Oz: The Great and Misogynistic

(SPOILER ALERT: I completely reveal major plot points of Oz: The Great and Powerful)

Just saw Oz: The Great and Powerful, which is supposed to be a prequel to the Wizard of Oz. The film is brought to us by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead and Spider-Man) and there are some obvious tells that show it is his movie. For the most part it is a fun fantasy film trying to cash in on a beloved childhood classic. But when you look at the film closer you see that at its core it’s kind of sexist.

First of all I would like to say I do not generally get offended by sexism in movies. I grew up in the eighties, the golden age of testosterone driven action films, so I’m pretty desensitized to this subject in films. But when four of the six main characters are women and the protagonist is such a manipulative jerk, it’s pretty tough to ignore. And it’s not subtle either. The female characters in this film are for the most part horribly portrayed.

The first big problem of the film is James Franco, playing the titular Oz. Oz is not the wise old man who shows the characters at the end of the original film they didn’t need the things they were searching for because they had them all the time. This Oz is just a plain old user. A womanizing magician in a traveling circus, we first meet Franco while he is giving some sob story about a dead grandmother to his newest potential sexual conquest. Presenting the girl with a music box he has her completely smitten even though his only purpose is to use her as a plant in the audience for his act.  This music box becomes a bit of a plot point as we see that Oz has several such boxes, which he uses to trick unwitting women. Interesting enough this is part of the inciting incident as we see Oz gave the wife of the circus strongman another such box and uses the hot air balloon to escape. So right off the bat, Oz is nothing more than just a guy running away from an angry husband.

So while Oz has been established as a jerk, nothing changes when he travels to the magical world that shares his name. As soon as Oz touches down in Oz, he meets one of the witches, Theodora. Seeing her as just another pretty face (which granted, being played by Mila Kunis she is gorgeous) he fall back on his womanizing ways. The very womanizing ways that got him in his situation in the first place. He even uses the same music box routine that got him in trouble. Despite surviving a balloon ride in a tornado, during which he even calls upon God for assistance, Oz has not changed a bit. And as bad as Oz is, I can’t completely forgive Theodora for falling for him. The character is set up as such a naïve and sheltered girl that she has no defense for dishonesty. She never questions anything that is told her. Oz claims to be the fabled Wizard who is predicted to save the land and she just goes along with it. In fact Oz has no greater ally in establishing his ruse than Theodora. She emphatically insists to everyone they meet that Oz is indeed a great and powerful wizard. Essentially the entire plotline revolves a young girl’s crush.

While Theodora plays the naïve girl in love, her sister Evanora portrays women as manipulative and power hungry. As anyone who watches the film for more than a second can tell Evanora is the “Wicked Witch” everyone fears yet no one seems to realize it is her (which seems odd since there are only three witches in the whole movie). Evanora, played by the amazing Rachel Weisz, is the stereotypical femme fatale. Her promises of riches and good times send Oz, our easily manipulated hero, on his journey to unknowingly fulfill her wishes. Further showing Evanora’s manipulative nature, she uses Theodora’s feelings for Oz to turn the naïve girl into the classic Wicked Witch from the Original Wizard of Oz. So out of the three female cast members of this film, two of them are evil.

The final member of the Witches trio is Glinda. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that she is supposed to be the “Good Witch”. The filmmakers even go so far as showing how Glinda resembles the great love of Oz’s life (who is getting married but wanted to give Oz one last chance). But even Glinda is not as pure and innocent as the film would like to portray her. Glinda is completely aware that Oz is a fake. Her father was the original Wizard but was murdered, but before he died he predicted another Wizard would come to save Oz. Glinda is well aware that Oz is not a wizard but she goes along with the ruse that he is magical in order to give her people hope. In many ways Glinda is just as manipulative as Evanora. Her lies are only forgiven because they are just end.

There is also the little China Girl (serious, she’s a girl made of porcelain) who whines and constantly demands attention from Oz. While she is there to be another reflection of a character Oz met in the real world (a little crippled girl who wanted Oz to make her walk) there comes a point where her constant clawing at Oz becomes annoying. She literally becomes a living embodiment of how fragile women and children can be, since she can break so easily. While she does have a redeeming moment at the end of the film, it is hard to shake that image of the fragile girl.

I realize this is a movie meant for kids (even though it is rated PG-13) and children will not see the same things I see. They’ll only see a movie where a magician travels to a magic land, makes friends with a monkey and fights witches. And to be honest, that’s all kids should see. But if a film like this has such sexist tones in its subtext, we as a society can not be surprised when children grow up to have such behavior as adults.