Saturday 13 April 2013

Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead - Thatcher Oz Irony

Posted to Conservative Home 3 days ago
http://conservativehome.blogs.com

I have had three conversations over the last year with otherwise politically neutral friends of mine who were spitting with rage having just seen the hagiography that was 'The Iron Lady' starring Meryl Streep. I would say that movie, the nauseating American reaction, the boxed set advertised on this page and the current gushing media coverage all contribute to a real feeling of resurgent emotion on this subject. People are seeing the history of the UK being re-written by supporters of Ronald Reagan and they will vent until their views are noticed. 

from
http://top40.about.com/b/2013/04/12/ding-dong-the-witch-is-dead-set-for-top-3-appearance-on-the-uk-pop-singles-chart.htm

In an interesting wrinkle to the entire story, E.Y. Harburg, who wrote the lyrics to "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead," is best known for the songs "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime," which became a theme of sorts for the downtrodden of the Great Depression in the 1930s and "Over the Rainbow" which many people consider one of the greatest popular songs ever written. Harburg himself was blacklisted in the 1950s for left wing political sympathies. Although he passed away in 1981, E.Y. Harburg most assuredly would have been an opponent of Margaret Thatcher's political policies. In a statement released to the New York Times, Ernie Harburg, the songwriter's son, also pointed out the role of humor in the overall controversy:

"Yip Harburg, lyricist of The Wizard of Oz film, would have been amused that 'Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead' rose to the top of the charts when Margaret Thatcher died. W. S. Gilbert and George Bernard Shaw taught Yip Harburg, democratic socialist, sworn challenger of all tyranny against the people, that 'humor is an act of courage and dissent.'"


BTW, Sam Raimi's OZ The Great and Powerful is a big disappointment but it does give me an excuse to end a grim story on a positive note and put up a pick of Mila Kunis ...who almost saves the movie
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