The Wizard of Oz has been called a political allegory inspired by the real life economic struggles during the early 19th century, but Wicked seems to be a social commentary on racial injustice and discrimination. Throughout the book we see as our main character, Elphaba, who is green being treated unfairly due to her skin color. We witness the discrimination of sentient beings by the mistreatment of the Animals vs the animals and the classism of Oz as the Quadlings are murdered for being less intelligent. All of these mirror the very real life landscape of racial injustice people of color have faced in America and around the world. The ranking of Ozians based on societal values also loosely mirrors the caste system where humans are treated differently based on skin color and socio-economic standing.
Wicked and The Wicked Years Series is a retelling of The Wizard of Oz, from the perspective of Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West. However, the original Oz series was published 95 years before by author L. Frank Baum. This IRL is dedicated to the Original Wizard of Oz Series. Read More Below.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz was published in 1900 by American children’s author L. Frank Baum in 1900 when he was 44. By his death in 1919 he had written 13 other books set in the magical land of Oz, as well as 41 other novels excluding 4 lost, unpublished novels, 83 short stories, over 200 poems, and at least 42 scripts.
Most of the characters from Wicked seem to be from the original Wizard of Oz, however, Madame Morrible and Doctor Dillamond seem to have been specifically created for the purposes of our story.
The Wizard of Oz was received with critical acclaim when it was first released in 1900 and has become a classic among American literature. A well known children’s story, the first installment has been considered a political allegory by economists. The book is said to be inspired by the real life economic struggles during the Gold Standard, in the early 19th century.
During the filming of The Wizard of Oz several tragedies occurred that inspired the rumor about the film being cursed. The Tin Man’s makeup was silver in color and contained aluminum powder, which actor Jed Clampett was severely allergic to, causing him to spend weeks in the hospital barely able to breathe and suffering muscle contractions and more time away from the studio to fully recover. While he was gone Clampett’s job was given away to actor Jack Haley. Haley’s costume was so stiff that the only way he got a rest was by using a leaning board. The Cowardly Lion’s costume was made from real lion hide, weighed tons and was dangerously hot. Margaret Hamilton who played the Wicked Witch was severely burned during filming and her stunt double was also injured in another on-set accident. Judy Garland was given a steady stream of adrenaline shots to pep her up during filming and then Seconal to help her sleep at night. The snow in the poppy scene was pure asbestos chrysotile fibers. The Scarecrow’s costume and the Wicked Witch’s broom were also made from the carcinogenic material.
It is generally accepted that Dorothy is from Kansas but L. Frank Baum never stated which town. In 1981, a house was moved to the grounds of the Coronado Museum and transformed into a replica of the house shown in the movie and Kansas Governor John Carlin recognized it as the official home of Dorothy Gale. A 5,000 square foot “Land of Oz” which was originally displayed in Topeka was moved adjacent to Dorothy’s house in 1992. Visitors can tour both attraction for $7.
Special thanks to @BewareTheSphere from Redditt who did the math to confirm this. According to the original novel despite Dorothy only being asleep a few hours, she was actually in Oz for approximately 52 days. Spending several days and nights traversing the Ozian terrain before Glinda sends her home.
Just like in Wicked the original Wizard of Oz featured silver slippers instead of ruby ones. MGM was content to leave them silver however, since the movie was going to be in Technicolor, studio heads decided to change the shoes to Ruby as the bright red would contrast better against the yellow brick road.
In Wicked, Elphaba is green and has an allergy to water. Though a rare condition, having a water allergy is a very real affliction. Called Aquagenic Urticaria, a person’s skin can develop red, itchy hives after exposure to water. Approximately 50 cases of the condition have been reported in medical literature.
It was first reported in 1964. In aquagenic urticaria, hives appear on the skin, usually on the chest, abdomen, pelvis, back and/or arms after exposure to water. The hives occur when the skin comes into contact with any type of water, including rain, snow, sweat and tears. In severe cases, it can cause wheezing or shortness of breath. Women are more affected than men. The hives can last 30 minutes to 2 hours before going away. Treatments are available but symptoms usually go away on their own.
Reactions do not typically occur when drinking water because the water doesn’t touch the skin. Some people may experience symptoms on the lips or inside the mouth. Since water avoidance is not a realistic practice, treatment with medications is often needed.
Treatments can be antihistamines, topical medications are effective in most cases. Creams form a barrier between the skin and water. The creams are usually petroleum-based or an oil-in-water emulsion, topical medications are effective in many cases. Ointments can help form a barrier between the skin and water. Patients are advised to apply a cream or an oil-in-water emulsion prior to water exposure. If oral antihistamines and topical treatments are not effective, there are other options. Phototherapy has been used to treat aquagenic urticaria successfully in some patients.
Did You Know That Water Allergies Was A Real Condition?
Ava Gardner was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars during the 1940s and 1950s, an Oscar nominated actress she co- starred with Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, and Humphrey Bogart over the span of her career. Born Ava Lavinia Gardner, she was the youngest of seven children from Grabtown, North Carolina. Her career began at age 18, after her brother in law displayed her photo in the front window of his Tarr Photography Studio on Fifth Avenue.
In 1988 following a stroke which paralyzed the left side of her face and after having been diagnosed with emphysema which wreaked havoc on her vocal chords,she’d convinced British author, Peter Evans to ghost write her memoirs. The book based on conversations Evans had with Gardner between 1988 and 1990. Didn’t see publication until 2013, after both Evans and Gardener has passed on.
Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations detailed her transition to Hollywood “It Girl” from her beginnings as an unknown in rural North Carolina. Her thoughts on Hollywood and the people in it it also included personal accounts of her notable dallainces including (but not limited to ) her marriages to actor Mickey Rooney, crooner Frank Sinatra and band leader Artie Shaw.
Gardener stated the reasoning behind the book was money. “I either write the book or sell the jewels,” Gardner told coauthor Peter Evans, “and I’m kinda sentimental about the jewels.”
Though the pair worked on the book for two years the project was inevitably aborted by Ava. Ex husband, Frank Sinatra, and co-author Peter Evans had bad blood between them. Sinatra had previously sued Evans for a previous article written. It is speculated that Sinatra asked Gardner how much she stood to make from the book, then gave her that amount to shut down the project.
In 2009, approximately twenty years after her death, her estate gave Evans the greenlight to move forward with the book. Evans had still been working on the piece when he passed away in August of 2012 at the age of 78. The book was published in July 2, 2013.
In The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo in order to reach the level of stardom she craved Evelyn Hugo had to undergo a complete transformation and recreate herself as per the studio standards. However, the Star System machine that existed in the book was a real thing.
In 1910, Independent Moving Picture Company advertised and credited “stars” like Little Mary, King of the Movies and The Biograph Girl making them household names an idea that generated publicity and skyrocketed ticket sales. Fan magazines like Photoplay and Motion Picture Magazine were published in 1916 garnering close to half a million.
Filmmakers like Cecil B. Demille exploited the public’s fascination with celebrities by using close – ups, filling the screen with gorgeous faces would soon become the trade mark of Hollywood. Stars like Mary Pickford (Little Mary), William King Baggot (King of the Movies) and Florence Lawrence (The Biograph Girl) became household names, ushering in a new way of production.
From the late 20s to the early 60s studios created and managed movie stars based on idealistic personas, fitting into real life public characters was emphasized more than whether or not the celebrities were talented actors/actresses. Studios molded and publicized their stable. Actors were contractually obligated to promote and protect these personas.
The star system was standard practice by the mid-1930s. All casting was type casting, and names of stars-to-be were often changed to fit archetypes. With the exception of gangsters, leading actors played idealized characters largely based on historical, romance, adventure or Western novels. On-screen wholesomeness was strict enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code, not even movies’ gangsters missed a shave or swore on screen. Meanwhile, studio publicists built wholesome off-screen images of stars that no actor could live up to and covered up scandals when actors did not.
“A star is made, created; carefully and cold-bloodedly built up from nothing,” said Louis B. Mayer. “All I ever looked for was a face. If someone looked good to me, I’d have him tested. If a person looked good on film, if he photographed well, we could do the rest.”
Star making could include changing the actor’s name; coaching the actor in diction, posture, horseback riding, dancing, singing, fencing, and other skills; physical enhancements could include makeup, hair styling and hair replacement; fitness training and cosmetic surgery.
During the 1950s Hollywood made stars our of Roy Scherer (Rock Hudson), Norma Mortensen (Marilyn Monroe), Ira Grossel (Jeff Chandler), Bernard Schwartz (Tony Curtis), Alexandra Zuck (Sandra Dee) and Eugene Orwitz (Michael Landon).
Excerpt from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo “I knew what it would mean, playing Jo. I knew Jo was a white woman. And still, I wanted it. I hadn’t gotten on my back just to take baby step. “Jo,” I said. “Give me Jo.” And in so doing, I set the star machine in motion.” Harry introduced me to studio stylist Gwendolyn Peters. Gwen bleached my hair and cut it to a shoulder length bob. She shaped my eyebrows. She plucked my widow’s peak. I met with a nutritionist, who made me lose six pounds exactly, mostly by taking up smoking and replacing some meals with cabbage soup. I met with an elocutionist, who got rid of the New York in my English, who banished Spanish entirely. And then, of course, there was the three -page questionnaire I had to fill out about my life until then… “From now on, your mother died in an accident, leaving your father to raise you. He worked as a builder in Manhattan, and on weekends during the summer, he’d take you to Coney Island. If anyone asks , you love tennis and swimming, and you have a Saint Bernard named Roger.” I sat for at least 100 publicity photos…it was sometime during those weeks of photo shoots that it hit me. “I was being designed to be two opposite things, a complicated image that was hard to dissect but easy to grab on to. I was supposed to be both naïve and erotic. It was as if I was too wholesome to understand the unwholesome thoughts you were having about me.”
Very similar to the transformation Evelyn Hugo had to undergo, Maragarita Cansino’s transformation to Rita Hayward was just as grueling. Born to a spanish and an Irish – American mother, her arrival to Hollywood in the 1930s saw an exhaustive makeover that eliminated most traces of her ethnicity and transformed her into the woman we know today. In addition to restrictive diets and extreme exercise regimens she was also convinced to abandon her birth name and went through two years of painful electrolysis to change her low, dark hairline. She was cast as someone who was worth years of investment and work, whose ambition propelled her past what Hollywood considered her “faults” and who, despite being completely manufactured, somehow still retained a genuine appeal. This paradox persists to this day: we want to know that stars, despite their fame and fortune, really are “just like us.”
Even though her ethnicity itself was used as a marker of the fact that she was an authentic star worth uncovering through years of careful production. One of her greatest paradoxes, “is that she can be read as ethnic or American, but also as ethnic and therefore American.”
To attain her coveted spot in Hollywood, Hayworth had to transcend not just her waistline or her hairline, but her own ethnicity, writes McLean—even though her ethnicity itself was used as a marker of the fact that she was an authentic star worth uncovering through years of careful production. One of her greatest paradoxes, “is that she can be read as ethnic or American, but also as ethnic and therefore American.”
Did you know about The Star System? Which celebrities do you know by different names? Leave A Comment Below!
Just like our title character Evelyn Hugo, starlet Elizabeth Taylor had Seven husbands of her own. She was actually married a total of Eight times, marrying one lucky man twice. In Real Life who were the Seven husbands of Elizabeth Taylor.
Hubby #1 (1950-1951) was hotel magnate Conrad Nicky Hilton, they were married for just under a year much like Evelyn’s first marriage to Ernie Diaz. However, more like her marriage to Don Adler, Elizabeth’s first marriage to Conrad was organized by MGM studios. Liz wanted was eager to marry young, as she was brought up with puritanical beliefs. Unfortunately; just like Evelyn, she soon regretted the decision. The Hilton heir was apparently an abusive alcoholic, much like Don. Lucky for Elizabeth Taylor, the pair divorced after only eight months.
Hubby #2 (1952 – 1957) A year after she divorced Conrad Hilton, she married British actor Michael Wilding. He was 20 years older than she and the pair had two sons Michael and Christopher. Allegedly three years into the marriage Wilding booked strippers to visit him in their home while Liz was filming a movie. After five years of marriage the couple divorced.
Hubby# 3 (1957 – 1958) Never to stay unwed for too long, Liz married producer, Michael Todd one month after finalizing her divorce from Michael Wilding. They got married while she was pregnant with their child, a daughter, Elizabeth Todd. Sadly within the first year of their marriage Michael Todd died in a plane crash, which left Li “Half – Crazed” with grief.
Hubby #4 (1959 – 1964) Evelyn married rock star Mick Riva after a few months and had the marriage annulled shortly after. Elizabeth Taylor married singer Eddie Fisher and was best friends with Liz’s late husband Michael Todd. It’s possible that the two began seeing each other during the time she was grieving following Todd’s death. Eddie Fisher was married to Debbie Reynolds during that time, so the pairing was a bit scandalous. They were married for five years.
Hubby #5 (1964 – 1974 and 1975 – 1976) Having started an affair with co-star, Richard Burton, while on the set of Cleopatra, he is often called the love of her life. Both were still married to other people at the time and were condemned by the Vatican for erotic vagrancy. Elizabeth Taylor married Richard Burton nine days after finalizing her divorce from Eddie Fisher. The couple married twice, the first time for 10 years before getting divorced in 1974. They tried to reignite their romance a year later, in 1975 but it wasn’t successful due to Taylor’s alcoholism and Burton’s infidelity. The pair divorced a year later.
Hubby# 6 (1976 – 1982) Liz stepped out of her usual dating pool and married politician John Warner five months after their first date. Having divorced Richard Burton the second time, Taylor’s notoriety helped Warner’s electoral campaign. The couple were married for six years, but Elizabeth Taylor grew bored with Washington, D. C. her alcoholism and drug dependency worsened and the couple divorced in 1982.
Hubby# 7 (1991 – 1996) The final husband of Elizabeth Taylor was to American construction worker Larry Fortensky, the pair met in rehab and married at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. The were only married for five years divorcing in 1996, but they kept in touch until her death in 2011. Taylor had bequeathed him $825,000 from her estate after she passed.
Perhaps the lives and loves of Evelyn Hugo were based on the real life romances of Elizabeth Taylor. Both married actors, producers, musicians and politicians, neither were ever really single for long and often endured salacious marriages the tabloids followed carefully. Maybe Liz and Evelyn shared a similar secret?
Did you know about The Seven Husbands of Elizabeth Taylor? What was your favorite Elizabeth Taylor film? Leave A Comment Below!
I absolutely loooove a good book, but find me a good movie and you’ll find me on the couch. I’ve spent plenty of weekends binging Netflix suggestions and before there was streaming we had a giant wall of DVDs and VHS tapes. My mother still does. Though I absolutely love books, plenty of my friends can’t quite get into the habit. Some people are more visual than others. So I started this list for my wonderful friends who are not as literary inclined as I. For people who would rather just watch the movie. If that sounds more like you, then feel free to check out some of these titles.
This week’s for Watcher’s post is all about The Golden Age of Hollywood. Each of these movies came out in the 40s and featured some of the greatest names of that day. I made sure to add a few films from Elizabeth Taylor, Rita Hayward and Ava Gardner too.
Cabin in the Sky (1943) Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, Duke Ellington, Star Studded Black Cast
Just finished reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and I am just in awe of that book. It was amazingly well written and I’ve already loaned a copy to my coworker who’s found herself unable to put it down. I do love a good historical fiction, especially one that leaves you wondering which parts are fact and which parts are made up.
If you are looking for more juicy historical fictions like this one check Bleu’s Other Reads List below!
Welcome to another episode of Books and Looks, where I, Noel Bleu, review a new book while doing my makeup. Some days I match the look to the Books cover, sometimes I try to match the theme. This week’s episode is all about The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. We’re going for a Hollywood Green Glam.
If you want to check out the full literary review! Click Here to head over to the Bleu’s Reviews article
Have you read the book? Have an idea for a look? Leave a comment below!
Have You Read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo? Do You Have an Idea for A Look? Leave A Comment Below!
Welcome to the very first episode of Books and Looks, where I, Noel Bleu, review a new book while doing my makeup. Some days I match the look to the Books cover, sometimes I try to match the theme. This week’s episode is all about Fledgeling by Octavia Butler. We’re going for a Melanin Vamp makeup look.
If you want to check out the full literary review! Click Here to head over to the Bleu’s Reviews article
Have You Read Fledgeling? Do You Have an Idea for A Look?
Blu Moon Fiction 