No matter what cultural background you come from, there are always stories passed down and shared to younger children. Depending on the culture, the story may be said and adapted differently. However, the majority of the time the moral of the story remains the same. We all remember the time around elementary school where we were fascinated about princesses, superheroes, or even characters from movies we’d watch. We would get stickers, lunch boxes, posters, and other items that would remind us of childhood obsessions. Then, as you mature, the stories will reappear in conversations, social media, and believe it or not, in Halloween costumes. As you mature, you can read more in between the lines with books and movies. These childhood perceptions, can be extremely different to interpret.
As a child, I owned multiple collectibles of Hello Kitty, Dora, Elmo, and several more. In Pre-K, I was in a Wizard of Oz play. During that time, I was fascinated with the outfit: the red slippers, checkered dress, and basket with Toto. In that role, I was the young girl who was trying to find her way home. From what I recall, I cared more about my appearance than the moral of the play. All I had to do was sing the songs, move to different locations, and listen for my cue. Since my male friends played the scarecrow, tin man, and lion, I assumed they were just helping me, Dorothy, find a way home. I didn’t focus on what gender played each specific role. Were they just three friends, three boys, or three men ?
At the age of five, what was your perception of men ? In 2006, I was under the impression that men were good for mechanical issues, being head of a household, and being knowledgable about different topics. In school, we’d discuss what occupation we desired when we got older. The boys would typically say, a police officer, doctor, lawyer, construction worker, fire fighter, etc. All of these jobs related to public safety, whose focal point is being the first responder. If a boy wanted to be a doctor, a girl wanted to be a nurse. If a boy wanted to be a police officer, a girl would do the administrative part of the job. I felt like I lived in a bubble where it would be weird for a girl to do what “boys” did and there would be so much bullying and back talk if a girl wanted to do something “abnormal”.
Currently, as a junior in college I have been through different life experiences and have taken courses where I dissected and analyzed works of literature. I recently re-watched the Wizard of Oz film created by Frank Baum (1939), a movie I was obsessed with from a young age. The movie hasn’t changed, the characters hasn’t changed, and the moral hasn’t changed, but my perception has. After carefully reevaluating the movie, I realized my change of heart. I’m the one that grew up and evolved into the world we live in today. A world where women can’t be seen as weak. A world where men and women don’t get paid the same because men are more “qualified” for the job. The Wizard of Oz inadvertently touches the topic of gender roles through facial expressions, dialogue, and body language.
Come down the yellow brick road to the Land of Mental Growth
Uncle Henry: “Of course we won’t, will we Em”
Before Dorothy gets blown into the Land of Oz, Miss Elvira Gulch, a strict neighbor in Kansas, comes to Dorothy’s home to talk to Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. During the conversation, Dorothy goes up to her Uncle and asks “You won’t let her will you?” and he responded “Of course we won’t, will we Em?”. Typically, if someone were to abruptly enter a home and demand to take something, there would be some backlash. Uncle Henry wasn’t being firm with Miss Elvira. He passed the question back on Auntie Em as if she had more authority, as if she was the head of the household. After Toto was put in the basket, Dorothy ran into her room sobbing. Then, Auntie Em gave Miss Elvira a piece of her mind. The picture above illustrates, how Uncle Henry shrugged his shoulders and looked away when Miss Elvira gave him a dirty look. It was strange that he didn’t speak up for Dorothy and show authority to Miss Elvira. He allowed his wife to do all of the talking and when she was done, so was he.
The Scarecrow
The scarecrow is the first male character that Dorothy encounters. Instead of helping Dorothy with the directions on which pathway she should take, he confused her. Not that all men have great direction capabilities, but a good amount of men are typically knowledgable with direction. He blames his indecisiveness on not having a “brain”. During the 1940s, women were typically housewives while men were the head of household. All of the responsibilities required by a “man”, a brain is necessary, so why would Frank Baum create a film where the gender roles are switched ? I believe it is important to focus on the language and behaviors of the characters. When Dorothy helped him off the pole, he attempted to scare her and failed. A black crow even tried to take straws from out of his chest. Similar to Uncle Henry, the scarecrow had no authority and allowed not only a woman to walk all over him, but an animal as well. Yes, an animal.
The Tin Man
“When a man’s an empty kettle he should be on his mettle, And yet I’m torn apart. Just because I’m presumin’ that I could be kind-a-human, If I only had a heart. I’d be friends with the sparrows…and the boys who shoots the arrows If I only had a heart. Picture me – a balcony. I hear a beat…How sweet. Just to register emotion, jealousy – devotion, And really feel the part. I could stay young and chipper and I’d lock it with a zipper, If I only had a heart.”
“If I Only Had a Heart” Tin Man song
Songs that characters sing are very catchy and easy to dance along to. Unfortunately, I never payed attention to the lyrics until I matured. The first line of the song refers to a man who is empty inside and should be capable of handling difficult situations. However, he was torn between his resilience and cowardliness. The remainder of the song expresses what he could do if he had a heart. In reality, the heart is the largest muscular organ in the body. If a man doesn’t have a heart, he can’t show sympathy and empathize with others. Relating back to the most popular occupations that boys would choose from, working in public safety would require someone to have a big “heart”.
The Lion
As demonstrated in this scene, the lion demonstrates his weakness through dialogue and behavior. “Put em up, put em up” is one of the prominent lines from the lion in the Wizard of Oz. When I was younger this scene used to make me laugh. A scene where the lion is showing aggression, used to make a 5 year old…laugh. The lions “roar” sounded more like a frustrated cat. It didn’t frighten me back then. After watching this scene is a lion really the king of the jungle ? Did you realize that Toto was the one that intervened between the lion, scarecrow and tin man bickering ? After Dorothy slapped the lion he became vulnerable. At this point, Dorothy is on her way to find the great Wizard of Oz with three men that don’t have a brain, heart, and courage. In the play, I followed cues and did everything that was asked of me. Now, if I had to read my lines and focus on my behaviors and facial expressions, I would be horrified. Where’s the safety ? I wouldn’t even trust that they should be around me or even help me get to the great Wizard of Oz.
The Women
Besides the obvious four main characters, the wicked witch of the west and Glenda the good witch of the north made a great debut. Even though they didn’t appear in the film as much, their characters made their mark. The munchkins adored Glenda; their face lit up every time she came around. Her elegance and entire demeanor showed on everyone. A womans touch ? The wicked witch of the west had a more daunting character, but she was an authoritarian. She had an army of soldiers who were scared of her and listened to every command she gave. A countless number of men being scared of one woman ? They showed their strength and didn’t need to ask for a man’s permission. Everything that a man lacked, they possessed. Glenda had the heart, the wicked witch had courage, and Dorothy had a brain. No matter if they were positive or negative, they both showed authority, which was rare for women during the time the movie was created and even today !
The Land of Mental Growth
Now, if I were to be Dorothy again for a play, I wouldn’t just be a young girl with a blue and white checkered dress, red shoes, and a basket with Toto. I would be a woman who was the leader of the pack. The one who made all the decisions and put my fears to the side to persevere. Watching the same movie with a 15 year difference and a more developed mindset brings new messages to light. After the movie, I asked myself why Dorothy was sent to the Land of Oz to find the Wizard with three men who didn’t have the three things a “man” in today’s society should have, a heart, courage, and a brain. One could also argue that there is no true definition of who a man should be. Each character brought something unique to the movie, but I cared more about their individual behaviors because of how society portrays men in this day and age. Masculinity comes in different forms along with traits and skills. Knowing that the movie was made decades ago when women’s rights were still in the beginning stages, I thought it was interesting that women got to be the authoritarian for once. I care a lot about women representation because of all of the backlash women receive. I am no longer shocked when I hear that woman want to be doctors, lawyers, law enforcement, or even firefighters. I myself am apart of a science field where men are slowly being outnumbered by women. Our time is now !
So, next time in the play, I won’t just wear the costume for entertainment, but I will wear it with confidence knowing that I can conquer anything on my own !
