Transcript Black Youth & the Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Black Youth &
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
By Agyei Tyehimba
©2012
Problems Confronting our Youth
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Teenage Pregnancy and Promiscuity
Violence/Gangs
Incarceration
Lack of motivation/respect
Using/Selling Drugs
Poor School Performance/Dropping Out
Little connection to history and culture
The Wizard of Oz?
• Not just another children’s movie
• Provides symbols, actions, and
truths we can use to understand
the problems our youth face in
society
• Let’s summarize the characters
and plot to see how they relate to
our youth
SUMMARY
• Dorothy finds herself in a new and strange place far away
from her home
• She meets up with three main characters who like her, have a
problem
• They are told to follow the yellow-brick road to “Oz” where
they will find the all-powerful and wise “Wonderful Wizard”
who will solve their problems
• The “Wicked Witch of the West”, threatened by their unity
and quest for empowerment, sends several traps/obstacles
their way to sabotage their progress
• They eventually meet the Wizard and the story concludes
Understanding the Characters
Character
Problem
What problem
Represents
Dorothy
Away from home
and can’t get back
Being lost, confused, and
disconnected from God
and culture
The Scarecrow
Has no brain
Lack of intelligence and
capability
The Lion
Has no courage
Low self-esteem, lack of
confidence, failure to
claim authority
The Tin Man
Has no heart
Being insensitive,
lacking compassion and
humanity
In the clip you’re about to see, notice
how the “Wicked Witch of the West”,
(get it, the WEST?) observes the
actions of our characters from a great
distance. How can she do this? She
uses a crystal ball, today’s wicked
witches use cameras, satellites, and
surveillance devices.
Poppy Fields?
That’s right, the Wicked Witch of the West,
looking to sabotage the empowerment of these
characters, sends them through Poppy fields,
causing most of them to fall asleep. And guess
what is produced from Poppie plants? Opium
and Heroin! So she introduces them to narcotic
drugs in an effort to derail their forward
progress, sound familiar?
The Wizard is a Fake!
Our misinformed and misled characters
have discovered that the “wizard” is nothing
but an ordinary man. He has no special
powers at all; he has deceived people into
obeying and fearing him through the skillful
use of gadgets and propaganda. Sound
familiar? In the next clip, notice how he
gives them symbols of the things they seek,
and admits that he has no power to give
them what they already had the whole time!
Confronting the “Wizard”
Bringing it Together
• This society and its institutions work to turn our youth into
The Lion (no courage or self-esteem), The Scarecrow (no
intelligence or capability), and The Tin Man (Insensitive,
impolite, dangerous). When you add all of these qualities
together you have Dorothy (someone who is lost, confused,
and disconnected from God and culture)
• Our youth are often steered into “poppy fields” to sabotage
their progress (drugs, incarceration, gangs, dropping out of
school, etc.)
• Our youth are taught to believe not in the authority of God,
or themselves,but of men and women who set themselves up
as gods
What We Must Do
• Provide our children with a strong spiritual foundation so they
don’t bow to false gods, or become afraid of wicked witches!
• Create opportunities for our children to develop a sense of
achievement and accomplishment
• Imbue our children with knowledge of their ancestors,
culture, and history (“There’s no place like home”)
• Teach our children to be leaders and problem-solvers; create
opportunities for them to develop and utilize these skills
• Teach that education and self-improvement are nonnegotiable and mandatory in your household
• Connect them to good “witches,” or mentors
If you’d like to contact me with questions
or comments, feel free to email me at
[email protected]
I also encourage you to visit my website:
www.freewebs.com/agyei143