# The Wizard of Oz (Judy Garland version) or The Wiz (Diana Ross)?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-judy-garland-version-or-the-wiz-diana-ross/547598>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 22, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-judy-garland-version-or-the-wiz-diana-ross/547598 "2010-07-22T14:36:33Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-judy-garland-version-or-the-wiz-diana-ross/547598/21 "2010-07-24T16:16:25Z")

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> [@monstro](#):
>
> Richard Pryor’s Wiz is much more of a pathetic creature than the The Wizard of Oz, who, while exposed as a fraud, still manages to convince everyone that he’s wise by handing out certificates and trinkets, that amazingly everyone accepts gratefully and unquestioningly. That’s not realistic to me. Pryor’s Wiz is revealed to be a hapless, aimless man who admits he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing (and Dorothy cries out in grief when she realizes he just used her to be his “hit” woman by taking out Evilene…how awful of him). When the fraud is revealed and all hope is almost lost, everyone automatically turns to Dorothy to find meaning in their journey and she is able, with some thought, to tell them exactly what they need to hear. The Scare Crow _is_ smart…after all, he was the one who had the idea to use the sprinkler system in the sweat shop to save everyone. The Lion _is_ brave, because he saved them in that scary subway.

You’re forgetting that Bolger’s Scarecrow figured out they could get away by using Tin Man’s axe to drop the chandelier and Lahr’s Lion: "All right, I’ll go in there for Dorothy. Wicked Witch or no Wicked Witch, guards or no guards, I’ll tear them apart. I may not come out alive, but I’m going in there. "

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**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2010, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-judy-garland-version-or-the-wiz-diana-ross/547598/22 "2010-07-24T17:09:43Z")

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I vote for the Muppet Wizard of Oz.

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