AP Film Studies: Bleeding Kansas

Dorothy Gale is facing lobotomy. Oz is a wasteland dominated by a giant rock monster. An evil witch with a collection of interchangeable heads roams the land, while the folks walking a destroyed Yellow Brick Road include a rickety clock robot and a dude with a jack-o'-lantern atop his shoulders.

But there's something at its core that's mostly absent in children's cinema: It's a film about the consequences of action. When Judy Garland tapped her heels and escaped the Emerald City back in 1939, she was whisked away seemingly unscathed. But consider this: Dorothy accidentally killed one witch and straight-up murdered another. When she left, so did the Wizard. 

So of course Dorothy is scarred and in need of psychiatric help. Moreover, she's upset the delicate political balance of an entire world, removing one oppressive force—the Wicked Witch of the West—and then convincing its leader to flee, leaving it to be taken over by an evil new regime.

Say what you will about how Return to Oz tormented unsuspecting children. At least it showed what happens when an idiotic kid disrupts everything. It's a miracle the Scarecrow, with that fancy new brain, didn't think to spearhead a violent insurgency. Not yet, anyway. 

Also Showing: 

1. Normally, if a someone watched a masterpiece like Alien and said, “This was great, but it should be an action movie with even more aliens,” you’d punch him in the face. Because his name would be Michael Bay. Luckily, James Cameron made Aliens, and it’s bloody brilliant. Cinetopia Progress Ridge. 7 and 10 pm Wednesday, Oct. 29.

1. Bad Movie Nite returns to the Clinton Street, this time featuring a live performance by campfire-inspired songwriter Son of Sekonza and a mystery movie that’s guaranteed to be, well, bad. Clinton Street Theater. 9:30 pm Thursday, Oct. 30.

1. Film archivist Matthew Cowan presents Strange Tales, a collection of old clips that may or may not be haunted. Even if they’re not, 1920s footage of goiter surgery is sure to terrorize your dreams. PICA, 415 SW 10th Ave. 7:30 pm Thursday, Oct. 30.

1. Alain Resnais’s 1968 sci-fi oddity Je T’Aime Je T’Aime—a time-travel flick featuring the director’s characteristically subdued and introspective approach—screens with a newly restored print. NW Film Center’s Whitsell Auditorium, 7 pm Friday-Saturday, Oct. 31-Nov. 1.

1. V for Vendetta makes a strong case for conservative support of Measure 91. If we’re all nice and stoned, we probably won’t have the motivation to rise up and get in stylized knife fights with corrupt government officials. Laurelhurst Theater. Oct. 31-Nov. 6.

1. Screenwriter Peter S. Beagle presents his 1982 animated classic, The Last Unicorn, a film that spawned the dreams and notebook doodles of a generation of girls and bronies alike. Hollywood Theatre. 1 and 8 pm Saturday, 1 and 4:30 pm Sunday, Nov. 1-2.

1. Earlier this month, teams had three days to film their own horror flicks. Now, these films emerge from the darkness for the sixth annual GuignolFest. Clinton Street Theater. 9 pm Sunday, Nov. 2.

WWeek 2015