The Wizard of Oz and Populism
Since 1964 the story as well as the movie known as The Wizard of Oz has lost much of its innocence. Prior to 1964 The Wizard of Oz was a tale of innocence that adults and children alike enjoyed. They viewed The Wizard of Oz as an escape and thought the story to be fun, exciting and pleasurable. However, in 1964 Henry M. Littlefield published The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism. Littlefield's theories on populist allegory throughout The Wizard of Oz sparked much controversy with the public. Henry M. Littlefield was able to convincingly connect scenes, characters, and objects in The Wizard of Oz to populism in his essay The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism.The movie opens up with a very drab view of Kansas in the late 19th century. Everything is gray as far as the eye can see, as all the land has become barren, and dust storms are now very prevalent. The farmhouse where Dorothy lives is barren too, and the paint has chipped off and blown away. Uncle Henry never laughs, and Auntie Em (whose face is completely gray) never smiles. This is parable to the beginnings of populism because farmers they were facing a widespread drought causing many problems with their farming. Ultimately this barren land is what led the populist movemen
When Dorothy lands in Oz she is first confused. However, Littlefield's theories should not be discounted because they are outdated. Today there is just as much innocence surrounding The Wizard of Oz. The yellow brick road remained just as important throughout the story as the gold standard did during the populist period. Both were built up so much, but ultimately just common men. He was very aggressive in taunting people and convincing to The Scarecrow and The Tin Man, however, Dorothy knew his actions did not match his words. There are far too many convincing connections between populism and The Wizard of Oz, for it to be merely a coincidence. The rest of the main characters demonstrate the oppressed during the populist time period. This is similar to how the farmers banded together to achieve their goal to nationalize the populist movement. Just as William McKinley was built up to be something wonderful so was The Wizard. The yellow brick road is seen throughout the movie just as the gold standard remains an issue of the populists. It is not until the end that Dorothy realizes the power she has, luckily for her it wasn't too late. Similarly, if The Lion worked on showing his ferociousness through his actions he would have been more scary and productive in his task to be king of the forest. The Wicked Witch of the East feared these silver shoes when Dorothy possessed them just as banker bosses feared silver coinage.
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Acceptance Essays
