compile a lengthy list of cited primary sources to track down.
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I also listened to music from The Wizard of Oz movie, The Wiz, and Wicked while researching and website building. I believe this part of my methodology was the most important. Exposing myself to elements of the cultural impact of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was enjoyable and useful for the project.
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My biggest weakness to my final project is my inherent design snobbery and my aversion to learning new skills when my existing ones will do just fine and are free. I detest all of the free interactive timeline programs and websites. I don't have the patience to input any information in the little boxes when the platform isn't very user friendly.