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There's no place like home

On Friday night, the family and I went to see a showing of The Wizard of Oz at the Loews Jersey. I had never seen Oz in a movie theater before—and what a theater! The (partially) restored Loews, built in 1929, is a faux Renaissance palace, complete with Corinthian columns, red plush carpeting, grand stairways and enormous chandeliers. It has boxes and balaconies, seating for 1,000, and a huge stage with a curtain. It's everything that cineplexes aren’t today and was a perfect setting to watch a classic film.

There are many aspects of Oz that are dated by today's standards: painted flats and mattes used as backdrops, for example. To me, it doesn't matter, though--it's a dream, after all, and the relatively primitive stagecraft just makes it seem more dreamlike. And many of the special effects hold up quite well--especially the tornado scene.

I must have seen this movie a hundred times on TV, but only as an adult have I come to understand that it has a deeper, underlying meaning—and that even though this is considered the quintessential American film, it’s meaning is actually almost . . . Buddhist. “Brains” (wisdom), “heart” (compassion), “courage” and “a home” are all found inside you—they’re not something that can be found “out there.” You must find them within you. And you won’t find them by just being informed that they are there (“she wouldn’t have believed me”), but only by finding out for yourself. That’s what everyone’s life journey (“follow the yellow brick road”) is all about. Each of those yellow bricks is an experience, a tiny, golden opportunity to learn.