UNMASKING THE WIZARD OF OZ
Is The Wizard of Oz a musical fantasy or a
“parable on Populism”?
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.
Bush asks the Wizard of Oz for proof of
Iraqi weapons
Artist: Edward Smith Date: 2003-01-10
Wizard of Oz, Paul Wolfowitz, reveals
truth about Saddam's WMD
Artist: Kirk Anderson Date: 2003-06-04
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…
L. Frank Baum
The 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
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
The Populist metaphors can be
found in…
•Settings
•Key Objects
•Characters
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
•Shown in a sepia wash
•Dorothy wants out— “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
Bright and colorful
“Oz”= ounce
Silver is measured in ounces
THE EMERALD CITY
•Main political city of Oz
•Symbolizes the national capital, as well as paper money
CYCLONE
•Cyclones used in many Populist political cartoons
•Some pamphlets compared the depression of the 1890s
to a cyclone
Dorothy’s house lands on the Wicked Witch of the East,
and she gets…
The Ruby Slippers
•Originally silver
•Changed to ruby because of color technology
•Symbolize the power of the silver movement
The Yellow Brick Road
Represents balance between silver and gold movements
Journey on road is dangerous—gold standard might not be wise
DOROTHY
•Common people
•From a Kansas farm
•Does not see the power of slippers
at first
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
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
THE COWARDLY LION
•Represents William Jennings Bryan—Populist leader
•Looking for courage—Bryan thought to be a coward by some
•Possessed courage all along
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
WICKED WITCH OF THE WEST
•Personification of harsh natural forces of west, such as the drought
•Dorothy’s main adversary—present throughout entire story
•Uses nature to hurt Dorothy and friends
•Poppy field
•Flying monkeys
She is killed by water, just like a drought
THE WIZARD
•Represents leadership during
the depression
•Government seemed
powerless
•Uses hot air balloon (as did
many cartoons)
•Wizard is from Kansas, like
Dorothy
ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE THEORY:
SOME SAY…
•Baum was not really a Populist supporter
•The metaphors are purely coincidental
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?
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?
REFERENCES
MGM Pictures: The Wizard of Oz
http://thewizardofoz.warnerbros.com/cmp/photo.htm
Library of Congress
http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/oz/