IN THESE TIMES DEC. 2O-26.1978 23

OVER THE RAINBOW

Dnce upon a time,

was a populist fableBy Peter

Many reviewers have criticizedThe Wiz for its appropriation ofone of America's most treasuredfantasies. The Wizard of Oz.Some disapproved of replacing

. Judy Garland's youthful Kansasfarm giri with Diana Soss" 24-year-old New York schoolteach-en . Newsweek, for example, la-mented turning a story abc-j;'; a"child's magic adventures" b.toa hip ghetto extravaganza abouta "grown-up blark woman iear~-ing to put a\¥£y childish things

But whether we prefer the 1539Victor Fleming version featuring"Over the R^bcvr' cr the 2970Sidney LuKet version with thesong "No Bad News," almost ailAmericans a:~s familiar with thecast of ehiifsctsrs as originallywritten in Ly:;nan Frank Bauni'-s19GG tale, i '"hs Wonderful WizardofOz -ths TirEnsn, the Lion, theScarecrow, the Witch, and thsWj/ard of Oz himself.

What most American's don'tknow is the political allegory tobe found in Baum's story, aboutthe Populist period in late 19thcentury history.

Baum was born near Syracuse,N.Y., in 1856 to a wealthy familyand enjoyed some success writingplays. In 1887, he moved with hiswife and twc sons to Aberdeen,S.D., a small prairie town, wherehe edited the local weekly until itfailed in 1 891 . That year he movedto Chicago, where he continuedto write, and where he authoredThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz in1900.

Baum's travels and experiencesplaced him amidst the whirlpoolof Populist agitation of the per-iod.

His brief stay in South Dakotaspanned the period of the forma-tion of the Populist Party, an at-tempt by Midwestern farmers touse the ballot to restrain the pow-er of the banks, railroads, andother economic interests that hadbeen squeezing farmers through s.combination of low prices, highfreight rates, and continued in-debtedness. The Populists, an al-liance of farmers and some urbanworkers (many affiliated with theKnights of Labor), advocatedgovernment ownership and oper-ation of the railroads, telephoneand telegraph industries, a grad-uated income taxs postal savingsbanks, secret ballot elections, di-rect election of senators, and sil-ver coinage, Although their presi-dential candidate, James B. Weav-er of Iowa, lost to DemocratGrover Cleveland in 1892, hedid receive about 9 percent of thepopular vote and carried Nevada,Idaho, Colorado, North Dakotaand (significantly for Wizard afi-cionados) Kansass a leading Pop-ulist state, and ths setting cf thebook's beginning,

Baum's move to Chicago coin-cided with ths 1893 depressfo-and the militant stirrings cf ihslabor movement. Ths csprsssicaof the I; 890s was the worst :r U.S.history 1:3 to thai: iirae. ?arnprices surJc to :.ew lows. Uns;r-ploymer.t caussd havoc, despera-tion and UD.SC;: si:lita?-cy among

the urban working class. In 1894American Railway Union presi-dent and soon-to-be socialist Eu-gene Debs led the Pullman strikein and around Chicago. The sameyear Jacob S. Coxey, a lumberdealer from Massillon, Ohio, anda Populist, led a mass march ofunemployed workers to Washing-ton to demand a federal publicworks program.

Populists received 40 percentof the vote in the 1894 congres-sional elections and looked for-ward to winning the Presidency—and the silver standard—in1896. That election, between Re-publican William McKinley andPopulist - Democrat WilliamJennings Bryan, Congressmanfrom Nebraska, revolvedaround the issue of gold vs.silver. During that campaignBryan made the speech thatconcluded: "You shall notcrucify mankind upon across of gold." The elec-tion proved a disaster forthe Populists. McKinleyreceived 271 electoralvotes to Bryan's 176,almost all in the Mid-west. Bryan opposedMcKinley again in1900 (when Baumpenned The Won-derful Wizard ofOz), but by thenthe Populistss t rength hadbeen dissipated.

Allegory.Baum viewed theseevents from up-close inboth rural South Dakota and ur-ban Chicago. He mourned thedestruction of the fragile alliancebetween the Midwestern farmers(the Scarecrow) and the urban in-dustrial workers (the Tin-man).Along with Bryan (the Coward-ly Lion with a loud roar but littlebite), they had been taken downthe yellow brick road (the goldstandard) that leads nowhere.Each journeyed to the EmeraldCity seeking favors from the Wiz-ard of Oz (the President). Eventhe name Oz is an abbreviationof the standard measurementof gold, the ounce. Dorothy, thesymbol of Everyman, went alongwith them, in her silver shoes(changed to ruby in the 1939movie). She was innocent enoughto see the truth before the others.

Along the way they meet theWicked Witch of the East who,Baum tells us, had kept the littleMunchkin people "in bondagefor many years, making themslave for her night and day." Ifwe have any doubt as to whomthe witch represents, Baum soontells us. The Tin Woodsman, oncean independent and hard-workingman, had been put under a spellby the witch so that each time heswung his axe it chopped off adifferent part of his body. Lack-ing another trade, he "workedharder than ever." The workerbecomes like a machine, incap-able of love. (Recall the Tinmansinging: "If I only had a heart.")The Scarecrow (farmer) wants theWizard to give him a brain. TheWicked Witch of the East sym-bolizes the large industrial corpor-ations and eastern finance.

Clockwise, fromleft: William Jen-

nings Bryan; Rich-ard Pryor as TheWiz, 1978; Dorothy

(Judy Garland) andfriends, 1939.

The original Yellow Brick Road wasthe gold standard; the Cowardly Lionwas William Jennings Bryan.

Like Coxey's Army, the smallgroup heads toward the EmeraldCity where the Wizard, hiding be-hind a papier-mache facade, rules.As they enter the throne room,each member of the group seessomething different in the Wizard—like all good politicians, he canbe all things to all people.

Later, however, they confrontthe Wizard directly. They see heis nothing more than "a littleman, with a bald head and awrinkled face."

"I thought Oz was a greatHead," Dorothy said. "And Ithought Oz was a terrible Beast,"said the Tin Woodman. "And 1thought Oz was a Ball of Fire,"the Lion said. The Scarecrowthinks he sees a gossamer fairy.

"No, you are all wrong," theman said. "I have been makingbelieve." When Dorothy askshim who he is, really, he replies,"I'm just a common man." TheScarecrow adds, "You're morethan that...You're a humbug."

The Wizard admits: "It was agreat mistake my ever letting youinto the Throne Room. Usually Iwill not see even my subjects, andso they believe I am somethingterrible." Those were the days be-fore presidential candidates cam-

paigned among the people. Theystayed home and "received" del-egations. Bryan broke the tradi-tion in 1896—he traveled throughthe country and roared. This wasBaum's Populist message. Thepowers-that-be can only remainat the throne through deception,people's ignorance and credulityallow the powerful to manipulateand control them.

The Wizard—a former ventril-oquist and circus balloonist, acommon man from Omaha—isdisarmed. Dorothy returns toKansas with the magical help ofher Silver Shoes, but when shegets to Kansas she realizes hershoes "had fallen off in her flightthrough the air, and were lost for-ever in the desert." She didn'tneed the shoes after all to findhappiness, safe at home withAunt Em and Uncle Henry, sim-ple farmers.

(Baum even displayed an earlysympathy for native Americansof the plains, symbolized in thestory by the Winged Monkeys inthe West, whose leader tells Dor-othy, "Once...we were a free peo-ple, living happily in the great for-est, flying from tree to tree, eat-ing nuts and fruit and doing justas we pleased without calling any-

body master.... This was manyyears ago, before Oz carne cut ofthe clouds to rule over this land.")

Baum realized perhaps that thesilver issue had been lost, but thatsilver was not the crucial issueanyway. The real question wasthat of power. With the Wizardof Oz dethroned, the Scarecrow(the farmer) rules Emerald City,the Tin Woodman (the industrialworker) rules in the West and theLion (Bryan) protects smallerbeasts in "a small old forest."In Baum's vision, farm interestsgain political power, industrymoves West, and Bryan, perhaps,returns to Congress. Baum'sWonderful Wizard of Oz is atonce a children's fantasy and anangry political statement.

In both film versions, the storyremains intact, but the message isgone. And a 1977 book,Making of the Wizard of Oz byAljean Harmetz, spends 329 pageson the history of the film and apsychological portrait of Baum,never mentioning Baum's politi-cal sympathies or the social con-text of the time.

Did Ray Bolger realize he rep-resented America's small farm-ers? Could Bert Lahr imagineplaying William Jennings Bryan?How might Judy Garland havereacted if someone asked herabout Populists, nationalized rail-roads, or silver coinage? The Wiz-ard ofOz was made in 1939, dur-ing the next major depression,when business was once againchallenged by farmers, industrialworkers, and progressive politi-cians; but the story's political ref-erences were lost.

The same pattern holds in the1978 version. Also made during aperiod of economic hardship. It'sironic'that of all people RichardPryor should play "The Wiz."Among today's black film stars,Pryor has avoided the worst blackexploitation films to play roles insocial "message" films. He hasportrayed an industrial worker(Blue Collar), a farmworker(Which Way Is Up?), a Father-Divine-like religion flim-flamman (Car Wash), and a memberof a black worker-owned base-ball team trying to survive in theracist South (Bingo Long and theTraveling All-Stars).

The Wizards of Hollywoodhave led American film-goersdown another Yellow Brick Road,cashing in on the fantasy and leav-ing the political allegory behind. •Peter Dreier, sociology professorat Tuft's University, teaches acourse on film and politics. Hewishes to acknowledge his relia-ance on an essay by Henry M.Littlefield, "The Wizard of Oz:Parable on Populism, "AmericanQuarterly, 1964.

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24 IN THESE TIMES DEC. 2O-26.1978

nxiety? Fear? Loathing? At Christ-mas? Do we dare mention such feelingsat a time when the message we are hear-ing and trying to convey is one of goodcheer and happiness? Once again most ofus are searching frantically for those giftswe must give our friends and relatives.

We've been watching television com-mercials about glorious goodies to buyand serve at the fabulous parties we willgive and attend. We are talking to rela-tives about attending Christmas Day cel-ebrations. Some of us are even planningtrips to lovely vacation spots to bask inthe sun or ski in the snow. Some of us.Others will do without Christmas celebra-tions—too poor or too alone. They willresent the Christmas cheer pressed onthem by the relentless merchants forwhom Christmas means the most cheer-ful time of the year.

Many, neither poor nor lonely, will suf-fer Christmas angst, the pain of celebra-ting a holiday that is not truly theirs forthis is the day that the world celebratesthe birth of Christ and there are manywho are unwilling to join the celebrationbut who are yet unwilling to demur, par-ticipating instead because the social pres-sure is too great to resist.

At the same time, those for, whom

The Second ComingTurning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The-bldod-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhereThe ceremony of innocence is drowned;The best lack all conviction, while the worstare full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;Surely the Second Coming is at hand.The Second Coming! Hardly are those words outWhen a vast image out of Spiritus MundiTroubles my sight: somewhere in the sands of the desertA shape with lion body and the head of a man,A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,Is moving its slow thighs, while all about itReel shadows of the indignant desert birds,The darkness drops again; but now I knowThat twenty centuries of stony sleepWere vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,Slouches toward Bethlehem to be born?

! William Butler YeatsFrom The Pocket Book of Modern Verse, edited by Oscar Wil-liams (New York: Pocket Books: 1954).

Photo by Richard Stromberg

Christmas is an empty ritual suffer greatanxiety, fear, and even loathing, hatingthemselves for looking forward to thegifts they hope to receive, having diffi-culty buying appropriate gifts for thosethey feel indebted to, even buying a treethat has no meaning for them except nos-talgia, which by itself arouses ambiva-lence.

Who does not recreate the symbols ofthe past without a few shudders? Whodoes not engage in rituals without a senseof loss, lost childhood, lost joys? Particu-larly those rituals that have lost their mean-ing. Particularly rituals once celebrated inthe heart of the family, as a child protect-ed and loved, and now celebrated as an actof will.

Many celebrate Christmas with greatgood feeling, with the same pleasure theyfelt as children, perhaps even with more.But in this season of good will and cheer,we address those for whom Christmas isnot such a happy time. To those people,the staff of IN THESE TIMES extends its sym-pathy. Endure, for it will soon be over.And to all the rest, to those who will besaying "Happy holiday!" with sincerity,we extend a Merry Christmas and manyanother to celebrate. To both the anxiousand the merry, we dedicate Yeat's poem.

7V

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