Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Secular or Cosmic?

"Wizard is about to die"
-Five Iron Frenzy

Does the Wizard of Oz represent Cosmic or Secular Humanism? This discussion arose in class today. In my earlier post i argued for Cosmic (New Age), but then slightly contradicted myself by claiming the Wizard of Oz is atheistic.
Here is a solution. (Thanks Mj and Kumo)
The Wizard of Oz, if necessary to label with a worldview, best fits into Secular Humanism. Why? Because (according to the chart i have referenced before), "There is no God...man is the measure. Man sets the norm". Think about it. What were the conflicts-or rather pursuits- in the Wizard of Oz:
-Dorothy had to get home
-Tin Man needed a heart
-Scarecrow needed a brain
-The Lion needed courage
How were these resolved? By the individual. What did the Oz 'reveal' to all of them? That they each had what they wanted. Dorothy had the power to get home; she just clicked 'em fancy red heels three times. The Lion didn't find courage in Emerald City; he found it on the way. You get the idea. Man (or lion or whatever) set the standard. To twist Nietzche, God was 'dead'. There was no use for a God when each of the individuals of Oz was able to, in a sense, give themselves what they wanted. God wasn't necessay.
Neither was the Wizard, really.

3 comments:

mdallum said...

Dude im so bored

cyprus said...

Interesting...very interesting

Matthelawlasaur said...

thank you sir for your comment
much appreciation.