The KANSAS CONNECTION: The Man of Steel and the Land of Oz

The world is full of Oz fans ... but nobody is truly ever JUST an Oz fan only. As many Oz fans as there are in America, there are some that are also fans of "Doctor WHO" from the UK ... there are Oz fans in Australia who are fond of "the Golden Girls" ... and there are certainly Oz fans in the UK that love the American Fairyland. What cannot be disputed is how often and much Oz crosses over with the comics, in adaptations and references ... and, personally, I believe that no other comic in the world has a strong unique and collaborative connection with Oz than DC Comics's Kryptonian hero himself, Superman! Now there are some small subtle yet noticebale similarities between the two: * both have a child - an orphan, basically, because their parents have died - who is transported from one world to another (even if the levels of scope and proximities are different and the points in life when they are relocated), * both are raised on a farm life in Kansas by an elderly guardian couple for years before they move and make their home in a big city (again, their ages and timeline differ), * both have a canine companion - who, funny enough I didn't realise till now, both have their name end in "to" (Toto, Krypto) * both go on adventures with similar or unusual friends - and fighting evil along the way to restore peace and righteousness (though intentions aren't quite the same);

Dorothy and Toto illustration by John R Neill ("Little Wizard Stories of Oz"),
Superman and Krypto illustrated by Jon Bogdanove

But here I want to focus on the main prominent and more obvious timelines where they share similarities, elements and moments onscreen. Now, while they may not have shared or started their runs 1899-1900 as far as I know (and if I find out otherwise it will be edited with updates), the two franchises did begin to coincide in 1938 when SUPERMAN first appeared in "Action Comics" of April / June ... while MGM was undergoing production for their treatment of L Frank Baum's "Wonderful Wizard" for the musical vaudeville Judy Garland vehicle (Early Stages which included Script Development, Musical Score, hair and make-up tests, contract, special effects and other activities - Filming would not start until October).

This was pretty much it for this time . . . until 1978, when both film versions for "THE WIZ" and "SUPERMAN (the Movie)" came to the big screen (both with opposing points of success, yet sharing the dissappointment at some level in time).

Now we get into the more direct (and back-and-forth) connections between the two: Warner Bros. "SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE" starred Christopher Reeve in dual title role of the hero from Krypton and mild-mannered Daily planet reporter Clark Kent (again, a child who was transported from one world to another, who was raised on a farm in Kansas by foster guardains because their parents cannot) and also acts alongside Margot Kidder as Lois Lane ... who will go on to voice over the narration for the 1986 PanMedia anime series of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (plus "Marvelous Land", "Ozma" and "Emerald City") that would be translated and dubbed (plus cut) by the Canadian studio CINAR for the US TV audiences before the release to videos as Movies for 1987 (a year which also released "Superman IV: Quest for Peace", the fourth and possibly worst film of the series). Universal Pictures' "THE WIZ" starred Diana Ross as Dorothy and featured Richard Pryor as the title character ... Richard Pryor would eventually go on to be included in "Superman III", a film that would (re)introduce a grown up high school sweetheart of Clark Kent's from Smallville, (a character included in the first film) Lana Lang, now played by Annette O'Toole ... Annette O'Toole would go on to play Maud Gage, L Frank Baum's wife, in the 1990 TV Movie "the Dreamer of Oz" starring John Ritter in the title role ... and then Annette O'Toole would return to Kansas of Superman lore, this time playing Martha Kent, Clark's adoptive earth mother, for the TV Series "Smallville" and throughout the enduring years of the run.

2013 brought a revised, revamped and newer take to both character properties from opposing studios, yet both differed from the traditional original sources): WB gave us Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" starring Henry Cavill as Superman (so new it neglected the classic red briefs speedo) while Disney presented its attempted prequel with "OZ the Great and Powerful", a film that claimed to be a prequel to the Baum books but repeatedly and constantly referred to using the MGMN imagery as well as attempting to be like "Wicked" without treading too much on copyright infringement [but was still poorly decided and directed regardless] - while both films were relatively successful, Disney's "Oz origin" has mostly fallen out of favour and rightfully so due to its false claims and inaccurape depiction of Baum's world, his writings and the film it's supposedly based upon.

While Disney never continued its proposed trilogy with the fabled fairyland, WB did manage to continue the adventures of the favoured Krypton ... but unfortunately leaned more into the Batman influence and, possibly trying to catch the success of MARVEL's "The Avengers", rushed into creating their long-awaited Justice League with "Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice" in 2016. - The reference to Oz does get a direct line when Perry White (played by Lawrence Fishburne) gets annoyed at Clark Kent's absence and comments "Clicks his heels three times, goes back to Kansas, I suppose." (What's nice about this remark is that not only is it funny, but the shoes are unspecified - so anyone hearing the line can think of the Ruby Slippers or the SILVER SHOES).

In March 2015 there was also a cover variant that had SuperGirl with a MGM/WOz influenced art image. And once again, the worlds of Superman comics and Oz books come together in 2025, with the July release (11th in USA, 10th in Australia) of James Gunn's "Superman (Legacy)" film starring David Corenswet in the title role (with the red briefs restored to costume) between the two "Wicked" films, an alternate perspective of the story. So, there we are; here we have but a basic touch of the multiple times Oz and Superman have crossed paths and shared moments throughout the years. Now of course there is no definite reasoning and the timing could be coincidental, but there seems to be a slight pattern to these two sharing the same cinematic release schedule (1978 and 1987, 2013, 2025) and there was 12 years between the more recent interpretations ... so maybe we'll get another Superman+Oz movie release in the next 12 or so years, more or less. Who knows what else these two will share or join together in the future? Whatever happens and whenever that will be . . . you can be sure that we'll be there to share the joy and the fun union!

Recommended Tools for Social Media Engagement

After much investigation and careful examinations, I have decided on the 2 most beneficial applications/tools of Social Media for a Library to use:

* Facebook
and
* Pinterest

I have chosen these two because their posts can be made PUBLIC to reach a wide audience.  Although both can show a visual post, "Facebook" allows a limitless amount of text while "Pinterest" can showcase a multitude of images - they compliment each-other in advertising.

This concludes my Class activity of Blogging ... but if the day comes this can become a public viewing, watch out world cause I have things to say!

Commenting on Another Blog

I visited my Teacher Sharon's Blog, I read the Introductory post and left a comment, as she requested ... I said how I loved the WARM colours of her site's background and said which movie I had recently seen (which had been "Ocean's 8" that same week, on Tuesday night).

Then I wrote a Post here on my Blog to say what I had done!

Changing the Arrangement of my Blog

When it comes to Adjustments, I am better with the visual side than the technological and intricate diagnostic side ... especially if it comes to adjusting the layout of a blog page.

In this task I added a "Blog Description" and left the remainder of the Layout unchanged.

Changing the Look of my Blog

Although this Task wasn't requested until later, I still proceeded to get the look right for my own Blog before I could focus on posting and answering the questions proposed by our Teacher, Sharon.

My Favourite colour is BLUE (but I am open to other options for certain things), so that is the main choice I went with because it can be a soothing sight to view, both in sight and the mood.

  The Template I chose for the theme was "Ethereal", because that is also a soothing and calm design to symbolize my fondness for the fantasy and otherworldly aspects.

I am also working on the colours and tones to decide on certain titles, body of text and other areas of the Blog.

Inserting Images

For this post I will insert two images that represent different parts of me.  While both of these images show my fondness for fictional and fantasy, they represent my alternate personalities:

"Oz" is my main lifelong fascination and adoration of fantasy worlds stories ...

Promo image for Disney's "Return to Oz" (1985), from the Aaron Pacentine Collection.

... while mighty, strong and masculine Super Heroes represent my own admiration for testosterone.

Hank "Beast" McCoy from Marvel's "X-Men" comics (from a Google Image search).

How is my local library using Social Media?

My hometown has quite a few local libraries, but one in particular is the Lionel Bowen Public Library and Community Centre.

It uses the following means of social media to advertise its existence and activities:
* Home page: http://www.randwick.nsw.gov.au/library
"Randwick City Library, a sense of community" is the main area of which Bowen Library belongs to and is the brand for the Library's representation.  This website provides links to the other webpages that connect on a social level, each offering a different set of videos and photos that display and represent the community's local library.

* Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RandwickCityLibrary
Contains the usual Posts, with photos and videos, Reviews, About, Library Search, Events and a glimpse at the Community activities.

* YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RandwickCouncil
 Simple using videos to promote and advertise the area, it includes videos on Beach Safety and Announcements from Mayor Lindsay Shurey, as well as updates on events and news and occurrences.  There is not a long list of videos nor is there anything remotely appearing to be related to the Library itself, but that could be a good thing to avoid prolonged viewings.

* Twitter: https://twitter.com/randwickmayor

 Regular posts with minimal text and a picture and/or video with each post, the Twitter page showcases activities and get-together events.

* Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/randwicklibrary/
A vast gallery of images, maybe a video or two or more, awaits you in this expansive page of photos showing the numerous and countless visual collections collected by the library, whether they're for fun and satire, learning, sharing, historical or whatever the need is for ... this suite of pictures is astounding.

How Libraries are using Social Media

* Library Blog:
The following library blog link belongs to "Curtin University", which includes information on upcoming events (like holidays), themes, warnings about scam, suggestion and feedback with responses from the staff.
 http://blogs.curtin.edu.au/library/


* Library YouTube page:
The provided link directs you to the YouTube account of the State Library in Victoria.  Videos and Playlists include advertising Promotions and their themes such as "White Night Melbourne", celebrating 150 years of Beatrix Potter, recipe collection, their first catalogue, Authors and Lecturers, Favourite Treasures and "What's Your Story?" from fellow Victorians.
 https://www.youtube.com/user/statelibraryvictoria


* Library Facebook page:
The link below takes you to the Facebook page of the British Library, where you can find a list of events, many photos and albums and videos, sufficient information and statistics, plenty of Reviews, a Community section and even arrange a Live Webcast.  The page also include a "Book Now" button.
 https://www.facebook.com/britishlibrary
 

* Library Twitter page:
This next link belongs to the Twitter page of the L.A. Library, with  20.1 K (thousand) followers, which has been online since April 2009 provided over 25.1 K (thousand) posts and 5, 639 photos and videos.
https://twitter.com/lapubliclibrary


* Library Instagram page:
Our final link provides you into a glimpse of the Instagram page belonging to The New York Public Library, providing a long list of images that determines their "mission to inspire lifelong learning, advance knowledge, and strengthen communities.".
https://www.instagram.com/nypl/

What is Library 2.0?

"Library 2.0" is term describing, in some way, the classic library in this new day and age of digital technology and opportunities.

While there are digital books available, the solid physical books and stores are still around because they are wanted and necessary.

Libraries are still everywhere, they have no barriers, they invite participants and uses flexible, best-of-breed systems.

More information about Library 2.0 can be found here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Library_2.0 and here https://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/00220410910970294?journalCode=jd.


(courtesy of "social media" powerpoint)

Social Media Considerations / Issues

There are some issues that can be associated with the use of social media tools and applications.  # of these can be:

TECHNOLOGICAL - Sometimes a blog can be made on a faulty piece of equipment (old computer, unfamiliar browser), or the person making the post is not as diverse and well informed in the area as others ... this can cause little accidents and headaches for simple procedures.

SOCIAL - Quite often someone will make a post when they are in a bad mood over someone or something ... this can be called a rant.  It is in this time that people make posts driven by emotion without thinking about the consequences of how it will affect others that are mentioned, good or bad.  While the author can know how they'll be feeling as they type, the readers could misinterpret the post and see it as spiteful or take it the wrong way.

PRIVACY - The right setting can determine the kind of response you get, whether you wanted it or not ... PUBLIC means any and everybody around the world could read it (regardless of language barrier), PRIVATE is restricted to only those you permit to read it, whether it's certain individuals or a group.  As long as the person or company you speak (badly) of doesn't read the post or get informed about it through somebody else, there shouldn't be a problem ... but if you feel like writing out bad things to help yourself feel better, it is best to hand write it in a little diary that you keep alone, or on a piece of paper and dispose of it permanently.

What are Social Media Tools?

I would like to list and briefly describe 5 different types of social media tools and applications, with their respected links:

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/) - a social gathering of people around the world who want to become friends, whether they actually know each other or not, or to share and post about events and life occurrences.

Youtube (https://www.youtube.com/) - a site where people and companies can release an assortment of videos, such as Trailers and Teasers, Music Videos, Behind-the-Scenes, news, Vlogs (video blogs), candid recordings, a compilation of their favourite scenes from various sources and other footages.

Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/accounts/login/) - a site that is less interested in text and more focused on imagery, whether it's a picture or a short video.

Twitter (https://twitter.com/?lang=en) - a site that, like Facebook, involves posts, but is more focused on text than imagery, usually with a word limit.

Blogger (https://www.blogger.com/) - a means of posting news and updates, reviews and interviews, or even sharing photos and videos, with any amount of text or content you wish in a single or as many posts.  Sometimes this can also provide Messaging Forums on an online club.

What Is Social Media?

Social Media is an online way of communicating and interacting with other people, whether they are old friends you are familiar with, or work colleagues you want to know personally outside of business hours, or even new people you have never heard of or seen before but would like to associate with.

Best examples of Social Media are Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/), which are the 2 most visited sites out of 15 social networking sites (and apps).

First Post, Thursday Arvo

I am happy to announce my own, personal, and new Blog, courtesy of TAFE Ultimo's "Library and Information Skills" course, under the guidance of Sharon.