Parable On Populism

The 1939 film, ‘The Wizard of Oz', was a colour and sound explosion that is as cherished today as it was when it was first released. But what a lot of the public doesn't realise, is that the movie is based on the first of 14 books written by L. Frank Baum.
Publish in 1900, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" marked the beginning of a new type of fairytale. Baum steered away from the Classic European style fairytales like those of Hans Christian Anderson and the Grimm brothers, into a more light-hearted, witty, simplistic story for children that instilled American rural values into them. The simplicity of the story caused controversy within the literary circles at the time, and was the main reason it was banned in many public libraries and not considered
proper children's fiction. But despite the acidemia's disapproval of the story, it became widely popular, and was the best selling children's book for two years running.
Baum was a man of the theatre, and in 1902 he turned "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" into a stage musical aimed at a more adult audience. Politics was a very current issue at the time so he altered the script so that actors made references to figures such as John D. Rockefeller and President Theodore Roosevelt. The story was also change so that instead of having Toto the dog as her Kansas sidekick, Dorothy had Imogene the cow. This was the first version of the story to use the shortened title of "the wizard of oz", and since then, all subsequent versions have used the same title instead of the longer, original title.
Baum and his family moved around a lot and at one stage were living in South Dakota, which is said to be the basis of his description of Kansas at the start of the story. Another place of great influence was Holland, Michigan, where Baum's great grandfather lived; the winding cobblestone streets of the town inspiring the yellow brick road.
He married Maud Gage in 1882, who was the daughter of a famous women's suffrage activist, Matilda Joslyn Gage which was claimed by a pamphlet of the Matilda Joslyn Gage Foundation to have influenced the character of Dorothy. Dorothy was a new type of heroine, in that she wasn't a damsel in distress, or a character dependent on the actions of others, but rather an accidental hero who, through her down to earth character, compassion, logical thinking and bravery, freed Oz from the Bad Witches and got the reward of home.
The 1939 musical film "The wizard of oz" was a highly anticipated film that, despite the many problems in production, was an instant success and is still as valued today as it was back then. Part of the reason it still has resonance for the modern audience is because it is a film with excellent characterisation, amazing choreography and body control and beautiful sets and costume which made the most of the new technicolour technology of the time. It also gave hope to a generation who were moving out of the depression, and into WW2, with the award winning song, "Somewhere over the rainbow".
The 1939 film wasn't the first version of the wizard of Oz to use the idea of Kansa being in black and white, and Oz in colour. Ted Eshbaughs 1933 cartoon was the first to use the idea, which the film then adapted in a colour explosion, celebrating the new found technology. It was also an age of musicals, due to sound in film being a recent discovery. The first musicals were simply Broadway shows filmed and quickly failed, so writers started putting more emphasis on the characters and their relationships, and exploited the fact that everyone could talk and express themselves much more clearly and quickly. This also allowed for the expansion of genres. Gangster films, screwball comedies and westerns were all developed in the 1930's/1940's, Hollywood's golden era.
While making the Wizard of oz, the crew and cast came across many problems, such as the costumes. Margaret Hamilton who played the wicked witch of the west received severe burns after the copper in her green makeup base caught on fire and melted onto her face. The film also went through 2 or 3 directors during production due to problems with the studio, and the production of ‘Gone with the wind', another highly anticipated film being produced at the same time that required the attention of director Victor Fleming.
But despite these mishaps, and with the help of special effects man Arnold A. Gillespie, the film was a success, and is still viewed as one of the greatest films of all time.
The basic storyline of "The Wizard of oz" is fairly simple. Dorothy is a small town Kansas girl who, through a freak cyclone, gets whisked away into a magical land called Oz. Celebrating her arrival in Oz by killing the wicked witch of the east, she is greeted by the people of Munchkin land and the good witch of the North. It is here that she is told that in order to return home, she must go to oz and ask the great wizard himself how to return to Kansas. So she starts off down the yellow brick road, and along the way meets three sidekicks. Scarecrow is in need of a brain, Tinman wants a heart and Lion wants courage. They reach the Emerald City and told by the wizard that if they want their rewards, they first have to kill the wicked with of the west. On the way to killing the witch, Dorothy and her friends are captured by the witch's cronies and become prisoners. Then in a fight, Dorothy throws water on the witch, ending the witch's reign of terror forever. Dorothy, scarecrow, tinman and lion then return to oz to claim their rewards. Everyone gets what they want, and Dorothy returns home to Kansas. Some major differences in the book and film aren't vital to the story, but they have mislead numerous generations. Dorothy's shoes were not originally ruby red. Its thanks to screenwriter Noel Langley that people everywhere believe this lie. Her shoes are spose to be silver, but this was just one of the many things changed in the adaptation of the book to the film.
Songs were added to the film to appeal to the aching nation at the time, and dances were choreographed to accompany them. Dorothy was made to be slightly older and parts of the already simple story were cut to shorten the length of the film.
But something that always comes through in the story is the good old American rural values. The importance of logical thinking, compassion for all animals great and small, a sense of moral justice and the appreciation for what you have are all ethical principals which are idealised by the story.

But the wizard of oz is a lot more than just a pretty story. It had been the basis for a lot of modern day dramatic and literary culture, and has been the cause of many theories and spiritual revelations. But to understand why is has had such a great influence on us, we need to look at the culture at the times at which it was received.
The build up to the turn of the century, and the 1900's themselves, was a time of great media expansion, as well as political and social change. Baum was a Republican who promoted the idea of equal treatment for women. He was also the alleged publisher of an editorial piece which rallied for the annihilation of the Native Americans. But this was during his own economic depression and may have been writing to appeal to a wider public, for it was a much debated topic at the time.
Classified as the age of advertising, the 1900's were a time when revolution was occurring. For the first time, women were depicted outside the house, and were realised as the main purchaser of household items. This meant advertisements changed so that they appealed to women rather than the male audience exclusively. Vouge began Publication, the Car started being mass produced and becoming available to the general public and Pepsi-Cola (later to spark invention of Pepsi Max) was created. Teddy Roosevelt was elected president after his predecessor was shot at an expo. The people of America were having a rocking time.

When the film was made in 1939- America, as well as the rest of the world, was in a severe slump, coming out of the Great Depression and into World War 2. People were looking to literature for entertainment and escapism. The world around them was frightening and little joy could be found in the everyday life. This caused the birth of many significant popular culture figures. Shirley Temple, Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs, Popeye, Donald Duck and the 3 stooges were all products of the 1930's. It was also the start of the popularity of the platinum Blond bombshell, which was later made famous by Marilyn Monroe.

By understanding the text, we can look past the storyline and into the possible theories Baum was presenting.
The book was never critically acclaimed or the subject of academic exploration, but it has been a heart warming story enjoyed by many since its publication. By far the most favourable theory of both myself and most others, is the Populist theory, publicised by Henry Littlefield in 1964. In, "A Parable on Populism," Littlefield explained the theory that Baum wrote a story which was a social commentary of the time, but a story for the masses first and foremost. The theory is summed up in Littlefield's own words towards the end of his argument. "Led by naïve innocence and protected by goodwill, the farmer, the labourer and the politician approach the mystic holder of national power to ask for personal fulfilment. Their desires, as well as the Wizard's cleverness in answering them, are all self delusion." In this theory, Dorothy is the everyman, who goes on a quest to get her selfless wish of home for the sake of Aunt Em, fulfilled. Scarecrow is representative of the Kansas farmers who were under attack at the turn of the century for being muddle headed, but he turns out to be a shrew character who solves a lot of the problems faced. The Tin Woodsman, who is discovered in the East of Oz, embodies the Eastern American Workers who were being forced to work faster and hard, so much so that they became more like machines than human. Lion personifies Bryan, a politician of
the time who was having troubles getting the Eastern Workers to like him, as the confrontation between Lion and Tinman shows. Both Bryan and lion claim and appear to be cowardly, but are far from it when conflict arises. The Wizard of Oz himself can be seen as one of many American presidents, who hid behind the façade of the throne room (the white house) and tricked a nation into believing that they were something much more powerful than they really were. The Winged Monkeys, who are evil when controlled by evil, but good when under the influence of good, are viewed as the Native Americans, who were once free, but became enslaved. They won't leave the West of Oz because they are tied to the land. Littlefield ends his Parable on Populism by saying, that the Wizard of Oz is, "a genuine piece of America Folklore because, knowing his audience, Baum never allowed the consistency of the allegory to take precedence over the theme of youthful entertainment."
The Wizard of Oz had survived for as long as it has, and will keep on surviving, because it is a story that instils morals and values into its audience, in such a way that it appeals to us, rather than making us feel sick, and often does it without the audiences knowledge.
It has been adapted to modern culture over and over again, because it is something that if you make a reference to, people will understand what you mean. "Follow the yellow brick road", is a saying that everybody recognises and uses. The Oz phenomena has been adapted time and time again in form of movies, such as the Muppets Wizard of Oz and Robots, into musicals like "Wicked", into cartoons like Family guy, Futurama, Barbie and Simpson's. Scenes from the movie have become classic Hollywood scenes used over and over again, such as the Guards and chase scene at the Wick Witch of the West's castle, and the Munchkin's celebration of the Wicked Witch of the East's Death. "Ding Dong", a song form that scene, is sung everywhere, and Elton John wrote a hit song entitled "Goodbye yellow brick road", using the Oz phenomena to describe the journey a country man takes in deciding the city life isn't right for him. There have been books written about the film and its involvement with the dwarfs who played the Munchkin's. But the more direct continuation of the Oz phenomena comes in the incessant writing of the Oz books. After Baum, writers such has Baum's own grandson, continued adding to the Oz collection and making
it so that there are over 40 books in the series.

‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz', is a book enjoyed by myself and others, because it is such a simplistic, pretty story that whisks you away into another land, that is easy to relate to, yet out of this world. The musical film, "The Wizard of Oz', is loved by many, for its colour explosion, beautiful characterisations and costumes, and the fact that it brought hope to a generation that was sinking further and further into depression.