Oompa Loompa
The Oompa Loompas are members of a fictional pygmy tribe . You are one of the most important characters in the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory .
origin
The Oompa Loompas were created by the Norwegian- Welsh writer Roald Dahl for his children's book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (original title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ) published in 1964 .
Origin of the Oompa Loompas
According to the story, the people of the barely knee-high Oompa Loompa lived in Loompaland , which is "the deepest and darkest part of the African jungle". There she discovered Willy Wonka on his search for new, exotic cocoa varieties . He meets their leader and learns that they are running out of cocoa beans , their only staple food and means of payment, and that they are in danger of starvation. In their desperation, the Oompa Loompas ate caterpillars . Willy Wonka offered the people to come with him to work for him in his chocolate factory . In return, the Oompa Loompas would receive as many cocoa beans as they could eat and carry. Then he took the whole people with him and quartered them in his chocolate factory. Since he fired the entire workforce after a case of industrial espionage, they are now the only workers there. They receive their wages in the form of cocoa beans. They don't talk, but instead sing songs that are very wise and instructive in character.
Appearance
There are three known versions of the appearance of the Oompa Loompas: In the original novel, they are described as knee-high, with very pale, slightly rosy skin and dark blonde hair. They have different hairstyles. The women dress with leaves that are picked fresh every day, the men in deer-skin aprons and the children are bare.
In the first film version from 1971, the Oompa Loompas are also short. They have clay-orange skin, bottle-green hair and white eyebrows. They are dressed in brown and white worker overalls and wear white gloves. In the second film adaptation from 2005, all Oompa Loompas have black, straight hair that is knotted into a bun . You are now in bright red, shiny overalls.
criticism
Both the literary description and the behavior of the Oompa Loompas in the original novel have been repeatedly criticized in the past, so that Roald Dahl was forced to change or cover up their appearance and geographic origin. The background was allegations from the press and literary critics that the portrayal of the Oompa Loompas was " racist " and " discriminatory ": Willy Wonka behaved like the stereotypical , white New World, who patronizingly rescued an oh-so-primitive people from their misery, only to then be them to let cheap migrant slaves work in his factories. The Oompa Loompas would be portrayed as brutal and uneducated savages. Roald Dahl denied these allegations all his life.
Parodies and allusions
The Oompa Loompas are parodied or alluded to in many different ways . Here is a selection:
- Futurama : In the episode The Party with Slurm McKenzie (Fry and the Slurm Factory), Fry wins a visit to a beverage factory (similar to the story of Roald Dahl). There he, Bender and Leela meet little workers who are called "Gronka Lonkas".
- The Simpsons : In the episode Sweet and sour margin ( Sweets and Sour Marge ) Homer Marge asks, returning from the sugar factory if there also were Oompa Loompa. Later, an Oompa Loompa exploited by the sugar company even turns up at their place. In the episode Big, Small Love , the bartender Moe happened to see a TV sequence in which Oompa Loompas were singing while zapping in his short girlfriend's apartment.
- Family Guy : In that episode in which (again similar to the original story) Peter wins a brewery tour, the Choompa Woompas work there.
- Jackass : In the MTV show you can see the short actor Wee-Man in an Oompa Loompa costume skating through the city or dancing to a song by Oompa Loompas from the 1971 film adaptation.
- Bela B .: The music video for the song Tag with dust jacket by the German musician Bela B. is modeled on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory , so characters can also be seen that resemble the Oompa Loompas of the Dahl films.
- Drawn Together : In the episode Freaks & Greeks , Captain Hero chews a piece of gum that Xandir calls Willy Wonka's candy, which causes Captain Hero to puff up and resemble a blueberry. He is rolled out of the room by two Oompa Loompas.
- Epic Movie : Part of the film consists of a parodied visit to the chocolate factory, based on the film from 2005. Oompa Loompas are also shown there in pink suits.
- Robot Chicken : In several short episodes reference is made to the (involuntary) work in the chocolate factory as well as to the - spontaneous - composition of new songs.
- Brickleberry : Oompa Loompas are held captive in Brickleberry National Park, but the National Park chief forgot to feed them and they starved to death.
- The Big Bang Theory : Sheldon Cooper visits Howard Wolowitz in the engineers' experimental laboratory and calls those present the "Oompa Loompas of science", who, as semi-educated people, have to implement the visions of thinkers and dreamers.
Several other series and films use "Oompa Loompa", mostly in connection with petite or short people.
literature
- Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . Penguin Books, 2010 (new edition), ISBN 0141960612 , pp. 15-17.
- Rashna B. Singh: Goodly is Our Heritage: Children's Literature, Empire, and the Certitude of Character . Scarecrow Press, 2004, ISBN 0810850435 , pp. 102-106.
- Donald Sturrock: Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl . HarperPress, London 2010, ISBN 978-0007254767 , pp. 492-497.