A long review of The Wizard of Oz for my Film As Historical Literature Class, covering the story and it's symbolism.(SPOILERS INSIDE!)

Rating: 7/10 (2 April 2004)

The Wizard of Oz is a film best described as a metaphorical dream. It presents issues on two levels: those of a young girl, Dorothy Gale, a poor farm girl from Kansas who faces losing her dog to a nasty old woman, and those of a grander scale, like government evils and inefficiencies, and farming in arid Kansas. Under the guise of a children's book/movie, the story of The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is thought to be an allegory of the economic state of the Midwestern US and the Populist movement, of which Baum seemed to be a supporter, during the time that it was written. While the movie shows this, it was also changed to show more general ideals to reach a broader audience. Let us first look at the beginning of the film, and the characters. Starting on a dusty, windswept, desaturated Kansas farm, which seems to represent Dorothy's bland orphan life and presents the challenge that Dorothy is trapped in Boringsville unless she does something about it, the movie shows us the young, honest, pure, All-American girl Dorothy. Miss Gulch, a miserable crab of a woman, high up on the town's governmental ladder, is threatening canicide. Toto, Dorothy's dog and the only thing that brings joy to her otherwise black and white life, bit Miss Gulch, and now the old shrew is threatening Dorothy to take Toto away and have him killed. As Miss Gulch leaves with Toto, Toto escapes and finds his way back to Dorothy. The two then try to run away, but their plans are halted by a tornado. The next thing you know, Dorothy and Toto have just landed in Munchkin Land. Her house has landed on, and killed, The Wicked Witch of the East. The munchkins rejoice and Dorothy is rewarded with the witch's ruby slippers (which some believe represents "the 'inner spark' within all of us"), then sent on her way down the Yellow Brick Road to see the Wizard of Oz about getting back to Kansas. The Yellow Brick Road and the Ruby Slippers, which in the book are silver, are said to represent the gold and silver standards (monetary systems used during the 19th into the 20th centuries in which the paper bank notes were backed up by either gold or silver.). The main themes of the movie revolve around the idea of a better tomorrow, and there being "no place like home," and this Yellow Brick Road may also pose as a sort of "shining road to a better tomorrow/home." As the film progresses and Dorothy and Toto make their way down the Yellow Brick Road, they meet and befriend several characters. First to come along is the wise yet uneducated Scarecrow, representing the hard working hay-brained Kansas farmer who, despite his own view of himself, is smart, but lacks the education to prove it. Then comes the rust-frozen Tin Man, symbolic of the industry worker-compassionate, strong and sturdy but lacking a physical heart. Finally we meet the Cowardly Lion, king of the jungle, but afraid of everything. William Jennings Bryan, the thrice-defeated democratic presidential nominee who had many Populist views, such as bimetallism (having both gold and silver standards), is thought to be the model for the Lion. He was known as a great orator, but as they say, "his bark was greater than his bite," and Bryan had little power. Upon a more general view, the Lion may stand to represent the nobility of those who give up solely thinking about themselves and fight in defense of others and fight for what they know is right. The five go to Emerald City to ask the wizard for help, but they are sent away at first. Later the Wizard tries to intimidate them as they ask for their wishes to be granted. These scenes resemble the relationship between the higher government and citizens/lower government. The five are sent away at first because they could not possibly be important enough to speak to the Wizard of Oz, and when they finally do get to see Oz they come face to face with a giant, threatening, floating green head barking sternly at them. They only later discover, thanks to Toto, that Oz is just an insecure old man, with no real physical power, much like how government officials want us to think they are omnipotent deities. In one of the final scenes, the Witch is destroyed simply by being splashed with water. This is symbolic of the washing away of evil, but also, according to some sources, the Witch represents the dry Kansas soil. Her dousing can be seen as the taming of Kansas farmland. This point of view fits more with the book than the movie.
The story of this film seems to be it's main driving force. It's direction, casting (with the exclusion of the always excellent Judy Garland), acting, and lighting are all average. It's cinematography and set designs are very interesting. The film almost looks more like a play than a movie, and it appears that this is because it was intended to have a storybook look to it. The music was timeless and extremely catchy. Everyone who has ever seen the film remembers the tunes. The only bad thing that can be said about the film is that it is not nearly as enjoyable since it has been analyzed to pieces and is no longer looked at as "just a movie."