"The Wizard of Oz" (1939)
2024 revisited two very influential film stories from my childhood.
“Wicked” (2024) and “Nosferatu” (2024) reimagine—via different trajectories—two traumatizing old films: “The Wizard of Oz” (1939) based on the book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” (1900), and, “Nosferatu: eine Symphonie des Grauens” (1922) based on the book “Dracula” (1897).
When I was a kid of about 6, I caught a glimpse of a snippet of Nosferatu on the TV. It was just a shadow of the vampire creeping up the stairs. It traumatized me and made me afraid of the dark for years. Perhaps it was because I got that glimpse with no context, no story, no idea of how that evil was to be dealt with and defeated. (Or maybe it was just not something a kid was supposed to encounter!)
Around the same time, like most kids my age, I saw the Wizard of Oz in its entirety. The Wicked Witch of the West is truly terrifying as well. I could well imagine her lurking around a dark corner! However, I was never as paralyzed by the idea of the witch. That is probably because I had gone on a journey with the characters of that story. I had faced the fear and seen the evil vanquished. I had learned the lessons of the story. It was, after all, a child’s fairy tale and they are always forcing kids to grapple with the dangers and threats in the world, equipping them to handle things they will need to handle.
It can be fun facing fears in stories, where you know you aren’t really in danger. But it can also be a good “test experience” helping you when you later do face situations where you need to be able to confront your fears and react well.
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