The popularity and familiarity of The Wizard of Oz make the story a useful parable for teaching certain approaches to short-term psychotherapy. The Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly Lion represent the clinical syndromes of low self-esteem, restricted emotional expressiveness, and anxiety.

Was The Wizard of Oz about the depression?

Eighty Years of 'The Wizard of Oz' - OutSmart Magazine. TIMELESS TALE: L. Frank Baum's children's story speaks to the political turmoil of the Great Depression and World War II.

What mental illness did Dorothy have in The Wizard of Oz?

Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)

We're no shrinks, but it seems like Dorothy could be suffering from HPD, a disorder that manifests itself through attention-seeking behavior, intense theatricality, and a shallow array of emotions.

How does The Wizard of Oz represent the Great Depression?

Like the workers, the tin man in the movie is shown as rusty and is unable to move until Dorothy comes along and pours oil on him. Once she pours oil on him, the tin man is now able to move as well as speak. Many factory workers felt immobile when man businesses began to shut down due to the Great Depression.

What is The Wizard of Oz supposed to represent?

As conceived and written by Lyman Frank Baum in 1900, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" was a political allegory of turn-of-the-century America. Written in the waning days of the Populist movement of the late 1800s, it was the story of the sad collapse of Populism and the issues upon which the movement was based.

Does "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" have a hidden message? - David B. Parker

What does the lion symbolize in Oz?

In conclusion, the Cowardly Lion in “The Wizard of Oz” represents courage and the journey to find it. His character teaches us important lessons about the nature of fear, the importance of self-confidence, and the transformative power of confronting our insecurities.

What do the flying monkeys represent in The Wizard of Oz?

Winged Monkeys. According to some writers, the Winged Monkeys of Oz represent Native Americans in the West in the late 1800s. Baum himself had clear attitudes toward American Indians and some of his earlier writings about Indians are very similar to his descriptions of the Winged Monkeys found in Oz.

What are the hidden messages in The Wizard of Oz?

Littlefield also claims that the characters in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz represent figures from the Gilded age. Munchkins are ordinary people oppressed by the witches of the East, banks, and monopolies. The Scarecrow is the farmer, and the Tin man is the industrial worker who has been dehumanized by factory labor.

Why was Dorothy drugged for Wizard of Oz?

"While filming 'The Wizard of Oz', Garland was receiving criticism about her weight and had her food rationed by the studio. "She soon began taking amphetamines, which the MGM studio willingly gave to young actors and actresses in order to give them the energy to continue filming for hours at a time.

Why does the witch kiss Dorothy?

She kisses Dorothy on the forehead, a magical act that serves to protect Dorothy on the journey, because "no one will dare injure a person who has been kissed by the Witch of the North".

What character from The Wizard of Oz lacked a brain?

The Scarecrow is a character in the fictional Land of Oz created by American author L. Frank Baum and illustrator W.W. Denslow. In his first appearance, the Scarecrow reveals that he lacks a brain and desires above all else to have one.

Did The Wizard of Oz have special effects?

They had no computers. No green screens. No Industrial Light and Magic.

What is the theory of The Wizard of Oz Dorothy?

The theory argues that Dorothy wasn't dreaming but instead sent to an alternate reality where she encounters the doppelgangers of her loved ones. However, because she never meets her own double, the theory claims Dorothy is a Wizard of Oz witch.

How does Gone with the Wind relate to the Great Depression?

previous scholars have noted about Gone with the Wind's relation to the sense of dispossession and loss during the Great Depression and ties it with the Lost Cause and the cultural and racial zeitgeist of the 1930s.

What is the controversy with The Wizard of Oz?

Potential Trigger for Judy Garland's Drug Abuse

The executives behind the film kept Judy Garland, then only 16 years old at the time, on a strict diet and forced her to take 'pep pills' to control her appetite. She was meant to stay slim and producers pressured her to stay in shape for the duration of the film.

Why did the witch want Dorothy?

“The Wizard of Oz” - musical film

…the evil witch's sister, the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton), vows to kill Dorothy in order to avenge her sister and retrieve the powerful ruby slippers.

What did Judy Garland died of and how old was she?

Throughout her adulthood she abused drugs and alcohol. She had financial troubles, often owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes. Her lifelong substance use disorder ultimately led to her death from an accidental barbiturate overdose in 1969, at age 47.

What does The Wizard of Oz symbolize in Christianity?

Religious allegory

Christian sermons have discussed The Wizard of Oz's Biblical meanings, comparing Dorothy's song Over The Rainbow to the end of the tale of Noahfrom the book of Genesis, or claiming that the Emerald City represents “the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem”.

What do the ruby slippers symbolize in The Wizard of Oz?

All kidding aside, the slippers make for a pretty straightforward representation of Dorothy's own potential power. She has it, she just doesn't know how to use it yet, which is really why Glinda sends her off to see the Wizard.

What does the yellow brick road symbolize in The Wizard of Oz?

The Yellow Brick Road represents strategy—how you will get there; the path you identify as the best, smartest way to accomplish your goal. And each of the shiny yellow bricks in the road represents an action step—the smaller tactics that go into executing your strategy.

Why did the Winged Monkeys not harm Dorothy?

They picked up the Lion and returned him to the witch's palace. The monkeys refused to harm Dorothy because she had the mark on her forehead left from where the Good Witch had kissed her.)

What are flying monkeys in psychology?

When people discuss narcissists, they sometimes use the phrase 'flying monkeys. ' Flying monkeys refer to people who carry out the work of a narcissist or an abusive person, and it comes from The Wizard of Oz, in which the Wicked Witch of the West puts flying monkeys under her spell.

What happened to the flying monkeys at the end of The Wizard of Oz?

Glinda then ordered the winged monkeys to carry Dorothy's companions back to their new homes in Oz after Dorothy's departure, and then to simply cease to bother people and not play pranks on them anymore. She then gave the winged monkeys the cap as their own, breaking the curse and setting them free.

What does the Scarecrow symbolize in The Wizard of Oz?

Frank Baum's book "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz," upon which the movie is based, was a political allegory for American politics at the dawn of the 20th century. Dorothy, the Kansas innocent, represents the nobility of middle (and Midwestern) America; the Tin Man is industry, the Scarecrow is agriculture.

What does the silver slippers represent in The Wizard of Oz?

In the book and the play the shoes are silver, not ruby as they were famously depicted in the 1939 film. In his reading of The Wizard of Oz, Littlefield believed that Dorothy was a stand-in for the average American, and that the magic silver shoes represented the late 1890s free silver movement.