Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Wizard of Oz redux— …and some casting questions…
Raymond Nat Turner, BAR poet-in-residence
24 Aug 2022
🖨️ Print Article
Wizard of Oz redux—  …and some casting questions…

                                                                                                                     Wizard of Oz redux—

                                                                                                            …and some casting questions…

Suppose Hollywood hits you up
‘bout this big budget redo of
The Wizard of Oz? What if they
say it’s all your call…’cept this?

They say you must shoot in Uvalde
using locals. No big name stars. Do you say
“OK” when they say, “And you must cast the
Cops?” Or, do you ask—“What as?”

Angry Apple Tree? Crows in the Corn
Field? Ozmites? Tin Polishers? Horse
of Another Color? Almira Gulch’s bi
cycle?

Lullaby League? Lollipop Guild? Scare
crow? Sleepyheads? Munchkin Fiddlers?
Munchkin Soldiers? Munchkin Barristers?
Munchkin Mayor? Munchkin Coroner?

Hunk? Uncle Henry? Hickory? Toto?
Dorthy Gale? Aunt Em? Almira Gulch?
Professor Marvel? Tin Man? Glinda?
Wizard? Wicked Witch? Ruby Slippers?

Winged Monkeys instructed: “Take your Army
to the Haunted Forest and bring me those boys
and girls! Do what you want with the others—
They'll give you no trouble I promise you that?”

Winkies chanting, “O-Ee-Yah! Eoh-Ah!” into
radios in the school hallway? Hearing, “Poppies,
poppies, poppies” instead of some shooter’s
Pop-pop-pop-pops for some 70 minutes?

Are we leaving any characters out?

© 2022. Raymond Nat Turner, The Town Crier. All Rights Reserved.

Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. You can Vote for his work at: GoFundMe and PayPal.

Uvalde

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • 2021: Uprising in the Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique
    Philippe Gendrault
    2021: Uprising in the Islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique
    14 Dec 2021
    Guadeloupe and Martinique are officially French territories, but they are colonized in the truest sense of the word.
  • A Department of Homeland Security internal document acknowledges that deportations of Haitian asylum seekers are in violation of US law.
    Hamed Aleaziz
    An Internal Document Shows DHS Officials Advised Against Haitian Deportations, Fearing They Could Violate Human Rights Obligations
    14 Dec 2021
    A Department of Homeland Security internal document acknowledges that deportations of Haitian asylum seekers are in violation of US law.
  • Frederick Douglass and American Empire in Haiti
    Peter James Hudson
    Frederick Douglass and American Empire in Haiti
    14 Dec 2021
    Toward the end of his life, Frederick Douglass served briefly as U.S. ambassador to Haiti.
  • How the Black Education Movement Took on the Racist Schools System
    Emmanuel Onapa
    How the Black Education Movement Took on the Racist Schools System
    14 Dec 2021
    A new archive tells the story of a radical community collective formed in the 1960s to challenge the treatment of Black pupils in UK schools.
  • The Execution of Julian Assange
    Chris Hedges
    The Execution of Julian Assange
    14 Dec 2021
    Julian Assange committed empire’s greatest sin. He exposed it as a criminal enterprise. He documented its lies, callous disregard for human life, rampant corruption and innumerable war crimes.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us