'The Wizard of Oz'

Rating: Null/10 (12 March 2008)

'The Wizard of Oz' is a fictional tale about a young woman, Dorothy, and her dog, Toto, who find themselves in a fictional dreamland; and their journey to return home. Along their journey, Dorothy and her dog find stragglers who end up being of some importance to the whole. The broad, overall message or underlying theme of the movie is a memorable quote; "There's no place like home." Even more interesting, though, is the amazing symbolism in the movie. The entire movie is symbolic of the lifestyle in America regarding social, political, and economic lifestyles of the 1890's. Strangely enough, L. Frank Baum, the author of the Wizard of Oz, which the movie was made about, claimed he never intended the book to be about the socialistic problems of the United States, but rather a child's story. It wasn't until later, that the general public learned of his true motives. The movie starts out with Dorothy and her family, which is the standard representational figure for the hardworking people of America in the 1890's. The tornado comes in and swoops up Dorothy and drops her in the magical dreamland known as Oz. Oz is symbolic of America, where there's ton of opportunity awaiting. The yellow brick road is symbolic of the gold standard, which was what the American dollar was backed by. Dorothy, while in Oz, represented the hard working common man. The Scarecrow represented the farmers of America, who were without a brain to realize that they held the power as they were the food source for America and did not realize they were being stepped on by the big politicians. The Tin-man stood for the steel workers, as they were the ones who needed a heart to have compassion for the American people instead of the money they made through industrialization. The cowardly Lion represented the local politicians who needed the courage to stand up for the American people. The wicked witch of the east and west stood for the national bank, as well as big banks in general. The evil monkeys stood for the local banks as they did the big banks bidding; mere puppets of the big bank. The Emerald City is symbolic of Washington D.C., where the President resides, the Wizard. "No one gets to see the Wizard." The reason why is because the President was a busy man, and to see him at the time, took a little bit of bribery and important contacts to put in the good word. The giant head in the Wizard's chamber was the general public's idea of who controlled America, but the giant head never wanted you to see who really controlled the politicians; hence the reason why he didn't want Dorothy and the gang to look behind the curtain.
The other great piece of symbolism, which also served as ground breaking technology, was the opening scene's transition from the humble farm in Kansas (black and white), to the wonderful dreamland of Oz (in color). The black and white represents bleakness, and sets the tone for the poverty settings that the family was in. The scenery portrays the plains of Kansas with dust surrounding them, and barely any shrubs. All of a sudden, the tornado picks them up to Oz, portrayed in color; showing how vibrant the world can be and hope and optimism for a better future. This optimistic idea is only heightened after the audience realizes that the wicked witch of the east was killed by the house Dorothy resided in, dropped on her and the famous ruby red slippers. In a way, this symbolizes the death of the national banks, and it's corruption over the political scene of the United States. It really brings a new meaning to "dropping the house" on something.
At the end of the movie, Dorothy returns to Kansas with her dog, Toto, and finds that "there's no place like home." She realizes the simplicity of life on the farm, and how one can get caught up in the politics of the world; especially after how frustrating it can be to get policy done (i.e.: getting to the Emerald City, finding the wizard, stopping the wicked witch of the west, and returning Oz to its normal, happy state; then finally returning home). We take a look around the room and outside the room, and realize that there is a bit more shrubbery. The music sets a deeper, more happy tone, and Dorothy seems to favor her Aunt, and Uncle. The moral of the story is that "there's no place like home," but also that you don't really know what you have until it's gone. Change is essential to life, especially when we live in a corrupt society like in the 1890's, but do not try to wish away the good out of the bad because sometimes, the good is all we have to hold onto to get us through the bad.