is the wizard of oz a musical fantasy or a “parable on populism”? unmasking the wizard of oz
Post on 20-Dec-2015
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Is The Wizard of Oz a musical fantasy or a “parable on Populism”?
UNMASKING THE WIZARD OF OZ
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The Wizard of Oz has been used for years in many political cartoons.
People find various symbolic meanings and they can adapt the story to
current events.
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Bush asks the Wizard of Oz for proof of Iraqi weapons
Artist: Edward Smith Date: 2003-01-10
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Wizard of Oz, Paul Wolfowitz, reveals truth about Saddam's WMD
Artist: Kirk Anderson Date: 2003-06-04
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Henry Littlefield took it one step further in his article “The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism”
But first, a little background on The Wizard of Oz…
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L. Frank BaumThe Author of The Wizard of Oz
In favor of many Populist movements
Political views may have influenced writing
Helped produce a musical which was the premise for the
1939 MGM musical
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What is Populism?
Populists in late nineteenth century
America wanted to help the common people
They advocated measures that would help
farmers and laborers
They supported the free coinage of silver
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The Populist metaphors can be found in…
•Settings
•Key Objects
•Characters
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KANSAS IN THE LATE 1800s
Farmer discontent and Populist politics were
concentrated in Kansas
Suffering from a drought—many farmers
going through hard times
Farmers wanted the free coinage of silver to
help them out of debt
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•Shown in a sepia wash
•Dorothy wants out— “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
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Silver is measured in ouncesBright and colorful “Oz”= ounce
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THE EMERALD CITY
•Main political city of Oz
•Symbolizes the national capital, as well as paper money
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CYCLONE
•Cyclones used in many Populist political cartoons
•Some pamphlets compared the depression of the 1890s
to a cyclone
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Dorothy’s house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East, and she gets…
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The Ruby Slippers
•Originally silver
•Changed to ruby because of color technology
•Symbolize the power of the silver movement
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The Yellow Brick Road
Represents balance between silver and gold movements
Journey on road is dangerous—gold standard might not be wise
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DOROTHY
•Common people
•From a Kansas farm
•Does not see the power of slippers
at first
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THE SCARECROW
Represents farmers
Farmers thought to be ignorant—looking for a brain
Shows common sense throughout the story—has always had a brain
Shows belief that farmers were not as ignorant as wealthy people thought
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THE TIN MAN
•Industrial workers
•Wants a heart—dehumanized
•Physically strong, hollow inside
•Stuck when the found him—workers
felt trapped in an economic rut
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THE COWARDLY LION
•Represents William Jennings Bryan—Populist leader
•Looking for courage—Bryan thought to be a coward by some
•Possessed courage all along
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WICKED WITCH OF THE EAST
Stands for wealthy people of the East favoring gold currency
Symbolic of big businesses and corporation who also wanted gold standard
Dorothy kills her—defeats people who wanted gold currency
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WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST
•Personification of harsh natural forces of west, such as the drought
•Dorothy’s main adversary—present throughout entire story
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•Uses nature to hurt Dorothy and friends
•Poppy field
•Flying monkeys
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She is killed by water, just like a drought
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THE WIZARD
•Represents leadership during the depression
•Government seemed powerless
•Uses hot air balloon (as did many cartoons)
•Wizard is from Kansas, like Dorothy
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ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE THEORY:
SOME SAY…
•Baum was not really a Populist supporter
•The metaphors are purely coincidental
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DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BOOK AND MOVIE
•Silver slippers changed to ruby
•Glinda changed from Good Witch of the South to the Good Witch of the North
Is the movie musical still a populist metaphor?
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There is still plenty of evidence that The Wizard of Oz is in fact a “parable on Populism.”
So the choice is up to you. Next time you watch the musical, look past the magic and color of the movie to find deeper
meanings and metaphors.
Then make up your mind—is The Wizard of Oz just a fun, harmless musical fantasy… or is it
something more?
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Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/oz/
MGM Pictures: The Wizard of Oz
REFERENCES
http://thewizardofoz.warnerbros.com/cmp/photo.htm