It has often been said that first impressions do not represent a full picture of who someone is. But then again, I’m old enough and I’ve experienced enough to know a pompous, blowhard, two-bit snake oil, used car salesman when I see one.
Randy Rainbow released his new video today. Entitled “IF YOU EVER GOT IMPEACHED – A Randy Rainbow Song Parody”, the song is based on “If I Ever Had A Brain” from the Wizard Of Oz.
Once again, Randy Rainbow hits it out of the park. We need more people like him. The more we speak out and speak the truth, the harder it will be for his lies and “alternative facts” to be taken as truth.
Randy Rainbow, G-d bless you. May we all have the courage to stand up for our country and our future.
*Warning: This post contains spoilers about Once Upon A Time. I am only writing up to the end of season 6. Read at your own risk if you have still not seen the previous seasons.
There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.
In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Once Upon A Time to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.
In 1939’s The Wizard Of Oz, Margaret Hamilton’s The Wicked Witch Of The West left an indomitable mark on our culture. She was the ultimate baddy, taking Toto from Dorothy and using her monkeys to terrorize the residents of the land of Oz. In Once Upon A Time, the character of Zelena (Rebecca Mader) appeared to be a direct cut from that same cloth. But in usual Once Upon A Time fashion, there is a twist to the character and the narrative.
Zelena is Regina/The Evil Queen’s (Lana Parilla) older half-sister. Abandoned by their mother and raised without the luxury or the access to the magic that was part and parcel of Regina’s childhood, Zelena grew up to be spiteful and angry. Arriving in Storybrooke, Zelena made it her goal to get back at Regina for everything she never had. She also manipulated Robin Hood to believe that she was his late wife and became pregnant by him.
Giving birth to their daughter (also named Robin) changed Zelena. No longer seeing life in terms of black and white,Zelena started to change. She became close to her sister, but she fell in love with Hades (Greg Germann), who also fell in love with her, but she chose her sister over Hades. Unfortunately, Robin was lost in the battle.
To sum it up: When a character is written properly, her or she can easily transcend the archetype that is the skeleton of that character. A good writer is able to flesh out a character, giving them dimensions, failings and complications. Zelena may have started out as the archetypal Wicked Witch Of The West, but she grew into a woman who was more than her archetype. As writers, we have to remember that archetypes are fine, just as long as we remember that the archetype is only the skeleton of the character. We need to add more to the character than just what is expected. If we don’t do that, then the character is just an archetype and frankly, who wants to read about an archetype? I don’t and I’m sure there are other readers who feel the same.
For many of us growing up, one of the rites of passage was the boy band of the moment. In the late’s 60’s, the boy band of the moment that the then teenagers were going crazy for were The Monkees. Mickey Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, Peter Tork and Davy Jones were the original made for television boy band.
In 2000, a biopic of their time in the spotlight aired. Daydream Believers:The Monkees’ Story, Jeff Geddis (Mike Nesmith), Aaron Lohr (Mikey Dolenz), L.B. Fisher (Peter Tork) and George Stanchev (Davy Jones) played the young men who were originally hired to play characters on a scripted television series, but then fought for the artistic control and respect that they craved.
For a TV movie, it’s not bad. The way I see it, is that it’s like in The Wizard Of Oz, when the curtain is pulled back and the wizard is revealed to be an ordinary man. This movie pulls back the curtain to reveal both the upsides of performing and the struggle of being artist when the business aspect of show business takes over.
1939 was an auspicious year. History would record it as the year that would see the beginning of World War II. Movie wise, 1939 produced two of the greatest and most iconic movies of all time: Gone With The Wind and The Wizard Of Oz.
Based on the book of the same name by Margaret Mitchell, Gone With The Wind takes place in the in the Civil War era south. Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) is a spoiled, selfish, self-absorbed Southern Belle with plenty of men swarming around her skirts, all hoping that she will say yes to them. The man she really wants is Ashley Wilkes (Leslie Howard), but he is engaged to her soft-spoken cousin, Melanie Hamilton (Olivia De Havilland). She is warned to place her affections elsewhere, but Scarlett will have no man, but Ashley. Then the war breaks out and Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) enters her life. That is only the beginning of not only one of most beloved and admired movies of all time.
Another movie classic based on a beloved book is The Wizard Of Oz. Dorothy (Judy Garland) is a young lady living with her aunt and uncle in Kansas. She wonder if there is life beyond the farm she calls home. Then a tornado drops Dorothy in a mysterious land called Oz. With the help of the Scarecrow (Ray Bolger), the Cowardly Lion (Bert Lahr) and the Tin Man (Jack Haley), Dorothy seeks the Wizard (Frank Morgan) to help her get home.
Ask any movie fan and they will tell you that these movies are still as beloved as they were during their initial run in theaters. While Scarlett is infuriating and there are certain terms that are considered not politically correct, there something about this movie that still bring audiences in. The Wizard Of Oz is considered to be a classic not just because of the cast, but because of the themes of life, growing up, having courage and confidence.
Writergurlny 