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


  • Twitter Surveillance Startup Targets Communities of Color for Cops
    Sam Biddle
    Twitter Surveillance Startup Targets Communities of Color for Cops
    28 Oct 2020
    Insiders say Dataminr’s “algorithmic” Twitter search involves human staffers perpetuating confirmation biases, searching specific neighborhoods, streets, and even housing complexes for crime.
  • Capitalism Made Women Of Color More Vulnerable To The COVID Recession
    Tithi Bhattachary
    Capitalism Made Women Of Color More Vulnerable To The COVID Recession
    28 Oct 2020
    Black women and Latinas have performed the bulk of the essential work during lockdown and borne the brunt of the recession.
  •  Black Agenda Radio for Week October 26, 2020
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week October 26, 2020
    27 Oct 2020
    The Rich Will Use Crisis to Further Immiserate Workers
  •  Towards a “De-White Supremification of Amerikkka”
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford , Lydia McCaskill
    Towards a “De-White Supremification of Amerikkka”
    26 Oct 2020
    Lydia McCaskill, a masters and doctoral student at North Carolina Central University and activist firebrand in her hometown of Gastonia, proposes a process of “de-white supremifica
  •  Malcolm X was a Black Internationalist
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford , Desmond Fonseca
    Malcolm X was a Black Internationalist
    26 Oct 2020
    Especially in the latter years of his life, Malcolm X represented “a reemergence of Black radicalism” after the suppression of the McCarthy period, said Desmond Fonseca, a PhD cand
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us