Media Comparison Analysis

Introduction

Media comparison reveals important points about the text chosen, and conveys an intriguing analysis of the texts/works to the intended audiences. For the purpose, we have chosen to compare the media based on the films The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz. The wizard of Oz's first version of film media was released in the year 1939, while the remake with alterations (The Wiz) was released in the year 1978.

This analysis will go about, discussing how one version of the story differs from another and how well the directors have captured what was intended to telecast. The analysis will evaluate the message conveying ability of each version, to see if the right message has been communicated to the right person. It will also present, in the end, a verdict about the most preferable form of media, as it appears to the writer himself. Hence, a personal reflection of the analysis would be incorporated in the essay too. It will show us differences in experiencing each form, as the audience relate to each of the media in a differing manner.

Comparisons and Analyses

The series of the Wizard of oz were an undisputed masterpiece of cinema, that time has not aged at all; giving it a timeless aura remain intact over the centuries. The Wiz was released in the year 1978, giving a more concrete and well-developed version to the original book “The Wizard of Oz” (1939). It was a more updated version of the media that inspired young minds to be able to relate to the story on the whole. It developed a very interesting background about Dorothy's arrival to the magical world, and what happens ahead of her once she entered this new world. One of the most noticeable aspects of the newer film version was the length of the sequence that was presented in more details and intricacies as compared to the original book adaptation in 1939 (Swartz, pp. 100-144).

As with the original book, The Wizard of Oz showed Dorothy meet first Munchkins and the Good Witch of the North. However, The Wiz made Glinda the Good Witch of the North, not the South of the book, and she eventually appeared with the Wicked Witch of the West. The Wiz showed that the Witch possessed the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman was destroyed, and Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion kept struggling for a living. However, the 1939 film had the Witch capture just Dorothy and Toto, and leaves the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion without causing any harm or injury (Rockoff, pp. 739-60). The Wiz achieved more applause from literary and film critics than the 1978 film version. It also achieved greater profitability in terms of revenues collected from the film. While from financial points of view, the Wiz scored high on the scale than the 1939 movie adaptation, there are certain analysts that reveal that the newer version did not initially perform in attracting the audiences. However, it was maintained that the film was re-released in ...