off to see the wizard. . . .
Dec. 9th, 2021 07:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
marycatelliLet us say that the Wizard of Oz series went downhill real fast.
As in, he didn't manage to keep basic consistency between book 1 and book 2. In the first book, Glinda sends the Scarecrow back to the Emerald City to rule. In the second, she refuses because Ozma was the rightful ruler. No explanation given.
But one thing that changed was that after the Wizard returned to Oz, Ozma and Glinda taught him magic. Turning a conman into a genuine wizard does not satisfy; it is not a plausible character arc. What does he DO with the magic? And what does he do with his cleverness? It's a bad idea to let it feed on nothingness.
I was pondering it recently and concluded that the best route would be for our new wizard to use force multipliers for his magic. Like explosive demolition, which does not in fact demolish a building with explosive. It takes out the crucial support points, and gravity does the job. A wizard conman does not conjure up flames of many colors, often cool to the touch. He sets about chemicals that will burn appropriately, and uses a spark spell to set them alight. In fine, he overawes wizards by the immense power of his magic by use of force multipliers.
As in, he didn't manage to keep basic consistency between book 1 and book 2. In the first book, Glinda sends the Scarecrow back to the Emerald City to rule. In the second, she refuses because Ozma was the rightful ruler. No explanation given.
But one thing that changed was that after the Wizard returned to Oz, Ozma and Glinda taught him magic. Turning a conman into a genuine wizard does not satisfy; it is not a plausible character arc. What does he DO with the magic? And what does he do with his cleverness? It's a bad idea to let it feed on nothingness.
I was pondering it recently and concluded that the best route would be for our new wizard to use force multipliers for his magic. Like explosive demolition, which does not in fact demolish a building with explosive. It takes out the crucial support points, and gravity does the job. A wizard conman does not conjure up flames of many colors, often cool to the touch. He sets about chemicals that will burn appropriately, and uses a spark spell to set them alight. In fine, he overawes wizards by the immense power of his magic by use of force multipliers.
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Date: 2021-12-11 11:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-11 10:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-12 12:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2021-12-12 07:41 am (UTC)If I recall correctly, it was you who reminded me that LFB didn't really want to get stuck on (or in) Oz, that he had other ideas he wanted to explore. I suspect he was retconning his own story, perhaps intending to use the Scarecrow elsewhere.
Your remarks about the Wizard reminded me of what no one else seems to have observed, about the 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful: It's a perfect illustration of Arthur Clarke's aphorism, that “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” His use of fireworks, wooden cybernetics, sound effects &c. are designed to accomplish just that, and they succeed!
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Date: 2021-12-12 05:14 pm (UTC)That movie is, of course, incompatible with any of the books, but I cut it some slack, because Baum wasn't consistent either. Whether his lack of interest was to blame is probable at least.