Battling Modern Wizards
A modern take on a classic epic
Introduction
Life is overflowing with analogies, euphemisms, comparisons, metaphors, coincidences, and correlations. Stories are often riddled with ancient lessons we scarcely notice. The art of storytelling is the most captivating method to transition generational lessons by, however, most of us interpret as many of these lessons as we miss. Often, the authors of famous narratives do not intend on the references that society draws from; this happenstance is one of the more magical parts of the practice. Analogies drawn from anecdotes help us through various quandaries, frequently with complete credit to our imaginations.
A notable example which demonstrates teachings through tales is the Bible, as it has creatively contextualized issues from temptation to jealousy through metaphors that have endured for thousands of years. Dozens of generations have found comfort and wisdom through a personal relation to it’s lessons, although the verses often get tweaked and reinterpreted along the way. As many people leave organized religion in the past, the same efforts extended to the Bible should be afforded by modern citizens to revise and review famous modern tales such as Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, along with older classics like the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Treasure Island, and the Adventures of Tom Sawyer. We must continue relaying the more important societal lessons past generations have discovered. If we cease this tradition, we risk losing the parables all together.
“Don’t bite the forbidden fruit” has been analysed as everything from a caution on the dangers of seductive women to a warning for the masses to stay away from mind altering substances, particularly in reference to the tree of knowledge. We’ll never know exactly what the metaphors from the Bible imply, nevertheless, by learning the ‘forbidden fruit’ saga in Genesis, we instinctively know the crux of the story is the eternal lesson of avoiding temptation; our minds then draw parallels to our own lives, abetting us in resolving the dilemmas and choices we face.
Once we recognize the underlying plot of a tale we can relate the theme to personal experiences, it’s one of the most beautiful phenomena of the mind. Whether the writer intended on the analogies as we decipher them is not necessarily as relevant as the position of those decrypting the message. For example, I personally believe Alice in Wonderland has many references to psychedelics, from the mushrooms she takes to the hookah smoking caterpillar, but I don’t know this to be a fact. Whether it’s factual or not, I’m more than happy seeing the protagonists journey through that lens as it offers a relatable experience to hallucinogenic substance use. I often find myself speaking of Alice in Wonderland when discussing topics like psychedelics, fully understanding I’ll never know what author Lewis Carroll truly meant when he penned the classic, perhaps he himself didn’t.
L. Frank Baum’s novel from 1901, The Wizard of Oz, is arguably the most important modern rendition of the Emperor Has no Clothes; the plots are obviously different in these stories, but the overarching theme is the same, these tales are designed to expose the powerful as human. The stories that unmask power show the audience the figures behind the robe or curtain are usually inept cowards. This type of impactful story is missing from current pop-culture, although the lessons sit glaring in the reality of modern politics.
I hated the famous 1939 Wizard of Oz film the first time I saw it. I’m 35 right now, so I should have hated it. It was 60-years-old when I watched it as a child, and for the same reason I disliked Rudolph and Bugs Bunny, I found the outdated art and tacky characters boring. However, I’m glad my parents forced me to watch it, as I’ve come to realize many metaphors from the movie ring true in my life, as cliché as it sounds. The phrase ‘cliché’ itself references the quirky fact that common themes continually resonate. The French have a fantastic way of boiling these issues down into a word or phrase, as ‘déjà vu’ also comes to mind in relation to the echoing of happenings.
I haven’t investigated this and as far as I can tell I’m the first person to write an interpretation of the Wizard of Oz. Obviously not. But I would like to offer an updated version, with my own spin. In the song Are you sure Hank done it this way, written by the country star Waylon Jennings in the 1970s, Jennings sings about trying to replicate what the historic Hank Williams had accomplished. This is another analogy I often come to, the understanding that not everything that’s great has to be original, so let me take a shot at singing this song my way.
Tragedy
To begin, a tornado rips through a rural Kansas town, as the villagers run for shelter, a young girl named Dorothy is hit on the head. She falls asleep, after a certain amount of time she arises - dazed and confused - having to assess her situation.
This opening involves an environmental disaster and a health scare, which are common concerns throughout time. The threat that begins the movie is relatable now, it was relatable in Pompeii, and it will be relatable on Mars. What happens next in the movie is interesting, as she wakes up, she leaves behind a black-and-white world as she enters a world of colour.
Her house is no longer on the farm where she was raised, it appears to be in another land. The book predates the movie by decades. At the time of the books publishing, the concept of colour on screen was brand new, and only exercised through adjusting the hue and tint of black-and-white silent films to give them an overlay of red, yellow, and blue. Having Dorothy enter a realm of colour in the 1939 film most likely hadn’t entered the mind of the author in 1901, but the metaphor is there regardless; she emerged from the initial tragedy in a vulnerable position, and her first course of action was to investigate and explore a new unfamiliar world, this is where the story truly begins.
As she walks around and investigates outside, she’s confronted by a woman who appears from nowhere. She’s thrice the age of Dorothy, and she’s beautiful, as Dorothy is. She asks Dorothy, “are you a good witch, or a bad witch?” Dorothy nervously replies in a confused fashion indicating she was not a witch. The glowing woman then introduces herself as a witch, she then clarifies her initial question and explains to Dorothy that some witches are good, and some are bad. They are then confronted by the Wicked Witch of the West, who is upset that Dorothy killed her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, as Dorothy’s home landed on her during the tornado. I will discuss the witches later in greater detail in their own section.
Dorothy is lost and frightened, finding her way home is the top priority. The good witch helps her and explains Dorothy must head to Emerald City to speak with a man known as ‘the Wizard’. She believes he can help Dorothy. This scene is important, as it highlights the significant role of an understanding and relatable mentor. The older witch takes pity on the younger Dorothy and guides her down the path. The Wizard represents royals, politicians, judges, and clergymen. Emerald city is the obvious capital of the land, aptly named after an expensive jewel, representing the wealth that’s often condensed in these areas. This story becomes more relatable as it does strange, which is part of its magnificence. These lessons are important for me personally, I’ve been involved in politics for 20 years, and I have reached a position where I speak to young political minds. My first order is to determine how powerful they are, how far they can go, and whether or not their intentions are good, or bad. Off she goes, along with her dog, Toto.
“We're off to see the Wizard
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
We hear he is a Whiz of a Wiz
If ever a Wiz there was
If ever, oh ever, a Wiz there was
The Wizard of Oz is one because
Because, because, because, because, because
Because of the wonderful things he does
We're off to see the wizard
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!”
Find me a modern world leader that doesn’t see themselves like this. I’ll wait. They preach they are the solution to our problems, they declare we need their help, in fact not just their help, we need them. Most citizens blindly trust this system until tragedy strikes, then the leaders are hard to find and offer vague answers, as Dorothy discovers with her wizard.
As our heroine roams along her journey, it becomes clear that the Wizard isn’t interested in helping Dorothy with her problem. Just like politicians, Dorothy must face many obstacles before she can speak to the Wizard. What the Wizard does with his time never fully become clear in the movie, similar to our leaders. We like to think mayors are worried about theirs cities and working late on important matters, but often they are smoking crack - or cheating on their wives – and much like the wizard, they spend their days behind a curtain doing God knows what, while declaring to the public “they are too busy solving major problems to help you with your minor ones, pay no attention to the busy man behind the curtain, and follow the rules”. These illusions must be broken, or we will never reach the fleeting goal of accountability in politics.
Dorothy is forced to bring some characters she meets along the way. She meets a lion who lacks courage, a tinman without a heart, and a scarecrow without a brain. Depending on where you fit in society, my position may offend you, which is a risk I comfortably take. Dorothy represents any person in life who takes on a wizard-like establishment, and her friends represent society. Society is filled with cowards who are afraid of their own shadow like the Lion. Our world is filled with too many people who lack basic knowledge, represented by the brainless scarecrow, and the tinman represents many heartless people who lack the compassion to understand what’s happening. All three of these archetypal characters want to challenge the wizard for help, but they are too inept on their own, which is why Dorothy must lead them. This is Dorothy’s burden, which she gracefully undertakes. It’s the same burden anyone in society who challenges the status quo faces, from Socrates to Darwin. When Dorothy meets the Scarecrow she asks, “how can you speak without a brain?” He replies, “I’m not sure, but a lot of people without brains speak an awful lot”. Dorothy agrees.
Adversity
Dorothy makes her way to Emerald City as the Witch of the West stays a threat. This witch is an enemy to Dorothy and her friends, as well as the Wizard. Dorothy and her companions eventually meet the Wizard, as they arrive, they are greeted by a large building that’s intimidating in its grand stature, much like magnificent churches, courtrooms, or stately capital buildings. The building with all it’s impressive might is the true source of the Wizard’s power, much like our own politicians, who rely on cloth backdrops draped with flags, as they preach to us from bright white tablecloths in shiny silk suits inside of expensive and detailed buildings while being blasted onto electronic screens. The group finally receive an appointment with the Wizard in which they air their grievances and requests. The Wizard tells Dorothy and company that he can only help them once they bring him the Wicked Witch of the West’s broom. This is very symbolic of how wars happen, in fact, how any crisis happens.
During a time of crisis, our governments often tell us that everything must be put on hold, from cancer treatments to cycling class, they tell us that nothing can be accomplished until we do what they ask, each time requiring more liberties to be surrendered. Once we solve the governments problem - imagined or tangible - they tell the masses they will be able to return to their usual duty of helping citizens, like Dorothy, or you, the reader of this.
Throughout times of war, countries will ask their populations to reduce caloric intake to help ration supplies remain high, or to keep supplying food for their troops. They will raise taxes when they say it’s needed. There’s nothing a government of kings or elected leaders won’t do, as we’ve witnessed throughout history. Many of us fear nuclear war, not understanding the world has already lived through it, during the final bombings of Japan in World War 2.
In extraordinary times, governments need their people to carry the proverbial water. The men who ordered the bombing in Japan didn’t drop the bombs, which was left to the crew of the Enola Gay - the famous plane tasked with dropping the nuclear weapon. The men ordering the use of the atom bomb didn’t invent them either, as this task was rested at the feet of physicists like Albert Einstein on request from the government. This is akin to the Wizard’s demands, he requires Dorothy and company to carry out his orders and accomplish his goals. She must solve his problems using her own ideas and skills, all while she puts herself at risk and sacrifices her wellbeing. It’s clear the witch is a problem to all, much like an invading nation or a global illness, but the wizard himself doesn’t get his hands dirty, nor does he offer any solutions or make any sacrifices, and as we’ve seen with many disgraced mayors such as Toronto’s John Tory, the wizard hides behind the curtain while the public suffers the battle and deals with his orders. Dorothy confronts the witch, who is defeated when Dorothy throws water on her.
The Wizard was unable to assess the true risk the witch posed, as well, he struggled to determine a resolution, ironically, he continually displayed the faux personality trait of eternal wisdom - a common problem with leaders - no more evident than within North Korea’s dynasty.
The Witches
As previously mentioned, during my own experience in life, I’ve learned to find analogies from stories, and like all humans, I have weaknesses, biases, presuppositions, and predispositions. Earlier I mentioned the Wicked Witch of the Wests adversity to water. This will perhaps be the greatest analogy I stretch, but I think it has merit. I believe this scene is relatable to cosmetic makeup and its powerful yet illusionary force.
When the witch is hit with a bucket of water in the face, she melts. What remains after she disappears are her clothes and hat, laying loosely on the floor in a messy fashion. I think this speaks to the vulnerability all women experience, the unfortunate reality that their appearance and the seductive control that comes with it is often based on deceptions, and when they are hit with water, these illusions become exposed. Look no further than Hollywood.
Many of the women we idolize, we in fact admire for beauty. Female beauty is the best representation of physical beauty, which is why we observe it. Often the beautiful women we revere in society become millionaires (sometimes billionaires) via their appearance, all while selling cheap make-up and harmful products as they prey on the self-doubt of vulnerable women and girls. They themselves rely on professional make-up, lighting, photoshop, and a myriad of other tricks to retain their high social status. When exposed, they crumble. They lose their confidence, they become unravelled.
Many celebrities never complained of the photo-shopped and highly produced photo shoots used to exaggerate their beauty, yet complained when paparazzi exposed them for what they truly looked like. These witches had their own interest in mind, and not the publics. Paparazzi unmasking famous women for being naturally flawed was a good thing for society, despite the cries from these notorious females - many of them shrieking to their agents and lawyers about lawsuits, much like the melted witch’s final scene.
When Dorothy first encounters the witches in her foray into colour, the good witch tells her good witches are beautiful, bad witches are ugly. I prefer my update; bad witches hide themselves while good witches shine. There are many modern analogies and connections that can be retrieved from reviewing the witches, and that’s the purpose of this piece, to foster new connections to old concepts. The witch is like the wizard, she represents the leader of an army, police force, or intelligence agency; her monkeys represent the ranks. She too does not engage in combat, instead she demands her monkeys complete her tasks. Once Dorothy makes past the monkeys, the witch is comically easy to defeat, as water causes her to destruct. The Witch is extremely vulnerable, and without her army she poses no threat to Dorothy.
The Wicked Witch of the Wests sister, the crushed eastern witch, gains her power from her stunning shoes. Even to this day, those shoes sparkle on screen like river water struck by sunlight. Ask any female how they feel around a woman in $2000 stilettoes and you will realize how important fashion is to the female persona and psyche, whether it’s considered polite conversation or not. This is perhaps the most tongue-in-cheek reference I can draw, as not everything needs to be gloomy!
My favorite positive analogy from the story occurs early on. The good witch helps Dorothy and acts as a guiding figure. She glows, but her brilliance comes from her nurturing charm. This is an important analogy for mothers. The path that parents take when they walk down the most important road of life is filled with adversity, and mothers especially benefit from the tradition of a mentor who can help them. Anxieties about coughs, fears about fevers, and frustration with sleepless nights can all be made clearer with help from an older maternal voice. The ability women possess which allows them to speak calmly and with graceful support is a skill most men never master, and it should be celebrated and encouraged, the good witch is a brilliant example of this grace. The lesson is important for all of us and doesn’t need to be observed through a lens of gender, it’s clear that the older witch is a supportive figure for Dorothy. The elderly Witch guides Dorothy on the right path, but it’s ultimately up to Dorothy to navigate, such is the path of life.
The Climax
After they defeat the evil witch, Dorothy along with her dog and friends return to the Wizard who is comfortable in his grandiose palace. The successful gang inform him they have completed his task. They then ask for the Wizard to uphold his end of the agreement and help them. He immediately gets upset and tells them they don’t understand the situation, he declares they are lucky he’s even speaking to them. He tells them to come back later and he will consider their request. Dorothy grows frustrated with the Wizard’s attempt to change the parameters and renege on their agreement, she confronts him and demands he uphold their arrangement.
Dorothy’s dog - not fearing any of the illusions the humans worry about - pulls back a green curtain near the screen; everyone discovers nothing but a feeble and remorseful man projecting as the Wizard. This is what happened during the pandemic in many extreme countries. As each goal set by the government was met, and as the populations asked for freedom, their leaders became upset, often telling citizens the situation was more complicated than they could explain. The governments declared they needed more time, along with a greater surrender of personal liberties. It wasn’t until members of the public pulled back the curtain, much like Dorothy did, and exposed what was happening that the restrictions ended. The Wizard didn’t have control of Oz, he had some levers he could pull, and some buttons to push, but ultimately, he was nothing but a figure head being flashed onto a large display.
Dorothy eventually learns ‘there’s no place like home’ and she’s able to return after reciting the phrase three times. For the others, the wizard provides them with trinkets; for the scarecrow he gives him an academic degree, which gives the strawman the confidence he needs to feel smart. He bestows the lion a medal for courage, while inducting him into the “Legion of Courage” as an honorary member. He then gives the heartless tinman a ‘testimonial,’ saying “There are men where I come from, called good-deed-doers, and they have no bigger hearts than you, but they have one thing you haven’t got, a testimonial”. He then writes a letter declaring the tinman has a lot of heart. These are symbolic of a government’s tokens. They are unable to solve most problems we face while they use token letters and medals as rewards and appeasements for citizens who accomplish their goals.
The Lesson
There is no place like home. Home can be many things, it can be a place, or it can be a state of mind. I personally find a great connection to this, as during the pandemic I returned to my childhood by listening to a database of episodes from a late-night radio show I loved in the late 90’s, Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell. As well, I returned to the wonder I had of space from youth through books and YouTube. Art Bells show offered invaluable moments that helped me remain as sane as possible during covid, as I realized the pandemic we were facing had many similarities to pandemics of the past, but due to the emergence of social media we were handling it much worse. My love for space kept my love for science and hope for the future alive, as quantum physics was a topic that I buried myself into, this helped me escape the mundane and senseless covid dogma which was dividing society. The launch of the James Webb telescope was the only positive moment I remember during this horrible period. Giants like Steven Hawking and Albert Einstein, along with modern physics stars like Brian Greene and Shawn Carroll mean the world to me; they shine bright compared to the dull and erroneous personalities we were forced to endure during covid.
This is perhaps where the lessons from Alice in Wonderland come into play. Many of us need to break out of the system and see the world through a different lens. Alice deals with a mad powerful queen in her battle, as she speaks with some clever characters and sly cats along the way. Her experience is like Dorothy’s, but much more surreal. The lessons from that classic will be the next piece I work on, as this installment is the first part of a series I’m writing conveying my interpretations of past novels. The lesson for Dorothy was different than Alice, but they faced the same problems, thankfully both successfully woke up. There are many ways in life to walk these paths and fight these battles; but they must be fought, one way or another. We need to find a way behind the illusions to see clearly. We must wake up.
We are all parts of each character in the story to varying degrees. Instead of declaring the obvious “don’t be a witch, or a coward, be a Dorothy” I will instead say we all have the capacity to be each of these characters depending on where we are in our respective lands. The powerful need to be careful of being a wizard, the young should be careful of whose toes they step on, but they shouldn’t be afraid to walk the path with help from wise elders. The people who challenge the system and march the path need to understand that the battle can be won with proper guidance and tactful maneuvering. For everyone else, we need to understand that the wizards can’t help us, and the tokens they give us for fighting their battles mean more to us than they do to them. Accepting ourselves is the true battle, as no one in society can give us a token that will create a personality trait or skill.
You may not agree with each of my analogies, which is fantastic, as I invite you to draw your own. People need to use their imaginations and cease being so intellectually inflexible. Even Dorothy draws analogies from her imagination. When she wakes up, she realizes it was all just a nightmare and the characters from her story were just people from her town, which is the most cerebral and personal connection I can draw. The timeless tradition of interpreting stories through our own lives must never be abandoned; in this respect, be a Dorothy.