At the end of this American cultural institution (we can no longer call it just a movie), which is made from the stuff of nightmares, Dorothy—the institution’s hero, and a girl from the middle of America, Kansas—throws water on the old Wicked Witch. This witch, who has a green face, begins to melt. As the witch disintegrates into a steaming puddle, she says to Dorothy and God and the universe: “Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! You cursed brat! Look what you’ve done!! I’m melting, melting. Ohhhhh, what a world, what a world.” As much as I hate the witch, these words break my heart every time. There is no normal parent who has not been in a situation when they wanted to say exactly that to their stupid child. by Charles Mudede