Story Design

by Richard Michaels Stefanik

  The Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz questions them then explains that he knows why each of them has come to him, as the pink-rose colors of Glenda now filter in with the orange flames. The Tinman wants a heart, the Scarecrow, a brain, and the Lion wants courage. He intimidates them all, but the Lion faints when it becomes his turn. The Lion, thereby, physically demonstrates his lack of courage. Dorothy becomes outraged with moral indignation. This is the second time she behaves this way, the first being in the forest when confronting the Lion.

  [Dorothy has a strong code of ethics, which expresses itself as outrage and moral indignation when she believes that some injustice is being committed.]

  She reprimands the Wizard for frightening the Lion who came to him for help. The Wizard orders her to be silent, then states that he has every intention of granting their requests. Upon hearing these words the Lion awakes. But first they must prove themselves worthy by bringing him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West.

  The Scarecrow, (again thinking ahead), states that they'd have to kill her to get it, and the Lion fears that she may kill them first. But, in response, the Wizard shouts that they should go! The terrified Lion runs down the hallway and jumps through a window.

  [The last lines of the scene concentrate on the jeopardy and great danger involved in getting the Witch's broomstick. It may indeed be a life and death situation.]

  [The structure of Wizard of Oz is divided into a prelude and three acts. The prelude consists of the opening scenes shot in black and white, with Dorothy in Kansas. This introduces all the basic characters along with their individual objectives and the dramatic objective of the protagonist: to find a place where there are no problems. The first act contains Dorothy's arrival in Oz, meeting her antagonist, the Wicked Witch of the West, establishing her new objective, which is to get back home, and her primary subgoal, which is to get to the Emerald City and have the Wizard of Oz help her home. Also in this act, she meets the three companions who have their own objectives of obtaining the qualities of intelligence, compassion, and courage, that will be needed for Dorothy to eventually get home ( "home" being a sense of safety and security)].

  [At the end of the first act we have the first "plot twist"

  or what some screenwriters have called a "plot point." Accomplishing their subgoal (i.e., arriving at Oz and meeting the Wizard), they discover that this subgoal does not help them to achieve their primary objectives. This is the twist. What was expected to happen does not. Now they are assigned another sub-objective by the Wizard: bring him the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West, and then he'll grant them their primary objectives. This will constitute the second act. But we know at the end of the second act another "plot twist" will occur, because even though they bring the Wizard the broomstick, he still cannot give them what they desire.]

  [The broomstick is a concrete object that Dorothy and her companions must obtain. The abstract value associated with this is "worthiness" (or having proved their "virtue" under trial). This object also intensifies the struggle, because now it becomes a matter of high danger and life or death, since they may have to kill the witch to get her broomstick.

  The bond between the protagonist and antagonist is now solidified even more. Dorothy has something that the Witch wants, the Ruby Slippers, and the Witch has something that Dorothy needs to get home, the broomstick. This foreshadows the ultimate confrontation and climax between Dorothy and the Witch, and intensifies the audience's involvement in the story.]

  Dorothy and companions fearfully walk through a dark forest up to a sign which states:

  HAUNTED FOREST. WITCHES CASTLE 1 MILE. I'D TURN BACK IF I WERE YOU.

  [Establishes that the characters are in extreme jeopardy]

  Lion reads this sign and immediately tries to run away. He growls but then is frightened by two owls. He starts to leave but is picked up by the Tinman and Scarecrow and turned around. They talk about spooks. The Tinman asserts that he doesn't believe in spooks. Suddenly, he is lifted up into the air, then dropped from the heights and hits the ground with a clang. The Lion, terrorized, closes his eyes and prays: "I do believe in spooks, I do, I do!"

  [Establishes danger from the supernatural-mysterious unseen forces that can do harm. This heightens the audience's state of excitement.]

  INTERCUT – WITCH’S CASTLE:

  The forest scene is displayed in the Witch's crystal ball. She cackles with glee then orders her flying Monkeys to attack the group, capture Dorothy, and bring back the Ruby Slippers. The winged monkeys, dressed in blue-red uniforms, jump off the balcony and fly across the sky.

  They attack the group in the forest, tear up the Scarecrow, then fly away with Dorothy and Toto.

  [The antagonist succeeds in accomplishing her subgoal: getting Dorothy with the Ruby Slippers. Now she must get the Ruby Slippers from Dorothy. Traditionally, the second act belongs to the antagonist. In these scenes the Witch has most of the victories and holds the dominant position.]

  The Tinman and Lion try to put the Scarecrow back together, while having a bit of humorous dialogue. Tinman: "That's you all over." Lion: "Sure knocked the stuffings out of you."

  [Here is an example of using humor to relieve tension after

  a terrifying scene. The audience needs to relax and laugh, especially since Dorothy, the character for whom they have the most empathy, has just been carried off to her doom.

  The comments of the Tinman and the Lion are “surprising deviations from normal patterns of social behavior,” for

  one doesn't joke about a friend who has just been torn apart, unless, as in this case, the damage is easy to repair and no real harm was done.]

  WITCH'S CASTLE:

  The Witch holds Toto in her hands then places him in a basket as she speaks with Dorothy. This is reminiscent of the earlier scene when Elmira Gulch placed Toto in a basket. The Witch offers to trade Toto for the Ruby Slippers. Dorothy refuses. The Witch then tells her winged-monkey to take the basket and throw it into the river and drown the dog. Dorothy relents, and tells the Witch that she can have the slippers.

  [This is an example of using a "prop" (in this case Toto) to reveal the emotional conflict within a character. The audience clearly knows how Dorothy feels about Toto, and they empathize with her.]

  [The protagonist is forced to make a decision between two things that she values: the life of the faithful dog she loves, or the slippers that Glenda said would protect her from the Witch. She chooses the life of her faithful companion, and thereby, places her own life in jeopardy.

  [It is in these situations, when characters are forced to choose between objects of value, the true nature of the person is revealed (i.e., their value system with its priorities).]

  The Witch tries to take the slippers from Dorothy, but as she reaches down for the shoes, she receives an electrical shock. The Witch remembers that the shoes will never come off Dorothy as long as she is alive. She then decides to kill Dorothy. Her only concern is that the murder be done delicately, so as not to destroy the power of the Ruby Slippers.

  [This is a standard value system of the antagonist- ruthless disregard for human life when it's an obstacle to their objective. In her lust for absolute power, the Witch will kill anyone who stands in her way.]

  Toto jumps from the basket and runs out of the room. The Witch orders the monkey after the dog. Toto runs down the staircase, over the drawbridge then jumps to the other side of the embankment. Dorothy cries with joy at his escape.

  [Another standard value of the protagonist is joy at seeing a friend survive, even if they themselves are doomed.]

  The Witch fumes with anger then turns over an hour glass that is filled with red sand. She tells Dorothy that she'll die when the sands run through the hour glass. The background music plays a mocking version of “Over the Rainbow,” as if laughing at the prospects of an ideal world that's problem free. The red sand in the hourglass trickles away, a metaphor that possibly foreshadows the flow of Dorothy's blood from her
body when she dies.

  [The hourglass is a case of the "timelock" technique that increases suspense in the audience. They know that when the time runs out, the protagonist will be killed. They become anxious for her and hope for her rescue before it's too late.]

  DOROTHY/AUNT EM/CRYSTAL BALL:

  Dorothy despairs and is filled with remorse that she ever left home. Without hope, she cries out to her Aunt Em in desperation: "I'm frightened Auntie Em. I'm frightened."

  Within the crystal ball an image of Dorothy's Aunt Em appears, calling out Dorothy's name. Dorothy tries to communicate with her Aunt, but the image is then transformed into the mocking cackling face of the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy's face becomes filled with terror, and the scene ends with a shot of the red sands sifting down through the hour glass.

  [This is an extremely effective technique that creates empathy for the protagonist and hatred for the antagonist. Here, in a moment of privacy, Dorothy, in despair, reveals her deepest fears to a person she most trusts, only to have that confession ridiculed by the Witch. This can be generalized: have the villain destroy the protagonist's last bit of hope in a mocking, contemptuous manner. This invasion of privacy and the last stripping away of human dignity irreversibly solidifies the audience's empathy for Dorothy and hatred for the Witch.]

  HAUNTED FOREST:

  Toto climbs down a steep mountain slope then runs into the haunted forest. There he meets up again with the Lion, Tinman, and Scarecrow. They follow Toto to find Dorothy. They climb back up the mountain slope from which Toto had just descended. From behind some boulders they watch the guards in front of the Castle of the Wicked Witch of the West.

  [Here the characters have to overcome a series of obstacles in the natural world to reach their new subgoal: save Dorothy. While overcoming these obstacles, they display the very qualities that were their primary objectives. The Tinman displays compassion as he cries when he thinks about Dorothy in the Witch's castle. The Scarecrow displays brains as he plans to get into the castle to save Dorothy. The Lion displays courage by committing to go into the castle, even though he may not come out alive. He is still frightened, and would like his friends to talk him out of it, but he doesn't run away from the fight. They always had the qualities that they desired. They just needed the right situations, the right conflicts, through which these qualities could be expressed. When they forget about themselves, their own personal objectives, and commit to help another character in need, do they then manifest the qualities they desire.]

  HOURGLASS:

  [A shot of the sands running through the hourglass creates suspense. This reminds the audience that time is running out, which increases their tension. The audience wonders if they will have enough time to get into the castle to save Dorothy, for this is really a do or die situation. Again, an example of how the timelock functions within a story.]

  MOUNTAINSIDE:

  Suddenly, the Scarecrow, Tinman and Lion are attacked by three of the Witch's guards. After a brief scuffle Dorothy's friends emerge victorious. They dress up in the Guards' uniforms then quickly walk down the mountainside. They join the end of the line of guards as the guards cross over the drawbridge and enter the castle. The Lion, with long tail swaying out from under the uniform, brings up the rear.

  [The filmmaker creates as many obstacles as possible for characters to overcome in their efforts to obtain an objective. Whatever can go wrong must go wrong. In this sequence, in order to save Dorothy, they must put the Scarecrow back together, climb the side of a steep mountain, overcome three attacking guards, and deceive a company of guards in order to gain entrance to the Witch's castle.]

  INSIDE CASTLE:

  Toto leads the Tinman, Scarecrow and Lion up the stairs to the room in which Dorothy is held captive. They call out to Dorothy and she responds. The hourglass is almost empty. This increases the suspense because the audience knows that the Witch will soon return. The Tinman uses his ax to chop open the door.

  [The door is another obstacle to their subgoal.]

  They take off the uniforms, unite with Dorothy then run down the staircase. Suddenly, the castle gate slams shut, and the air is filled with the cackling laughter of the Witch. They are trapped within her fortress.

  They are surrounded by the Witch's guards. The Witch taunts them then throws the hourglass to the ground. It bursts into flames at their feet.

  [This is a great use of prop to convey information. It was established that when the sands run out, Dorothy will die. The destruction of the hourglass by the Witch signifies that the time for death has come!]

  But, once again, it is the Scarecrow using his intelligence that devises a plan. He eyes the rope that holds up the chandelier filled with lit candles then quickly uses the Tinman's axe to cut the rope. The chandelier falls onto the guards as Dorothy and friends make their escape. They are pursued by the remainder of the Witch's guards.

  [The capture and death of the protagonist also cannot be achieved easily. He must exhaust all possible options to escape.]

  CASTLE BATTLEMENTS:

  Dorothy and friends run along the battlements. They are chased by guards coming from two different directions. Finally, they are cornered and surrounded. Once again the Witch taunts them.

  Witch: "The last to go will see the first three to go before her, and her little dog, too!"

  [Important to make the villain as vicious and as mean as possible. Right down to the last moment, the antagonist displays no mercy. Mercy is never one of the villain's qualities.]

  The Witch takes her broomstick and places the bristles into the flame of a nearby torch. This ignites the bristles, which she then uses to set the Scarecrow's arm on fire. It bursts into flames. In order to save her friend, Dorothy picks up a nearby bucket of water and throws it on the Scarecrow's arm. Her objective here is to put out the flames, not to kill the Witch. But the Witch is standing in front of the Scarecrow's arm and gets splashed with the water. The Witch then utters one of the classic lines of cinema.

  "Ahhh, you cursed brat, look what you've done. I'm melting, I'm melting. Ahh, what a world, what a world. Who would have thought that a little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness."

  She then melts, and dissolves into a puddle. Toto sniffs among her remaining black cape, but finds nothing underneath.

  [This is the second death caused by Dorothy. By helping her friend survive, she accidentally destroyed their enemy. The character thereby retains "innocence" in the destruction of the antagonist. In order for the audience to accept a protagonist killing another human being, a strong case must be visually made that the antagonist is deserving of death. If not, the audience will reject the protagonist. Killing an enemy in order to save the life of a loyal friend is acceptable, especially if that enemy is intent on killing you. So, in order to maintain Dorothy's quality of girlish innocence, the Witch's death is an unintended consequence of her attempt

  to save the life of a friend.]

  [The death of the antagonist often is not the result of a direct action of the protagonist, but instead on the unintended consequence of something that the antagonist himself does in the climax scene. This case on the Witch setting the Scarecrow's arm on fire is one example. Belloc performing Hebrew rituals over the Ark of the Covenant in Raiders is another, as is Joker's fall to his death because of the weight of the gargoyle in Batman.]

  The guards kneel before Dorothy. They are overjoyed at the Witch's death, for it releases them from bondage. They salute Dorothy. She requests the Witch's broomstick, which the guards happily give her.

  [They have accomplished the second major subgoal of the story: get the broomstick of the Wicked Witch of the West. They also accomplished this while retaining fundamental human values of loyalty to friends and being willing to put oneself in danger to help a friend in distress.]

  GREAT HALL OF THE WIZARD:

  Dorothy and friends return to the Wizard. They present him with the broomstick, and he congratulates them for "liquidat
ing" the Witch. They request that he fulfill his promise. The Wizard commands that they all go away and come back tomorrow. The Scarecrow replies that the Wizard has had plenty of time already, to which the Wizard repeats out that they should come back tomorrow. The flames are the color blue. The orange color, symbolic of the Witch, has disappeared. Dorothy, again with righteous moral indignation, tells him that if he were really great and powerful he'd keep his promises.

  Toto runs to the corner of the room and pulls back a soft blue curtain to reveal a man who resembles Professor Marvel. He is pulling levers on a mechanical apparatus; the technology behind the facade of magic. When confronted by Dorothy and her friends, he confesses that he's the Wizard of Oz.

  Disappointed, Dorothy tells him that he's a “very bad man.” He protests, explaining that he's a good man, but a terrible Wizard. Dorothy demands that he keeps his promise, which he does. To the Scarecrow, who desires brains, he gives a diploma; to the Tinman, who desires a heart, he gives a testimonial; and to the Lion, who desires courage, he gives a medal.

  [The Wizard doesn't give any of them the quality itself, but only an object that symbolizes or represents the public recognition that the character does possess this quality. It was the characters themselves who manifested the desired qualities during the conflict situations. They always had them, they just had to realize that they possessed them. All the Wizard could do is help them realize this through public acknowledgment.]