The SynchBoardDr. Pink
Monday, 24-Apr-2000In response to:
"Working together to find the best Episode 1 synch..." & "Here are the albums I've tried: PF-Saucerful Of Secrets/PF-Obscured By Clouds/David Gilmore-David Gilmore" by Dave T.206.154.9.171 writes:
Since no one has added to this thread in a while, I've decided it's appropriate to bring to light here another old Booker T. entry, from the same time period as the one in my "Lips Are Like One Pink" post above. This provides the other chunk of information relayed in these initial Booker entries from 1997. Keep in mind that my cousin, in these early posts, was trying to establish some type of Oz intent theory re DSotR to counterbalance all the "Floyd did it" claims prevalent on the SynchBoard at that time. I don't think he exactly knew how to do this, thus their rather rambling nature. By the time he got around to posting "The Naming of an Unknown Creator" the following fall, Booker had a much better idea of how to approach the problem. Yet it still seems appropriate to resurface these earlier attempts at Ozifying the board, especially given the strangely precocious and perhaps prescient Darwin McGlumphy's recent entry into the picture.
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The ORIGINAL 1939 Oz Movie Synch
Posted by Booker T. on November 21, 1997:
Before this DARK SIDE OF THE RAINBOW phenomenon touched down, probably the oddest synchronicity involving the 1939 Wizard of Oz movie occurred during the shooting of the film itself. This took place during Dorothy's scenes with Professor Marvel, among the last finished. Unlike most of the costumes of the movie, the shabby Prince Albert-style coat of Professor Marvel, played by Frank Morgan, was not special-made by the MGM wardrobe department, but instead selected from a rack of old clothes purchased by the studio from a Beverly Hills second hand store. The story goes that one hot day, Morgan, in idly turning out the pocket to his coat, found a name sewn in the lining: that of L. Frank Baum, none other than the author of the book THE WIZARD OF OZ. Although originally dismissed as a publicity stunt by the press, the authenticity of the coat as being Baum's was verified by his widow, as well as the Chicago tailor who made it. The story is made only slightly less strange by the fact that Baum used to live in the Los Angeles area, since he died 20 years before the film was made. All in all, truly an anecdote worthy of Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The meaningful part of this synchronicity may be found in Baum's assumed identification with the Wizard of Oz character, who Marvel is the Kansas double of (Morgan also portrayed the Wizard in the movie). The Wizard of Oz is the namesake of the Oz country itself, and his Emerald City lies at its center. One could say that in his series Baum wore Oz like a mantel or coat, but after he put it on (Baum continually wrote Oz books from around 1904 until his death in 1919), he could never really take it off again. The times he tried (SEA FAIRIES, SKY ISLAND), the center was lost and sales dropped. Children wanted more Oz!
If Oz represents Baum's mantel, then it is also safe to say he made it shabby over the years by commercial exploitation. For example, the first Oz book is almost unanimously called the best. One can perhaps blame this on Baum's obsession with translating the magic of his fairyland into money making theatrical venues, attempting to follow up the success of the play based on the original Oz book. In retrospect, these efforts–-which, among other things, included the creation of an Oz film company--seem to detract from the more essential Oz energy presented in the books. Following this train of thought, the spooky appearance of Baum's name at the end of the 1939 movie could represent a kind of psychic signature of approval (or--dare I say it--direct involvement!) since it, much more than Baum's own Oz plays or films, remained relatively faithful to the Oz book it was based on...actually improved it in many ways. I don't think its too absurd to believe that Baum played at least a small part in this from the Other Side; it only seems fair. In many ways, The Wizard of Oz movie represents the fulfillment of all his dreams.
DSOTR is, in my opinion, a psychological updating of the original film, dealing more with what we can call the shadow ½ of its positive (solar) mythology. In time, it will be understood as such. There appear to be certain clues about it in Baum's writing (see my 11/19 post for 1 example), but I'm still working on this.
Booker T.
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Booker expands upon this Baum coat synchronicity when promoting further Oz-Pink Floyd connections in a follow-up post, stating that the original name of Professor Marvel in TWoO scripts was Dr. Pink (Harmetz, p. 45; Langley [SCREENPLAY], p. 13; Fricke, p. 29). More recently, Darwin also seems to have latched onto this Dr. Pink weirdness, using it as part of some cockamamie plan to reveal a secret Martian cemetery in Mississippi. When Booker enthusiastically brought up this plan to me, I couldn't help but roll my eyes--I guess that's why I've never been fully involved with his GREENUP (yellow down) "e.t. hunting" Club. Yet the associations remain, and admittedly the skeptic within me sometimes pauses to consider...
baker b.