As a child, who didn’t watch The Wizard of Oz?
Do you remember the scene where Dorothy and her friends are traveling the yellow brick road to meet the great Wizard, and along that road they encounter a gorgeous field of poppies?
Well, the poppies are a nasty ol’ trick devised by the Wicked Witch of the West. The mean one intends to put a halt to Dorothy’s trip to the Emerald City. And she also wants those size six ruby-red slippers that defenseless Dorothy has on her feet. (The slippers belonged to the witch’s deceased sister, The Wicked Witch of the East, and the shoes have power attached to them.)
The poppy scene stands out so vividly in my mind because it’s such a great depiction of how off track we can become when enticed by (1) beauty and (2) red herrings, or those things designed to distract or throw us off track.
When I was a little girl, I was struck by the endless field of breathtaking poppies. They were bright, beautiful, and entrancing. And poisonous.
With Dorothy’s first sniff of the deadly flowers, I knew she’d been had.
I wanted to cry out (and probably did), “No! No! Don’t do it! It’s a trick!”
The moment Dorothy put her cute, little, button-turned nose to the very first poppy, her eyes grew heavy with sleep. She could no longer function, and that pretty field of poppies became her temporary dozing bed.
To a child, the impression was: Don’t be lured into something that looks too pretty. It might actually kill you!
As an adult, my reaction is still about the same: Don’t be fooled by something that’s neatly wrapped up and tied with a shiny bow. The gift might look appealing, but the result might just leave us holding an empty bag.
For instance, some examples that jump to mind:
- When specific items at the store are touted to be “roll backs” as others are
deceptivelymeticulously “rolled up.”
- When a “discounted” car wash is thrown in for just a few dollars more along with the price of gas.
- When advertisements tout the benefits of a new prescription drug on the market… And a laundry list of health hazards that go with it.
- When politicians clamor to diss their opponents only to tell us why their opponent’s behavior is unseemly.
- When our news media bombards us with the bad news while telling us “to look on the bright side.”
- When fast food chains tout the healthy ingredients in their products after health organizations “out” them for their bad ones.
- When television programs peg themselves as “family entertainment,” but offer disclaimers of “may not be suitable for all audiences.” Hmmm.
- When new vehicles come with a $2,000 rebate. Really? Is that before or after the other incentives? With a trade-in or without? Wearing our Sunday best or our Monday blue jeans?
Honestly, I think we should make the most of our poppies. We should stop and admire them.
I just prefer to sniff them from afar.
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Can you think of a movie from your childhood that left a life-long impression on you?
What were your take-aways from that movie?
Photo Credit: Nick Coombs/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Comments 8
I was just singing Over the Rainbow on the way to work this morning. LOL An updated version that is. We watched it every year. My mom loved it. The monkeys terrified me.
Author
Jess, those dreaded monkeys were the bane of every child’s nightmares!
Have a great weekend. Remember… stay out of the poppies!
I was five when Mary Poppins came out. I loved that movie and asked for and received a Mary Poppins bag for either Christmas or my birthday. My takeaways from the story are that it’s OK to dream and engage in flights of fancy and that people can really change, as Mr. Banks did.
Author
Keli, yes! I adored that movie! We still have it. I cheered when Mr. Banks recognized what he’d been missing and made the effort to change.
I had to laugh when I read your first line because I’m one of the few that didn’t watch The Wizard of Oz. I always got too scared. I guess that explains why I still can’t handle watching or reading anything remotely graphic. 🙂
Great takeaways, Cindy!
Author
Sarah, you’ve not seen The Wizard of Oz? Say it isn’t so! (But I have to admit…the wicked witch used to give me give me chills! Hint: She did get her just desserts if you’d like to give it a try again. And it does have a HEA ending.)
Anything graphic or gory isn’t my cup of tea either. I prefer the gentler side of life.
Happy weekend!
I remember watching the Wizard of Oz nearly every year, but would always lose interest. It was years before I ever saw them meet the Wizard, and I don’t remember the poppies at all. lol The first movie I ever saw in theater was “The Sound of Music,”I was ten or so. It was the first time I truly saw the world outside of my safe little neighborhood.
Author
Patti, so glad you finally got to see Dorothy and friends meet the Wizard of Oz! I was always fascinated with the twister as a child. Now that I’ve lived through several myself, that fascination has worn off.
I first saw The Sound of Music with my Nana. What a fond memory, and truly a classic film! Glad you ventured out of your neighborhood.