Today Gay History: 'The Wizard of Oz' Was Released

Contents:

• OVER THE RABOW: THE GAY MALE OBSSN WH THE WIZARD OF OZ
• CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; WHY OZ IS A STATE OF MD IN GAY LIFE AND DRAG SHOWS
• THE ENDURG (GAY?) APPEAL OF 'THE WIZARD OF OZ': MISTER OF CULTURE
• WIZARD OF OZ, THE: TIMELS FABLE (NEW MEANG, LGBTQ, GAY)
• ON THIS GAY DAY: ‘THE WIZARD OF OZ’ WAS RELEASED
• ‘FRIENDS OF DOROTHY’: HOW JUDY GARLAND BEME A GAY IN
• 'HELLO YELLOW BRICK ROAD' — SF GAY MEN'S CHOS PAYS HOMAGE TO ELTON JOHN AND OZ

OVER THE RABOW: THE GAY MALE OBSSN WH THE WIZARD OF OZ

Early on, durg my first ial days wh the gay culture of San Francis, I was bemed by the near reverential treatment paid to the film “The Wizard of Oz. The atmosphere around the theater was one of a relig procsn; all seemed like harmls fun; but, as wh all public spectacl gay culture – beyond the revelry was always a pervasively tragic overtone. At the time, for myself, was the send wave of gay aths om AIDS: wh the mic om the movie servg as some horrific funeral dirge.

CRITIC'S NOTEBOOK; WHY OZ IS A STATE OF MD IN GAY LIFE AND DRAG SHOWS

Most remarkably, is the homosexual male intifitn wh Dorothy herself; perfectly embodied by the equally happy and sad Judy Garland – whose untimely ath 1969 advertently sparked the Stonewall Rts. Along wh other glamoro, but ultimately self-stctive screen legends, like Jean Harlow, Joan Crawford, and Marilyn Monroe, gay men saw Garland the mirror for their own manic-prsive reali: feigng a perfect exuberance to the adorg mass while gog home alone and nursg the fterg wounds.

THE ENDURG (GAY?) APPEAL OF 'THE WIZARD OF OZ': MISTER OF CULTURE

Remds me of the strobg lights, imprsive sounds, and pyrotechnics at the San Francis “gay” dance clubs, or on a larger sle, at a Madonna ncert.

Furthermore, the three characters of the Srecrow, the T-man, and the Cowardly Ln, are also metaphors for the gay male fantasy: of fdg their perfected selv; nstantly dogged by a feelg of aquacy and missgns, that is forever and unntrollably throwg before your ey a sensatn that you are lackg; though cintly, as the characters fally fd out – was not wantg at all, but was wh them. Yet, the longgs are flawlsly realized and fulfilled the film; while gay men never really reach that sheltered existence of safety back at home.

Bee, “The Wizard of Oz” is sentially the daydream of gay fulfillment: that someone, or somethg, out there will offer the cure for all that ails.

WIZARD OF OZ, THE: TIMELS FABLE (NEW MEANG, LGBTQ, GAY)

It's based on the novel by gay thor Gregory Maguire, who's wrten several other books about the Oz while many of will always go over the rabow wh Judy Garland, 's clear there will be plenty of other yellow brick roads leadg to Oz.

It is, of urse, mon knowledge that Judy Garland is a gay in — beloved and worshiped by gay men of a certa age and class — but what else explas the ubiquo referenc to “Oz” drag performanc and the nam of bars and bs terg to the muny?

It would be a mistake to nfe a discsn of The Wizard of Oz to a certa class of gay men, but seekg a pot of orig, there is a domant narrative of queer history which “Oz” and Garland were important parts of a mostly whe, middle-class, urban gay male subculture by the 1950s. The orig of the exprsn “Friend of Dorothy, ” which beme a phrase ed by gay men to intify themselv to each other, is lost to history — may have predated this era, and may not even refer to Garland’s role the movie, but the belief that do is wispread (another possibily is that refers to Dorothy Parker, who was also a iend to gays).

ON THIS GAY DAY: ‘THE WIZARD OF OZ’ WAS RELEASED

Acrdg to “Oz” scholar Dee Michel, who is wrg a book on “Oz” and gay men, there are certa beliefs about the film and the LGBT muny that persist spe of a lack of clear historil evince. “The beliefs, ” he said, “overlap and rerce each other and have bee part of gay folklore, creasg our sense of history and rercg gay inty.

Other prt referenc to “Oz” as an unrground culture shared by gay men seem to show up the 1970s and ’80s, lookg back and attemptg to expla the appeal of the film. The explanatns often take the form of an intifitn of gay men and others wh a girl om a small muny who is misunrstood by her fay, who is whisked away to a place where she be iends wh characters who seem like they uld be gay men (pecially the Cowardly Ln, who refers to himself as a “sissy” and “dandy ln”).

The story beme a metaphor for the real-life dreams and experienc of gay men who left middle Ameri for the gay muni of New York Cy and San Francis, which were analogized to Oz or the Emerald Cy.

‘FRIENDS OF DOROTHY’: HOW JUDY GARLAND BEME A GAY IN

Garland’s stggl seemed to mirror those of gay men at the time, and she was admired for risg above her problems performance, although as she noted herself, she was never able to get over the rabow her life off the stage or screen. Neverthels, gay folklore and film ntue to tell the story, que possibly imposg the perspective of whe, cisgenr gay male historians on an event that was largely the work of queer and trans people of lor.

Ten years later, at the 1979 March on Washgton, acrdg to Michael Bronski, lbian sger Holly Near end her set wh Over the Rabow, llg the gay natnal anthem.

'HELLO YELLOW BRICK ROAD' — SF GAY MEN'S CHOS PAYS HOMAGE TO ELTON JOHN AND OZ

The Wiz, a Broadway mil produced by a black gay man and adapted as a film starrg Diana Ross, occupi an important place both black and gay culture, as evinced by the muny-watch parti and Twter rpons to the recent live broadst on NBC. After the suici aths of several young people the fall of 2010, cludg Rutgers Universy stunt Tyler Clementi, crowds gathered for a vigil New York’s Washgton Square Park, wavg rabow-lored glow sticks while openly gay Broadway star Cheyenne Jackson led them sgg Over the Rabow. Wh this year’s Osr race celebratg a batn of gay characters (Brendon Fraser The Whale, Cate Blanchett Tár), mp ins (Angela Bassett, Lady Gaga, Michelle Yeoh), and, Everythg Everywhere All At Once’s Stephanie Hsu, the first openly queer actor nomated for playg a queer character sce Ian McKellen 1998 (pl all the nods for Baz Luhrman’s Elvis, a movie that provis a one-word answer to the qutn, “Alexa, fe mp?

There’s no overt sexualy or romance of any kd here, and (probably) no tentnal queer dg, but such is the power of The Wizard of Oz and s star, all-time-one-off Judy Garland, that s imagery is synonymo wh gay culture. Friend of Dorothy has been slang for gay men for years (some chalk this up to Judy Garland, beloved of gay men everywhere, while others pot to the origal Oz books and the le “you have some queer iends, Dorothy”), Over the Rabow is arguably the most important song gay culture, as anyone who has heard Ruf Wawright sgg will tell you, and rabows themselv are part of the fabric of Pri.

Todd Hayn “The only bs that I liked Velvet Goldme were the gay bs”, said David Bowie, the unwillg spiratn for Todd Hayn’ thly-veiled Ziggy Stardt tribute act. ” Bowie is right about the “gay bs” but uncharacteristilly wrong about the rt – there’s plenty to enjoy this glter-hearted, sumptuo tale of nce.