![]() ![]() Do you really believe you have the power to go to Kansas?.This moment, I would argue, is the Final Struggle as it poses two existential questions to Dorothy: Dorothy just has to click her heels and repeat, “There’s no place like home.” The Good Witch shows up and tells Dorothy she had the power to go home all along.Instead, the Professor flies away leaving Dorothy stranded.The Professor declares he will take Dorothy back to Kansas via his hot air balloon. ![]() Chastised, the Professor fulfills the wants of Dorothy’s three friends: a diploma for Scarecrow, a medal of valor for Lion, and a testimonial heart-shaped watch for Tin Man.Toto pulls back the curtain revealing the Professor and his controls which create the illusion of the Wizard of Oz.They confront the Wizard who brushes aside the Wicked Witch’s broom and tells Dorothy to go away.The Witch’s guards, happy to see the witch dead, allow Dorothy and her friends to go free.Nemesis with Dorothy prevailing by slaying the witch (“I’m melting!”), but here’s the thing: If I say ‘Final Struggle’ in relation to that movie, your mind may lock in on this scene: It’s largely a psychological struggle, not a physical one. For instance, we see this dynamic in The Shawshank Redemption with Red’s story wherein he confronts a choice: Follow the path Brooks laid out - in effect one that says, “Get busy dying” - or live up to the promise Red made to Andy by going to that field with the tree, then heading off to Mexico to meet up with his old friend (“Get busy living”). However sometimes the Final Struggle is less a physical battle than it is a psychological one. And there are plenty of movies in which this is the case: We may tend to think of the climax of a story as the Big Battle… Protagonist versus Nemesis in the ultimate test to see who will win the day. Therefore I was inspired to take on a week-long series focusing on screenwriting lessons we can draw from The Wizard of Oz. Why? Because it contains so many classic narrative elements. Joel Coen of the Coen brothers has said: “Every movie ever made is an attempt to remake The Wizard of Oz.” True or not, all I know is I constantly reference the film in my teaching. ![]()
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