The Wizard of Oz

The biggest question ever “Is the childhood movie The Wizard of Oz” really a child friendly movie after all. Have you ever watched the movie, and it has left you confused and not really sure of what the movie is about. Well in this topic report we will explore the movie in its entirety and try to understand the true meaning and purpose of the movie. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (original name) was a children’s novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. The children’s novel was published in Chicago on May 17, 1900 by the George m. Hill Company. Since the release of the novel, it has been turned into musicals and movies, and has been reprinted many times. The summary of the story is the adventure of a young girl, Dorothy Gale and her dog To-To, from Kansas whom was swept away by a cyclone that landed them in the Land of Oz. On their adventure they met the infamous Tin Man, the Straw Man and the Lion. They all wanted to join Dorothy and To-To on their journey through the Land of Oz to see the Wizard, down the path of the yellow brick road.
Everyone had their own reason to wanting to see the Wizard. Dorothy wanted to get back home to her Kansas farm. The character the Tin- Man represented wanted the Wizard to grant him a heart. The Straw Man wanted a brain because he wanted to be smarter, and the Cowardly Lion wanted courage so that he would be brave. They all set out together on the journey to seek the Wizard to grant their wishes, on the way through The Land of Oz, they encountered many obstacles. The story overall was a good one but for it to be considered a children’s novel, it definitely was not. Let’s examine the truth of the novel and what each character represented through the eyes of economists.
The title of the story is The Wizard of Oz; one would automatically assume the title represents “the wizard” from the Land of OZ. However, in this passage “Oz” is symbolizing ounces and the measurements of gold. The yellow brick road is symbolizing those bricks of gold. The wizard is representing the United States presidents of the late 19th Century. The issue of that era was deflation and depression. The US was operating on the gold standard; which was a monetary system that valued the dollar according to the quantity of gold.
Dorothy embodied the everyday American spirit. The Straw man represented the farmers and how they were not appreciated. The reason for the straw man wanting to receive a brain from the wizard was to be able to communicate with the bankers more efficiently. The farmers were looked at as dumb and incompetent. The Tin man embodied