Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 129 views

    WizofOZ Presentation

    Uploaded by

    Jonathan Brantley
    The document discusses whether The Wizard of Oz is simply a musical fantasy or contains deeper symbolic meanings relating to American Populism in the late 19th century. It outlines evidence that aspects of the story, such as characters and settings, represent Populist ideas and figures through metaphors. However, some argue Baum was not truly a Populist or that similarities are coincidental. Viewers must decide for themselves whether to look past the magic for underlying political commentary.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    WizofOZ Presentation

    Uploaded by

    Jonathan Brantley
    129 views32 pages
    The document discusses whether The Wizard of Oz is simply a musical fantasy or contains deeper symbolic meanings relating to American Populism in the late 19th century. It outlines evidence that aspects of the story, such as characters and settings, represent Populist ideas and figures through metaphors. However, some argue Baum was not truly a Populist or that similarities are coincidental. Viewers must decide for themselves whether to look past the magic for underlying political commentary.

    Original Description:

    Power Point of "The Wizard of Oz"

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The document discusses whether The Wizard of Oz is simply a musical fantasy or contains deeper symbolic meanings relating to American Populism in the late 19th century. It outlines evidence that aspects of the story, such as characters and settings, represent Populist ideas and figures through metaphors. However, some argue Baum was not truly a Populist or that similarities are coincidental. Viewers must decide for themselves whether to look past the magic for underlying political commentary.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    129 views32 pages

    WizofOZ Presentation

    Uploaded by

    Jonathan Brantley
    The document discusses whether The Wizard of Oz is simply a musical fantasy or contains deeper symbolic meanings relating to American Populism in the late 19th century. It outlines evidence that aspects of the story, such as characters and settings, represent Populist ideas and figures through metaphors. However, some argue Baum was not truly a Populist or that similarities are coincidental. Viewers must decide for themselves whether to look past the magic for underlying political commentary.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as ppt, pdf, or txt
    You are on page 1of 32

    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/

    You might also like