Alexis Sanders 1
Alexis Sanders
English 1010
Mrs.Voorhies
11/2/2011
The Wizard of Oil?
This cartoon depicting the Wizard of Oz gone awry was written by Gary Varvel,
on May 17, 2008, in Oxgoad. This cartoon depicts some of the main characters from
the Wizard of OZ. The Wicked Witch of the West is attempting to persuade the Tin
Man, surrounded by Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Lion to let go of his precious oil. The four
characters are standing closely together, facing the witch, on the yellow brick road. The
mood of the four characters is that of sheer fear.
The intended audience is anybody who can understand the oil crisis that America
has put themselves into in the last few decades. This cartoon portrays a sense of guilt,
and; is almost set to portray Americans as the evil, obsessed, and addicted witch that
would betray magical slippers for a small can of outdated oil. In order to understand
this, the viewer would have to know the plot of the movie the Wizard of OZ. Other
important background information could include a perspective on the amount of oil
manufactured and consumed within the U.S and the amount purchased from foreign
countries that abuse the prices. This is important information as it tells us the reasons
for the oil crisis. Overall though, the cartoon is fairly straightforward and can appeal to
many people’s understanding.
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This cartoon portrays a hefty amount of satirical material. Satire is used to make
the United States oil habits come across as the wicked witch of the west. In the movie
this witch would never go against her original plan for the ruby slippers as they were
worth all the oil cans in the world. The fact that greedy and determined witch would
sacrifice the hailed slippers for a tiny tin can of oil, partially used might I add, says a lot
about the witch who portrays the United States in this case. She depicts the U.S.
citizens and their idolization and dependence on oil and its benefits.
This cartoon uses exaggeration to portray characters. It would seem that the
four characters huddled together could possibly represent alternative energy sources
and even the countries that we depend on buying our oil from. The witch, who appears
larger and drawn in an extremely exaggerated and intimidating manner, represents the
United States and the people who support the amount of oil use within the country each
year. It exaggerates a little bit our ability to persuade other countries or even rob them
of their oil through our political standing and forceful power to obtain whatever we
desire.
The angle and color in this cartoon also depict some underlying points about the
two sets of characters. The witch is coming from what appears a very long and twisted
section of the yellow brick road. This could be interpreted as the long and screwed up
path that the United States took on its journey into the oil crisis. The other four
characters appear to just be on the path, thrust into the accusing shriveled finger of the
evil witch. The colors of the witch are extremely contrasted against those of the other
characters as she is black and forest green. Just like oil is black with a tint of green the
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witch is being consumed figuratively by her clothes, or the oil, the one thing she
believes will benefit her most at the end of the long and tedious yellow brick road.
The cartoon is very effective in reaching its intended audience especially the
more it is evaluated. At first glance this is nothing more than some cowardly
imaginative figures and an evil hag. When the meaning of this cartoon is really studied
though it is seen that the slippers are a priceless item yet, worldly values have elevated
the power of oil above their magical powers. It is very good at making even the most
conservative American realize that they are just contributing to the monster and
pompousness that the witch is as a consumer. This is the essential meaning of this
cartoon and what I believe the author is trying to portray.
Travis. Cartoon. Use the Oxgoad. Travis, 17 May 2008. Web. 1 Nov. 2011.
<http://usetheoxgoad.blogspot.com/2008/05/saturday-morningcartoons_17.html>.