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


  • NYT’s Africa: A Place of Failure and No Leadership
    Siyanda Mohutsiwa
    NYT’s Africa: A Place of Failure and No Leadership
    16 Jun 2021
    Ruth Maclean’s article, like countless others in Western media, took place in an Africa without leaders, without public health officials or activists.
  • The Responsibilities of Caribbean Intellectuals
    Aaron Kamugisha  
    The Responsibilities of Caribbean Intellectuals
    16 Jun 2021
    The tradition of Caribbean intelligentsia insists on a grounding with the massive against the elites.
  • Two Former Israeli Ambassadors to South Africa Join Tsunami of ‘Apartheid’ Accusations Against Israel
    Philip Weiss
    Two Former Israeli Ambassadors to South Africa Join Tsunami of ‘Apartheid’ Accusations Against Israel
    16 Jun 2021
    By gradually driving occupied populations from their land and concentrating them into dense and fractured pockets, both South Africa and Israel thwart political autonomy and true democracy.
  • Abolishing Police and Abolishing Militaries
    David Swanson
    Abolishing Police and Abolishing Militaries
    16 Jun 2021
    Prison and war abolition are up against the exact same profiteers, politicians, and pundits, as well as many of the same people “serving” as soldiers, police, and guards.
  • America’s Gun Obsession is Rooted in Slavery
    Carol Anderson
    America’s Gun Obsession is Rooted in Slavery
    16 Jun 2021
    The sheer brutality of human bondage created an overwhelming fear among whites of the enslaved’s capacity and desire for retribution.
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us