Why can't people keep works of art separate?

Question

I'm an avid Wizard of Oz fan and collector and have been searching through some Oz questions here. Why can't people seem to separate 1). The movie, 2). The L.Frank Baum Books, 3). Wicked the book, and 4). Wicked the Musical? I think they are all works of art and I love all four, but I hate it when people can't seem to separate one from the other. For example, someone asked what the Wicked Witch of the West's name was IN THE BOOK and someone replied Elphaba Thropp! Elphaba is the name Gregory Maguire gave her to honor L. Frank Baum. EL-FA-BA. Or when someone says they can never watch The Wizard of Oz the same way because they read Wicked.

Opinions? I know it's a pet peeve of mine, but I'm curious about what others think.

Answer 1

Good point.

Each work of art should be allowed to stand on its own.

But, after all, these are examples of what I call "classics and their cousins." In fact, they are transformations, which I label "first cousins"; i.e., a work that is transformed into another medium or in a retelling from another point of view.

For example, think of all the "first cousins" of Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur, which was itself a retelling of earlier folk tales, legends, maybe even some history. Of course, The Once and Future King is a work of art and should be allowed to stand on its own, as should its "first cousin," the musical Camelot.

But it's also fun to trace literary works back to their sources; it also adds a new level of meaning, its own kind of intertextuality.

Now, back to Oz for a moment, there is also that "first cousin once removed," the novel Was by Geoff Ryman. It certainly stands on its own as a work of art, but on the other hand you can't keep it separate from L. Frank or Dorothy or Judy Garland.

I hope you have it in your collection. And I wish someone would attempt to transform it into a movie. It would be, quite literally, a moving experience.

Answer 2

You're right, they should all be regarded as separate works of art. Some people just need a frame of reference in order to try and understand something that may be going over their heads, or they use it for shorthand. The same thing happened with Pygmalion and My Fair Lady.

Answer 3

Some people are anything but literal in what they do or say.