If Toto had never run behind the curtain, Dorothy might never have got home

  • Thread starter Saint
  • Start date
In summary: Toto...before he would grant her request.Toto, obviously, represents the common person, who, in times of frustration, will do something completely unexpected, and, as a result, stumble upon a solution.Of course, the other interpretation is that you should always do something completely unexpected. The point is, when you're trying to do something that you can't do by following standard procedure, you'll need some "Toto" to get what you want.In summary, "If Toto had never run behind the curtain, Dorothy might never have got home" means that sometimes you have to take a risk and do something unexpected in order to achieve your goals, especially when the standard procedures are not working.
  • #1
Saint
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If Toto had never run behind the curtain, Dorothy might never have got home
What does this mean?
 
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  • #2
It is referring to The Wizard of Oz.

IIRC:

Toto, Dorothy's dog, ran behind the green curtain to expose that the 'Wizard' was just a man. He then told her that she had to click her heels three times to go home from Oz. I don't remember why he wouldn't tell her to begin with...
 
  • #3
enigma, I think what Saint wants to know is what one is actually implying when one says "If Toto had never run behind the curtain, Dorothy might never have got home".

I watched The Wizard of Oz a long time ago, when I was around 4 or 5 so I can't really remember it now.
 
  • #4
If you don't know who is pulling the strings, you won't get what you want.
 
  • #5
That movie gave me nightmares the first time I saw it! :mad:

Anyways I can't stand the movie.
 
  • #6
Saint said:
If Toto had never run behind the curtain, Dorothy might never have got home
What does this mean?

That dogs are better pets than cats. It Toto were a cat, his curiosity would have killed him. :smile:

Hey, you have to read between the lines. It's not as absurd as some of the other 'hidden' meanings people find in the Wizard of Oz.
 
  • #7
The Dorothy in Oz was dreaming Dorothy's ego. Toto represents the subconcious. The wizard was her superego. Dorothy's delusional state was a manifestation of her selfish desires, but her subconscious sought out the means to bring her to a mature, rational decision.

Actually, I just made all that up, but it sounds pretty good!

Njorl
 
  • #8
Dream on Njorl :rolleyes:
 
  • #9
Njorl said:
The Dorothy in Oz was dreaming Dorothy's ego. Toto represents the subconcious. The wizard was her superego. Dorothy's delusional state was a manifestation of her selfish desires, but her subconscious sought out the means to bring her to a mature, rational decision.

Actually, I just made all that up, but it sounds pretty good!

Njorl

Well, I would have thought that was all very funny but I just chimed into make similar statements and now you have ruined everything!. :cry: :cry: :cry:
 
  • #10
How about...
Toto was her guardian angel.
OZ was the promise of tomorrow
The Wizard was the unknown
Glenda "the good witch" was God
The munchkins were angels
The bad witch was the devil, of course

Better?

Dorthy was Moses? :biggrin:
 
  • #11
Monique said:
Dream on Njorl :rolleyes:

Actually, my own heels are black and blue from all the clicking I've done. It just won't work!

Njorl
 
  • #12
Njorl said:
Actually, my own heels are black and blue from all the clicking I've done. It just won't work!

Njorl

are you wearing the blue dress and the red shoes?
 
  • #13
I still don't understand
 
  • #14
One interpretation would be that to get what you want, sometimes you need to take a risk and do the unexpected.

Or, you might also interpret it that sometimes it's the accidental discovery that leads to what you really need.

Or, sometimes you have to break the rules to get anywhere (Toto wasn't supposed to go behind the curtain).

I'm not sure exactly. Maybe it would help to know the context of how it was used.
 
  • #15
Njorl said:
The Dorothy in Oz was dreaming Dorothy's ego. Toto represents the subconcious. The wizard was her superego. Dorothy's delusional state was a manifestation of her selfish desires, but her subconscious sought out the means to bring her to a mature, rational decision.

Actually, I just made all that up, but it sounds pretty good!

Njorl

Dang, I thought you were totally serious for a moment. Good thinking, man!
 
  • #16
Dang ! I thought it had something to do with geetting high on weed and listening to Dark Side...
 
  • #17
Gokul43201 said:
Dang ! I thought it had something to do with geetting high on weed and listening to Dark Side...

Listening to Dark Side? I thought you had to feel it.
 
  • #18
Chrono said:
Listening to Dark Side? I thought you had to feel it.
Quite True.

Surely, this can't be helping Saint ! :rolleyes:
 
  • #19
Gokul43201 said:
Dang ! I thought it had something to do with geetting high on weed and listening to Dark Side...

It also works when sober and on a really bad date (it's usually a bad sign when I don't know it's a date until I get there...years ago, a neighbor had just invited me over to watch some videos, and apparently had imbibed some liquid courage prior to my arrival...hence the selection of media for the evening entertainment...it was easier to go along with watching than to talk to the drunk guy).
 
  • #20
Moonbear said:
on a really bad date

I wouldn't know about those. Nor would I know about good dates, either. :shy:
 
  • #21
Chrono said:
I wouldn't know about those. Nor would I know about good dates, either. :shy:

Don't worry, Chrono...now sing with me :

Ti...i i ime is on my side, yes it is :smile:

PS : What's the word "digression" mean ?
 
  • #22
Gokul43201 said:
Don't worry, Chrono...now sing with me :

Ti...i i ime is on my side, yes it is :smile:

I prefer, "I'm so pretty, oh, so pretty. Pretty, and witty, and gay!" :biggrin:
 
  • #23
Saint said:
If Toto had never run behind the curtain, Dorothy might never have got home
What does this mean?

A lot of times, when you ask for some kind of help or service, you get the standard bureaucratic reply, explaining why they can't help you, since their procedures only cover a few standard type problems (obviously, the most common problems, but little help to you if there's some unique twist in your particular problem).

At some point, you can't just keep taking the answer "I can't help you, but maybe you could try Barry (then Charlie, then Dave, etc.)."

Eventually, you're going to have to say "The hell with the standard procedure, I need someone to THINK and figure out how to deal with my problem, right now!"

In the movie, the wizard was a fraud who really couldn't help with any but the very simplest problems ("If it's not in the manual, how can I possibly help you?"). Since the wizard couldn't really help, he required some impossible task from Dorothy before her request could be considered (she had to bring back documentation proving she had killed the Wicked Witch. Fortunately the documenatation didn't have to be in triplicate). When the documentation (the broom) was presented, the wizard had to create some other hurdle to hide the fact that he had nothing in his standard repretoire (standard bureaucratic procedures) to help Dorothy and her gang. Toto had to break the bureaucratic cycle by exposing the real decision maker behind the imposing bureaucratic front.

In true cynical fashion, the wizard still didn't really provide much even after Dorothy and friends managed to cross the threshold to the real decision maker. He made a few of them feel better by validating things that were already true (but it always makes me feel good when a bureaucrat validates my parking ticket) and Dorothy wound up having to help herself.
 
  • #24
Chrono said:
Listening to Dark Side? I thought you had to feel it.

Chrono, no offense, but ... wait! I take that back! I do mean offense!

Are you totally ignorant?! Are you totally clueless as to who Pink Floyd is?!

By the way, it's "Feel the force, Luke", not "Feel the Dark Side".

Geesh, next thing you know, you're going start singing "Women do get wooly?" :rolleyes:
 
  • #25
BobG said:
Are you totally ignorant?! Are you totally clueless as to who Pink Floyd is?!

By the way, it's "Feel the force, Luke", not "Feel the Dark Side".

Dude, that was Pink Floyd?! I had no idea.

Didn't Darth Vader tell Luke to feel the Dark Side in the third movie?
 
  • #26
There are folks that make the Pink Floyd experience a multisensory event...so you CAN "feel" Dark Side ...

"It's more than just listening to music. It's like a spiritual experience"...with a lot of weed, 'shrooms, or what have you, to help with that.
 
  • #27
Gokul43201 said:
There are folks that make the Pink Floyd experience a multisensory event...so you CAN "feel" Dark Side ...

"It's more than just listening to music. It's like a spiritual experience"...with a lot of weed, 'shrooms, or what have you, to help with that.

I remember watching the Discovery Channel one day and they showed this woman who could see colors by what she hears.
 
  • #28
Oh, geez, I didn't even realize Chrono had mixed up Pink Floyd and Star Wars. I thought the "feel it" comment referred to the use of mind-altering substances inspiring that combination of music and movie.

Um, yeah, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album is what we're talking about. The idea is if you play the album along with the movie the Wizard of Oz, the music fits the movie...use of mind-altering substances supposedly helps you get past the spots where it doesn't quite work. I don't recommend trying it. If you watch it sober, bring along a drunk or stoned friend and a vivid imagination to explain the connection for you. You're really not missing much to not know about it.
 
  • #29
Chrono said:
I remember watching the Discovery Channel one day and they showed this woman who could see colors by what she hears.

Wow ! That's like being high while you're sober - too cool ! :rolleyes:
 
  • #30
Moonbear said:
Um, yeah, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album is what we're talking about. The idea is if you play the album along with the movie the Wizard of Oz, the music fits the movie...use of mind-altering substances supposedly helps you get past the spots where it doesn't quite work. I don't recommend trying it. If you watch it sober, bring along a drunk or stoned friend and a vivid imagination to explain the connection for you. You're really not missing much to not know about it.

I didn't know about that.
 
  • #31
Nearly every year, at my University (I won't say which one) some group or other - like Students for Fair Drug Laws - organises a screening of Wizard of Oz, with the original audio muted and replaced with Dark Side of the Moon. It's called the Dark Side of Oz, and gets screened in one of the Engineering Buildings, I think.

Anyways, I heard from someone who saw one of these that as soon as the lights go down and the doors are shut...out come the pipes - this happens on campus !:wink:
 
Last edited:
  • #32
Gokul43201 said:
Anyways, I heard from someone who saw one of these that as soon as the lights go down and the doors are shut...out come the pipes - this happens on campus !:wink:

And the University knows about this?
 
  • #33
Moonbear said:
Um, yeah, Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon album is what we're talking about. The idea is if you play the album along with the movie the Wizard of Oz, the music fits the movie...use of mind-altering substances supposedly helps you get past the spots where it doesn't quite work. I don't recommend trying it. If you watch it sober, bring along a drunk or stoned friend and a vivid imagination to explain the connection for you. You're really not missing much to not know about it.

Now, how can you say that? Missing an experience like that is almost as bad as having never watched the Rocky Horror Picture Show in a theater.
 
  • #34
Hmm, there's an 8 minute time differential. Maybe they tack "Pigs (three different ones)" onto the end.

I think "One of these days", from "Meddle" would be better for the tornado scene than anything from "Darkside". The one spoken line could coincide with the appearance of the witch.

Njorl
 

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