freaky gay:




NOT gay - just cool...

you forgot the gay flying monkeys

What the hell? Talk about a thread getting out of hand.

So I'm confused but what's with the whole Wizard of Oz and Gay theme? I've never understood it.

"Over the Rainbow" 'nough said

Is that really just it? I've always heard that but..seriously that's it?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Garland_as_gay_icon

That article actually postulates that the reason the gay pride flag is a rainbow is because of the song "Over The Rainbow."

Here's a short, uncomplicated explanation of something that (I'm assuming) has been the subject of doctoral dissertations.

Dorothy Gale is a girl who lives an uninteresting life in a dreary place.
She feels unappreciated, marginalized and persecuted.
She longs to go to a place (Over the Rainbow) where she can find happiness.

Dorothy is magically transported to the fantasy land Oz.
In Oz, Dorothy is not just accepted; she is the center of attention and a person of great importance.
She makes friends with incredible characters, and they spend time singing and dancing.

In the end, Dorothy discovers empowerment; the power to do whatever she wants lies within her.
She decides to go home. And when she does, she is reassured by her adoring family that she is truly loved.


"The Wizard of Oz" is principally a children's film, but one that holds a special appeal to [for lack of a better term] gay kids, because it operates as a metaphor for the feelings they have as they struggle to come to terms with their sexuality, and as wish fulfillment.

In addition, the relationship between "The Wizard of Oz" and gay culture involves:
--The special status the film achieved being broadcast annually on television as an Event
--The phenomenon of the post-WWII Baby Boom
--The gay rights movement of the late-60s and 70s, and that movement's desire to create and appropriate cultural touchstones
--And the emergence, in the latter part of her life, of Judy Garland as an gay icon and her celebration of that status

Is this why Pink Floyd put a rainbow prism on the cover of their "Dark Side of the Moon" album? Because I know we all have played that while watching Oz.....



--John

A lot of similarities with the equally gay Star Wars.

I've done it, and every time I see them skipping down the Yellow Brick Road, I feel like watching it that way again.

Heck, I bought the "Dark Side of Oz" DVD off of eBay a few years ago. No need to hook up the VCR and CD player to play in sync for that!

Given all this gay talk about WIZARD OF OZ, it's odd that MGM didn't simply assign somewhat openly gay George Cukor to direct it. Instead, they had man's man Victor Fleming (TREASURE ISLAND, CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, TEST PILOT) direct it. (Although Mervyn Leroy directed a lot of it uncredited.) Meanwhile Cukor was over at Selznick directing GONE WITH THE WIND, for eventual MGM release, until star Gable had him fired (allegedly over Cukor's knowledge of a blow job Gable had received, when he was a struggling actor, from then "he-man" silent star William Haines, who became an interior decorator when talkies came in). And who was Cukor replaced with? Victor Fleming! Although Sam Wood directed a lot of GWTW uncredited. So Fleming got the director credit on the two most memorable films of 1939.

And that's your film history lesson for today.

equal rights movement

The Tin Man did oil up his body frequently.

So, yeah, gay.

Cukor, whose great claim to fame as a director was his ability to work with actresses, DID work on "The Wizard of Oz" --coaching Garland's performance.

And that's your film history lesson for today.

Well, like the song says:

"Soft boys and closet queens
Think Judy Garland's keen"

Not all Gay guys are into it. My best friend (who's 44), doesn't like Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand. But he loves Dolly Parton (another Gay icon), so he still "counts"!