On The Wizard of Oz, films new and old and the books

James Franco as The WizardIs James Franco right for the Wizard in Disney's new film Oz: The Great and Powerful -- that's a question Laura Kennedy asks when she interviews me in a podcast about The Wizard of Oz films and books.  Here's a link to the podcast on WGLT (our local NPR station), which aired Friday, March 8.  You can hear my answer as well as information about the film of the new Oz and my thoughts on political allegories in the original books.

I also chatted about The Wizard of Oz with Jim Fitzpatrick on WJBC, the Voice of McLean County, two weeks ago.  Jan Susina with The Wizard of Oz bok

The media interest reflects, I think, that there's a genuine excitement about a new film based on The Wizard of Oz books. So far, the film is getting mixed reviews -- see reviews by Richard Roeper in The Sun-Times (reviewing instead of Roger Ebert) or Mahnola Dargis in The New York Times.  Yet, as Laura Kennedy points out in the podcast, the original MGM film was also somewhat panned by the critics.  But it gained a following through its own technological twist, aired repeatedly at Easter time on TV networks, that Baum would have appreciated.  Those annual telecasts insured that the film was cemented in children's imaginations and subconsciousness.  So whatever the critics think, our family is still going to see the film and be captivated.

And, I'm looking forward to teaching The Wizard of Oz in my children's literature class this spring.

File under O-Z.

Speaking on children's book censorship on WTVP's "At Issue"

I will be discussing children's book censorship on the Peoria PBS roundtable discussion show, "At Issue."  The show will air tonight (Thurs, Jan 10) at 8:30 pm on WTVP-HD, on FridaJan Susina speaking on WTVP's "At Issue"y at 8:30 pm on WTVP-World and Sunday at 4:30 pm on WTVP-HD.  Click here for a link to the show information.

Moderator H Wayne Wilson asked me to participate in the discussion about issues concerning censorship and banning of children's and young adult books.  Since I talk about this often in class, I was glad to contribute.  While book censorship may be somewhat on the decline, choosing which books to teach in a class is a difficult challenge for all teachers.  So in my classes I focus on helping education majors understand how and why they choose books and to be able to defend them as appropriate for the classroom.  Two librarians discussed issues of censorship by their patrons.  They noted that censorship is not too prevalent in the Peoria region.  However, challenges to books by parents continues throughout the country, including Illinois.

Thanks to H for inviting me.  He was a very thoughtful leader, just like Charlie Rose.  The other panelists -- Genna Buhr of the Fondulac District Library and Robert Koscielski who is the Associate Director of the Peoria Public Library -- were also engaging and had good perspectives on the topic as well.

Dickens' quotation books

The students in the Dickens course this semester made very creative quotation books.  The assignment was to keep track of interesting quotations in the Dickens books we were reading.  At the end of the semester, they were to hand in the quotation book.  It had to have quotations from each book and to have illustrations as well.  Lots of cool ideas: from quotes in a box, handmade books, re-imagined Moleskins, computerized layouts.  A fun assignment for me to grade.  Here's a photo of some of the quotation book results

"9 to 5," the Musical, opens at IWU

Music by Dolly Parton in this hilarious, slightly risque musical based on the film that's being staged in a great production at Illinois Wesleyan this week. Jacob plays the teen son. We've seen the rehearsals and it's fun! Scott Susong is doing an amazing job directing. If you remember what it was like to be a working girl or guy in the late 70s (or wonder how things have changed), you'll particularly find this funny. Nov. 13-17 (Tues- Sat) at 8 pm and Nov. 18 (Sunday) at 2 pm. Tickets: $12 Tue - Thurs. $14 on weekend.

Here's an opening preview from the local theatre blog A Follow Spot.

Just so you know, it's rated PG-13.  Jacob's role as teen son is a guy who gives his mom something (in a role originated by Lily Tomlin in the film version) that gets the story moving in an interesting direction, let's just say.  Jacob has explained that he's "playing against type."

Is reading dangerous?

Could reading fiction, especially stories with violence and death, be dangerous?  Mark West, my friend who is a professor of English at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, addressed this question on a recent segment of the television show "America Now." Here's the link to 'How reading habits affect personality.'

Mark says if a person habitually reads fiction, its likely a way for them to flee their own reality. It takes you out of your world and puts you into a more exciting world, it's a sense of escape essentially."

One of the appeals of reading is that escape from a typical day into a different world.  Readers learn about how the protagonists solve problems, fight demons, slay dragons.  We all don't have dragons to slay, anymore.  But reading fiction often helps get our wheels turning to think about how we can solve problems -- not with swords and guns -- but intelligently and smartly.

By the way, Mark's office, which is lined with books and objects related to contemporary culture, looks very cool. 

While re-reading Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend for the Dickens seminar this week, I am reminded how the novel often parallels contemporary life.  We are still concerned about dust, dirt and recycling, about the rich and the poor, about choosing the right person to marry. Reading Dickens, we can see how the characters approached their problems, and perhaps how we can avoid some of those mistakes, or perhaps not.