The Intoxication of Colour in The Wizard of Oz

In Chromophobia, David Batchelor describes the idea of falling into colour as being similar to the way that the fall from drugs is described. He describes it as a fall that is “sensuous, intoxicating, unstable, impermanent; [a] loss of focus, loss of self” (Batchelor, 31). He refers to the 1960s and psychedelic art’s association with bright colours to show how colour has always been linked to drugs, honing in on ecstasy, a type of psychedelic drug often used to describe colour (Batchelor, 32). Batchelor’s description of colour as a drug, along with writers he quotes such as Charles Blanc and Roland Barthes, is evident in, and can be used to help analyse and explain, the poppy field scene in The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, U.S.A, 1939).

Batchelor’s discussion of colour as an intoxicant is clearly illustrated in The Wizard of Oz. The idea that one falls into colour is evident early on in the film when Dorothy (Judy Garland) leaves her monochrome home of Kansas and, quite literally, falls into the colourful land of Oz, however it is the scene in the poppy field where Batchelor’s comparison of falling into colour with the fall from drugs is really demonstrated. The field of poppies has an immediate drug-like effect on Dorothy and Lion (Bert Lahr), making them fall asleep and, literally, fall to the ground. While the focus of this paper is on colour, and not the poppies as an object, it feels worth noting here that the drug opium comes from poppies, making their effect on Dorothy and Lion, and the connection to Batchelor’s comparison of drugs and colour, particularly compelling. In this instance, it is not simply the colour that is the intoxicant, but the object of the colour itself.

With colour itself as an intoxicant, Batchelor states that the psychedelic drug, ecstasy, is often used to describe colour, and quotes writer Roland Barthes in saying, “colour is a kind of bliss…like a closing eyelid, a tiny fainting spell” (32), an idea clearly demonstrated in The Wizard of Oz. As mentioned previously, when Dorothy lands in Oz, she subsequently lands in a place of colour and, as we learn at the end of the movie, it was actually all just a dream. This aspect of the movie wherein Dorothy dreams that she is in Oz, and thus in a colourful land, is Barthes’ description of colour as a closing eyelid and a fainting spell personified, as that is precisely what colour is within the whole of the movie. In addition, and more specifically, Barthes’ words are illustrated in the given still. In this still, Lion, Tin Man (Jack Haley), and Scarecrow (Ray Bolger) are placed in the centre of the frame, with Tin Man and Scarecrow holding up Lion while Dorothy is already asleep in the field of poppies. The phrase “a closing eyelid, a tiny fainting spell” is illustrated even more literally, as that is exactly what the field of poppies is. The Wicked Witch of the West created the poppy field as a spell to stop the group from getting to the Wizard, and the effects of said spell is bliss in the form of sleepiness, causing them to be unable to do anything besides lay down and close their eyes. Here, Barthes’ description is once again displayed, both within the vibrant red of the poppies contrasted against the dull tones of the characters, as well as with the poppies being a spell themselves, a spell meant to create an intoxicating, overwhelming bliss.

Based on Blanc and Barthes’ descriptions of colour, Batchelor goes on to state that colour has the power to overwhelm and annihilate (Batchelor, 32) and this is illustrated clearly in the given still. The saturated, vivid red of the poppies and blue of the sky in the background strongly stand out against the muted, neutral browns, dark greens, and greys of Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion in the centre of the frame. In this still, the colour of the poppies and the sky overwhelm the dull coloured characters, causing them to lose control of themselves - another concept mentioned by Batchelor in his comparison of the fall into colour and the fall from drugs (31). This loss of control is especially evident in Lion in this still, as he loses control of himself as a result of the poppies and has to be physically held up by Scarecrow and Tin Man. Despite the fact that they are the main characters, that they are ‘real’, in the sense that they are live beings, their dull coloured selves are overtaken by the euphoric, colourful bliss of the non-living flowers, thus demonstrating Batchelor’s claim that colour has the power to overwhelm and annihilate.

From poppies themselves being an origin of the drug opium, to the field of them being a blissful spell, to just their colour being stronger than that of the main characters, David Batchelor’s description of colour as a drug, along with his references to other writers as well as his claims that colour can overwhelm and annihilate are all demonstrated in The Wizard of Oz. Although his theories of colour may be applied to various parts of the film, or the film as a general whole, they are most evident and clear cut in the poppy field scene and serve as proof of Batchelor’s claims of colour being an intoxicant.