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The Wizard of Oz Meaning

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  anonymous

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  Nov 10th 2008, 10:21 report

  
  

  This classic is simply about discovering the power within. The protagonists all believe they are lacking something vital, only to realize that what they wanted was already their own. The film is full of irony (e.g. Dorothy travels to the Wizard with friends to acquire a way home, though she already had the slippers to do that, e.g. the Wizard is supposedly Great & Terrible but in actuality is an harmless old man) but the adventures had, and characters met along the way, is what makes this one so marvelously enjoyable.

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  anonymous

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  May 3rd 2009, 23:38 report

  
  

  Originally a book, the storyline was used for a movie with the rise of Soviet Russia and the tense times America was experiencing with the threat of communism possibly taking root in the western hemisphere. Dorothy is supposed to be the American citizen caught in the hardships of the Great Depression. Oz is supposed to be Soviet Russia. Dorothy wishes she was in Oz because of how wonderful she imagines it to be. When she gets there, she discovers its backwardness, wanting to return again to her home. Similarly, the USSR portrayed itself as grander than it really was. The American citizen might become sucked in, but he must realize that America is really much better. "There is no place like home." Anyways, that is the subliminal message the good, old US government was sending at that time through this great film.

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  anonymous

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  Jul 11th 2009, 15:36 report

  
  

  It's not about the USSR. This movie was made in 1939. It's about populism.

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  anonymous

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  Dec 21st 2010, 16:18 report

  
  

  The book was written in the 1800's. This movie is about the gold standard vs the silver standard. I read about this in economics class. The yellow brick road is the gold standard and the ruby slippers which were silver in the book were the silver standard. Hollywood just wanted to brag about color since it was new back then and changed the color to ruby. Oz is supposed to be Washington DC and gold is measured in ounces or Oz.

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  Cali Webman

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  Apr 18th 2011, 02:01 report

  
  

  An Ounce is an Ounce is an OZ - Interested in your feedback
  
  Though like anything, the classic iconic film the Wizard of Oz can be interpreted in a wide range of ways. From hidden meanings to secret reasoning to being a story about the times I am sure you have heard of a good few different interpretations of the movie. In my delving into this subject area I wanted to take one of those interpretations and run it a bit deeper, then ask for feedback to see how much deeper this slant might go.
  
  Let's take a position that OZ was actually a representation of the economic, industrial, social, and environmental status of the times (around 1890-1939). Using the article below will help outline the allegoric translation of the OZ symbols; characters and setting.
  
  Yellow brick code
  
  In 1964, high school teacher Henry Littlefield wrote an article outlining the notion of an underlying allegory in Baum's book. He said it offered a "gentle and friendly" critique of Populist thinking, and the story could be used to illuminate the late 19th Century to students.
  
  Since its publication, teachers have used this take on the tale to help classes understand the issues of the era. SYMBOLISM OF CHARACTERS
  Dorothy: Everyman American
  Scarecrow: Farmer
  Tin Woodman: Industrial worker
  Lion: William Jennings Bryan, politician who backed silver cause
  Wizard of Oz: US presidents of late 19th Century
  Wicked Witch: A malign Nature, destroyed by the farmers' most precious commodity, water. Or simply the American West
  Winged Monkeys: Native Americans or Chinese railroad workers, exploited by West
  Oz: An abbreviation of 'ounce' or, as Baum claimed, taken from the O-Z of a filing cabinet?
  Emerald City: Greenback paper money, exposed as fraud
  Munchkins: Ordinary citizens
  
  
  With this set let's open up with feedback and creative slants on what more might be interpreted from this slant on the film. In saying this allow for me to offer this short slant:
  
  The Wizard of Oz is a warning of the future. Dorothy (citizens) keeps being told by Tin Man (industrialists with no heart), Scarecrow (banks with no brain) and Lion (politicians who have lost control of the people or animals in the jungle), that when you reach the end of the yellow brick road (finish using the gold standard) you will reach the emerald city (start using fiat money) and everything will be OK. But the Wizard was a fraud, his gifts were shallow and it was all a fantasy. Just like the money which is created by the federal banks clicking its heels together, then demanding interest or they'll send the monkeys after you.
  
  
  Open up your creative powers and let 'er rip.
  
  -S