Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Interview #12

Dorothy Gale first appeared as a character about 1900, beginning with The Wizard of Oz.  A native of Kansas, orphaned, living with an aunt and uncle, she made repeat visits to Oz, eventually taking permanent residence in that fabled landscape in order to be close to her great friend, Ozma, the Queen of Oz.
Dorothy Gale:  Just don't go getting me started with Judy Garland questions.  I don't fucking want to talk about it.

Interviewer:  Then let's start with Kansas.

Dorothy Gale:  Some remarkable types living there,but not what you'd call a cultural capital.  No sense of connective tissue uniting ideas.

Interviewer:  What about the cultural opportunities in Oz?

Dorothy Gale:  Lots to do, lots to think about.  It was not an easy thing for a kid my age to become a role model, but role model I've become.  You see my first adventure, The Wizard of Oz, is a true representation of the dramatic paradigm.  Whose story is it?  Obviously mine.  What's the goal of the story?  Mine was simple enough, getting home?  Why should the reader care?  Judy Garland to the contrary notwithstanding,  I'm a simple kid with simple goals, and no movie mogul is slipping me uppers.  Having a place of one's own is important.  Being vulnerable is important for anyone wanting a career in publishing.

Interviewer: Were you making some kind of statement by taking up permanent residence in Oz?

Dorothy Gale:  You better believe it.  Kansas was a place where corn grows and where children are expected to grown up to fill templates of conventionalism, Future Farmers of America, creationists, a mediocre baseball team, schools that want to mess with the way a young person's mind is allowed to expand around ideas.  So next time you hear me reminding Toto we aren't in Kansas anymore, I hope   you'll grab on to the nuance.

Interviewer:  You're in effect saying--

Dorothy Gale:  I'm saying Darwin rocks.   The wizard told me, "I'm not a bad man, I'm just not a very good wizard."  The Kansas School Board is saying, "We're not bad people, we're just not very good administrators."

No comments: