She doesn’t curse. She doesn’t swear. She doesn’t even own a gun. She’s the cutest redhead anyone’s ever seen. She’s also the epitome of American moral values. Who is she? She’s The Wizard of Oz’s Dorothy Gale, of course. And I’m proud to feature her as part of this week’s Women Who Wow Wednesday.
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that I’ve dedicated a number of posts to some pretty violent female characters in movies. Other than Wonder Woman, most, if not all, have thrown a knife or fired a gun, beaten the crap out of their enemy, or jettisoned them into space. In a zombie apocalypse, those are the women who I’d love to have fight alongside me.
But Dorothy Gale? Sweet little Dorothy? How could she ever take on the undead?
Let’s take a look at what we got. She grew up on a farm. Not a small feat for a young girl, you know. She’s probably seen things done to animals that’d make a billy goat puke. Like rabbits skinned, chickens defeathered, turkeys beheaded, and the family pig, which I don’t think its name was Wilbur, fattened up for months until it reached implosion weight. Then with tears flooding her face, seen it slaughtered in the cool of the day.
So yeah, Dorothy grew up on a farm. She’s seen things.
Okay, so she’s got a tough stomach, but is she strong? I would say so. How else could one explain the absolute fear that gripped the Tin Man and Scarecrow when The Lion showed up? Dorothy stood her ground, though. She didn’t run away. She didn’t cry. Nooo, no. She walked right up to the snarling beast and smacked it across the mouth. “You should be ashamed of yourself!” She snapped, and she stared him down, she did.
Yes, but I can still hear the doubters. She couldn’t hurt an ant, I hear. She’s as gentle as a rose. She’d help a butterfly caught in a web.
Oh, yeah?
She dropped a house. On a witch. Not any ordinary witch, mind you. On THE Wicked Witch of the East. The most fearsome witch of the eastern hemisphere. And then she lied about it. When confronted by The Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy looked her straight in the eye and lied.
“Who killed my sister?” the Wicked Witch of the West asked. “Who killed the Witch of the East? Was it you?”
“No, no.” Dorothy said. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to kill anybody.”
“Well, my little pretty, I can cause accidents, too!”
Oh, really. Was that a threat?
Dorothy didn’t take too kindly to those words. No one threatens Dorothy Gale and gets away with it. Especially some cheap floozy who picks her clothes from the leftover Halloween bins at Wal-Mart. No way. From that moment on, the Wicked Witch of the West was on Dorothy’s hit list.
Once the Tin Man, Scarecrow, Lion and her sidekick Toto had the castle surrounded, Dorothy moved in for the kill. She executed her vindictive plan against the witch by drawing in the winged monkeys to the center of the tower. This would ensure she had witnesses, causing no one to doubt her supremacy. Then, in front of all the captains of the monkey army, she melted the witch. And like the coldhearted killer she was, she stood by watching the witch writhe in agony.
She even went so far as to get rid of the Wizard, cutting him loose in a balloon heading for Kansas.
Oh, yeah. I want Dorothy on my team. If anyone can vanquish the undead in a zombie apocalypse it would be Dorothy.
There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.
Have you seen The Wizard of Oz? If not, have you ever wondered what the movie or the books are about?
Looking to God 
Love this! Girl power Dorothy! I’d have her on my team too! Xx
Thank you Jack for this wonderful story. As a kid growing in Detroit every summer my parents use to take me camping. Those were the best times of my life. Your story and pictures brought back those precious memories.
Reblogged this on I Watch the Stars and Write My Words and commented:
Dorothy is a hidden bad ass. That’s right! She’s fearless and tough, mean with an innocent veneer. I read that Glenda was a sadist, too, before. This blog entry shows why Dorothy would make a great member of a zombie fighting team.
Thanks so much for reblogging this, Brandy!
I haven’t seen this movie since I was a child. Now I want to watch it again. From everything I’ve read, The Wizard of Oz is not at all what it seems. From the sadistic Glenda to the badass Dorothy to the widespread oppression… wow! What a deep, sinister work in such a shiny, innocent package!
Obsessed with this story. Have dreams about tornadoes ever since viewing it in a movie theatre at the age of 5. Have seen Wicked five times. Can never get enough. I also blog about it quite often…adore adore adore it.
“She executed her vindictive plan…drawing in the winged monkeys…this would ensure she had witnesses, causing no one to doubt her supremacy.” – I’m not quite sure we watched the same movie but your take on Dorothy’s true motives has me thinking she just might be the best potential zombie killer that ever fell out of Kansas from a tornado. She doesn’t even sound like someone I’d want to cross paths with in a dark alley!
One of my best friends is an Oz FREAK. Her license plates are even Oz related. Great post, I’m going to share it with her!
hahahahahaa….oh, i enjoyed this one. tornadoes, witches, lions, flying monkeys, dorothy kicked some arse. i’d want her in my corner at any zombie apocalypse.
I’ve always loved The Wizard of Oz. Even when to the museum in Wamego, Kansas–a place I highly recommend to any Oz fan. I learned a lot of surprising things about Frank L. Baum. Like his *staunch* feminism for instance.
Great post! I’ve nominated you for an award. Have a great night!
http://megustamebooks.wordpress.com/2013/01/23/reality-blog-award/
I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve watched the movie. I teach elementary school music, and once a year I’ll show it to the kids. Even all these years after the film was made (1939, I think?), they are transfixed; I think the strength and courage of Dorothy has a lot to do with it.
I am a complete Dorothy fan. I first watched the wizard of oz when I was about 7, I was very appreciative of her squashing at least one witch with her house 🙂
Hahaha, you made me like Dorothy even more, she’d probably plow through them zombies for sure! 🙂
Of course Dorothy is tough, she’s from Kansas. In Kansas, water is a myth made up by our parents, birds nest on the ground and our politicians think women should get rape insurance. Gotta be tough to live in those conditions!
The Dorothy you portray is from the MGM movie. The movie holds certain differences from the novel. In the novel we read, “[Dorothy] was a well-grown child for her age.” (chapter 2, “The Council with the Munchkins”) Baum never gives her age, but we assume it was about 10 years old – a far cry from the adolescent Dorothy in the movie.
I find your choice of a zombie fighter Dorothy amusing, but for different reasons.
In my explorations of the Hidden History of Oz, I have found that the most powerful people in Oz are human dreamers. The Wizard is one. Dorothy is another. You can read my post “Dreamers in Oz” (http://wp.me/p26j42-1y) for full details.
So picture this scene: Zombies exist physically, but their spiritual strings are controlled by puppet masters from the world of dreams. In order to successfully combat the zombies and their masters, you need a powerful dreamer. Who better than a youngster who has not forgotten how to dream impossible dreams?
In my Hidden History of Oz series, I have plans for Dorothy in the future. She is very much a hero, in the truest sense of the word.
Greg Maguire portrays Dorothy more as a walking natural disaster. But “Dorothy: Zombie Slayer” is pretty much in keeping with this year’s crop of violent fairy-tale revisions in the movies.
Hahah!! I love the energy of this blog. I never thought of Dorothy as this fearless chick. Your comments about her made a lot of sense. Thanks for a great read!!!
Thanks, Lakeshia! I’m glad my tongue-in-cheek approach to Dorothy provided some humor in your day. That was the entire purpose for my post. Amid chaos humor abounds!
You are so welcome. I look forward to reading more.
I read The Wizard of Oz when I was eight. I didn’t read it once; I read it cover to cover, flipped the thing over, and did it again. For months, maybe. I was an addict. The whole story is so much more involving than the movie. Dorothy will always, though, be awesome. 🙂 Thanks for this post!
Hello Jack, this was a really interesting read and I love Dorothy 🙂
And, if you have enough time please check my short story Final Destination