The Wizard of Oz

Yesterday we were talking to some friends who had just watched The Wizard of Oz with their children and they commented about how "silly" and "cheesy" it was....I asked if they had watched it keeping in mind the political allegory it was portraying and they had not heard of that. Here's the wikipedia link to the political interpretation of The Wizard of Oz in case you're interested. It's a lot more interesting to watch when you consider the hidden meanings :-) of "following the yellow brick road." Here's a copy of part of the article... Historian Hugh Rockoff interprets the story of the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, in the Journal of Political Economy: Dorothy: America, with its traditional valuesToto: Prohibitionist party (also called Teetotalers)Scarecrow: western farmersTin Woodsman: industrial workersCowardly Lion: William Jennings BryanMunchkins: Citizens of the EastThe Lollipop Guild: National Labor Union [Note: The Lollipop Guild does not appear in the book (see Chapter 2: The Council with Munchkins), only the 1939 movie by MGM.]Wicked Witch of the East: Grover ClevelandWicked Witch of the West: William McKinleyWizard: Marcus Alonzo HannaOz: abbreviation for ounce of silver or goldYellow Brick Road: Gold Standard, established by William McKinleyCyclone: economic panic following the Dust BowlWinged Monkeys: Plains indiansEmerald City: Washington, D.C.Emerald Palace: The White HouseSilver Slippers: The silver coin system: Free SilverMonkeys: child laborPoppy Field: Rise of the Opium trade ringAt the end of the story, Dorothy finds her way home, but it is not by just following the Yellow Brick Road. After her journey, Dorothy finds that the Wizard is incapable of helping her or her friends. In the end, she finds that the magical powers of her silver slippers help her. Since the silver slippers are the vote, she realizes that she had the power to fix the problems all along.[2] It should be noted, however, that the historian David Parker, in an article referenced in this article, cites evidence that Baum was in fact an 1896 McKinley supporter who opposed "silverism" as undermining business confidence and believed that the answer to America's economic problems lay in the Republican policy of "sound money" and protective tariffs.