POPULISM AND THE WIZARD OF OZ POPULISM Farmers

POPULISM AND THE WIZARD OF OZ

POPULISM • Farmers are hurting, want to be on the silver and gold standard • The Wizard of Oz is seen (by some) as a political allegory on the Populist movement • Dorothy: an American Populist; honest, adventurous , individualistic • Toto: represents the Teetotalers, who were supporters of the populists • Dorothy's slippers: Originally silver in the book (changed for movie), represents the issue of free silver • Tornado: The idea of change, the populist movement was often referred to as a tornado sweeping the Midwest • The Wizard: Represent politics or President Mc. Kinley

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD (SCENE 14) • The wicked witch of the East (banks) is killed by the populist movement • The munchkins are the “common folk” • How do they react to the witch being dead • The Wicked Witch of the West represents the western frontier (challenges faced by settlers), she stands in the way of westward movement • Glenda the Good Witch represent the northern businesses, efficient and powerful • Tells the wicked witch she has no power (cant stop progress, just get in the way) • The Wicked Witch wants to control the silver (slippers) but Dorothy (the people) now own it

FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD (SCENE 19) • During the Populist Era, money is backed up by what? • The Yellow Brick road leads to OZ • What does the YBR represent? • “oz” is the abbreviation for ounces (measurement of gold/silver) • Farmers and debtors wanted silver to be more available (inflation will help them pay their debt) • Society is guided by the “Yellow Brick Road” (gold standard) • The YBR leads to the capital city (society moves on gold)

MEETING THE SCARECROW (SCENE 22) • What is he like? • How is he represented? • What does he lack and want from the wizard? • He represents what class? • Needs help from Dorothy (American Populist) • She warns him of the dangers of the West (the witch) • He wants to see the wizard (president) to solve his problems

MEETING THE TIN MAN (SCENE 26) • • He represents what? How is he portrayed? What is he missing? What does he need to get going? (a new resource that is booming during this time period as well) • Gets off to a slow start • He doesn’t have a heart (we will get to this when we talk about labor issues later) • He is not malicious, he just wants to be efficient and sometimes loses sight of the working class

MEETING THE LION (SCENE 30) • Who is this representing? • He was often referred to as the Lion • Powerful orator and commanding of respect like the “king of the jungle” would be • Trying to motivate them to get up and fight, his speeches were seen as motivating people to action • He was seen as a “Coward” by a small contingent due to his stance on antiimperialism

EMERALD CITY AND THE WIZARD (SCENE 35) • What color is Emerald City? Why? • The yellow brick road leads to prosperity and wealth • What city do you think the Emerald City represents? • Cant get into the city to visit the politicians to speak her mind until what? • Shows the Ruby (silver) slippers • Drops the Good Witch’s name • Industrial influence, the issue of silver, and the presence of industry (tin man), populist (Scarecrow), and the lion (William J. Bryan) gain her access to politics

THE WITCH AND HER MINIONS (SCENE 41) • So the Witch is really more of a nuisance, she knows she holds no real power over Dorothy • The western struggle (with Native Americans and the difficulty of settlement) merely harass settlers and farmers, but cannot stop progress • The monkeys represent the Plains Indians • They attacked and destroyed the farmer (scarecrow), but didn’t harm tin man or the lion • The farmers (Scarecrow) are the ones who suffered the physical hardships of western settlement

THE WICKED WITCH IS DEAD AND THE WIZARD IS REVEALED (SCENE 47) • Witch tries to burn the scarecrow (again the farmers (scarecrow) are the only ones who suffer physically) • Witch says that she never would have thought Dorothy (American/Populist) would be able to conquer and settle the west (or in this case kill the Witch of the West) • The wizard (president) ordered her (Dorothy- Americans) to conquer and settle the west (she had to kill the witch and get her broom before the wizard would talk to her again) • Liquid (liquidity) kills the witch and frees the people • The wizard says “you liquidated her” • Liquidating silver into currency is what the Populist and free silver backers wanted

THE WICKED WITCH IS DEAD AND THE WIZARD IS REVEALED (SCENE 47) CONTINUED • The inefficiency of the Wizard • Politicians are “all show”, pulling switches and doing things behind the scenes, but the voters trust them • They want him to deliver on his promises, he tries to delay (taking shots on the red tape of politics) • Wizard Delivers • Turns out the farmer is actually intelligent (contrary to stereotypes of the time) • The wizard says, the lion (William Jennings Bryan) mistook wisdom for lack of courage. • He was not a coward for being an anti-imperialist, in his opinion it was wise for the US not to get involved in the imperialism game • Even gave him a cross made of silver and gold…golden cross speech • Tin man (Industry) is told he is not judged by how much he loves, but how people love him back, who doesn’t love having a job/getting paid?