The Wizard of Oz is unquestionably one of the most influential films of all time…but
there's so much more to this film than meets the eye.
We guarantee that you'll see Dorothy and her friends in a whole new light when you watch
the film again as an adult.
Team Wicked Witch
In 2007, Time listed The Wizard of Oz's Wicked Witch of the West as one of cinema's all-time
greatest villains.
No surprises there.
According to the publication,
"The Wicked Witch (Miss Gulch in her Sunflower State incarnation) was an out-of-the-closet
sadist, ever threatening to set the Scarecrow on fire and plant a swarm of bees in the Tin
Woodman’s hollow chest."
Played to perfection by Margaret Hamilton, there's no doubt that the Wicked Witch of
the West is a quintessential baddie.
That evil sneer!
That frightfully green skin!
Oh, and that unmistakable cackle!
However, as an adult, it's kinda hard to blame the Wicked Witch of the West for being so,
well, wicked.
After all, her sister, the Wicked Witch of the East, has just been killed in a tragic
accident involving a flying farmhouse from Kansas.
Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time.
As if that wasn't bad enough, Glinda the Good Witch magically took the shoes from right
off the dead witch's feet and gifted them to the girl who caused her death.
Honestly, we'd be rather angry about all of this, too.
Good Witch of the South?
Without a doubt, Dorothy Gale is one of cinema's most memorable characters.
And, of course, The Wizard of Oz would be nothing without Dorothy's beloved BFFs, the
Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion.
In addition to Dorothy and her gang, viewers are introduced to three witches throughout
the course of the film.
First, there's Glinda, otherwise known as the Good Witch of the North.
Then there's the aforementioned Wicked Witch of the West.
And, as we just discussed, there's the ill-fated Wicked Witch of the East…may her wicked
soul rest in peace.
However, as adults, we can't help but notice something rather stange: Basically, one directionally
named witch seems to be missing.
Where exactly is the Good Witch of the South?
She's nowhere to be found.
In L. Frank Baum's children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the Good Witch of the North
is the one who greets Dorothy when her house lands in Oz, but, according to The Atlantic,
Glinda the Good Witch comes from the South, and she doesn't even make an appearance until
the second-to-last chapter.
We imagine the film adaptation combined the Good Witches in order to streamline the storytelling
process.
Fair enough.
Dorothy Gale: Feminist hero
Throughout her quest, Dorothy Gale makes friends with a brainless scarecrow, a heartless tin
man, and a conspicuously cowardly lion, all of whom clearly bear a strong resemblance
to the three farmhands who work for her Auntie Em and Uncle Henry way back in the brown land
of Kansas.
While Dorothy is often shown in palpable distress throughout the movie, she's far from your
stereotypical "damsel in distress."
True, her three male cohorts do help her escape from the Wicked Witch's castle toward the
very end of the film, but it's Dorothy who ultimately saves the Scarecrow's life and
kills the evil witch.
Not to mention, she bravely confronts the most powerful man in all of Oz after he tries
taking advantage of her and her trusting, good-natured friends.
"You're a very bad man!"
"Oh no, my dear, I'm a very good man.
I'm just a very bad wizard."
According to The New York Times, L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,
was himself a feminist, once writing in a newspaper editorial that,
"[Men who don't support feminist aspirations are] selfish, opinionated, conceited or unjust,
and perhaps all four combined."
Considering Dorothy was the brainchild of a feminist ally, it makes sense that she ultimately
became the hero of her own story.
A study in imposter syndrome?
Ever heard of imposter syndrome?
Well, according to Harvard Business Review, imposter syndrome can be defined as:
"...a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success."
In other words, imposter syndrome is a seed of self-doubt that, once planted in your mind,
can have you feeling a bit like a Scooby-Doo villain just waiting to be unmasked by those
meddling kids.
The titular wizard in The Wizard of Oz is a rather on-the-nose example of someone who
suffers from imposter syndrome.
After all, he spends his time posing as a powerful and intimidating being, until Toto
pulls back the curtain to expose the Wizard for who he really is.
"Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!"
Once he's exposed, the fake wizard admits that he's just a man from Kansas who accepted
the gig as Wizard of Oz after being swept away from his home by a cyclone.
Despite being a so-called "humbug," he's still willing to help Dorothy's pals by making them
realize they already have everything they're looking for, namely, a heart, a brain, and
courage.
In so doing, The Wizard demonstrates that he is rather great and powerful, because he
helps others see their true worth, with no curtain or special effects required.
A dream within a dream
In an attempt to prevent Dorothy and her friends from entering Emerald City and gaining access
to the great and powerful Wizard of Oz, the Wicked Witch of the West conjures up an obstacle
that's as dangerous as it is beautiful, a field of poppies.
You know how that goes:
"Heh-heh-heh.
Poppies… poppies…"
Of course, poppies are famously known for being a source of opium, which was once commonly
used for pain relief and as a sleep aid.
Upon entering the field of flowers, both Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion are lulled into a deep
sleep by the poppies.
But as we know, The Wizard of Oz ends with Dorothy waking up in her bed.
She soon realizes all her adventures in Oz were but a dream she had.
Being knocked unconscious in a tornado will do that to you.
With that in mind, it's interesting to note that Dorothy's unconscious brain was able
to imagine falling into a deep, dreamlike state while already very much in a deep, dreamlike
state.
Inception, anyone?
Does the Wicked Witch bathe?
When the Wicked Witch of the West uses her broomstick to set fire to the Scarecrow toward
the end of the film, Dorothy acts fast, grabbing a bucket of rainwater and tossing it on her
friend to extinguish the flames.
However, a bit of water also splashes the Wicked Witch's face, causing her to melt right
there on the spot.
And as she's melting, the witch screeches:
"What a world, what a world!
Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness?"
Perhaps we're missing something here, but does the Wicked Witch even bathe?
If this small splash can cause a full-on, literal meltdown, that strongly suggests The
Wicked Witch never washed her hands, took a bath, or got caught in an unexpected rainstorm.
Was she even able to drink water?
As we see it, this Wicked Witch must have been positively filthy and extremely dehydrated.
What a world!
What's Glinda's deal?
Glinda the Good Witch is a major player in The Wizard of Oz.
After all, she's the one who puts the ruby slippers on Dorothy's feet when the Kansas
girl first arrives in Oz.
And she's the one who wakes Dorothy and the Cowardly Lion from their poppy-induced sleep.
Oh, and she's also the one who ultimately helps Dorothy get back to Auntie Em and Uncle
Henry by not-so subtly telling her,
"There's no place like home.
There's no place like home."
However, Glinda doesn't seem to have a real-life counterpart, unlike all the other main characters
that Dorothy meets in Oz.
Obviously the Wicked Witch of the West is the Oz equivalent of Almira Gulch, and the
Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, and Scarecrow are all representative of Dorothy's farmhand friends.
Even Professor Marvel is part of Dorothy's technicolor dream, he's none other than the
Wizard of Oz himself.
So it would kinda make sense for the Good Witch of the North to have been inspired by
a real person from Dorothy's hum-drum world.
But if there is a Glinda-like character in Dorothy's real life, she's certainly never
shown on screen.
The question is why?
Unfortunately, we may never know.
Drama queen alert!
Oh, and while we're on the subject of Glinda, there's something else we should point out:
This so-called Good Witch might not be as "good" as we've been led to believe.
Think about it: She lets Dorothy repeatedly put herself and her pals in harm's way, all
while Dorothy is wearing teleportation devices on her feet.
Why would she do that?
And when the Scarecrow asks Glinda why she didn't tell Dorothy that she'd possessed the
power to get back to Kansas all along, the Good Witch of the North airily responds,
"Because she wouldn't have believed me.
She had to learn it for herself."
Maybe we're reading way too much into this…but Glinda seems like the kind of witch who just
sort of lives for drama, right?
That would explain why she prefers to travel via pink magic bubble.
So where's Toto's leash?
Let's face it: Even the most well-behaved dogs can act up once in a while.
And, unless you and your loyal companion are visiting a place specifically designed for
off-leash dogs, it's probably best to use a leash, just in case your predictable pup
springs for a moment of spontaneity.
Dogs are notorious for their wild ways.
One thing's for certain: Toto, Dorothy's almost obnoxiously adorable pooch, could have really
benefited from a leash.
Though undeniably cute as a button, Toto demonstrates that he's quite the little troublemaker in
the film's very first scene.
The Wizard of Oz opens with a shot of Toto giddily running down a dirt path alongside
a very concerned-looking Dorothy.
And why is Dorothy so worried?
Well, Toto has just snapped and bit Almira Gulch, the Kansas counterpart of the Wicked
Witch of the West.
Later, the nefarious Miss Gulch arrives at Auntie Em and Uncle Henry's house in a huff,
demanding to have Toto put to sleep for what he did.
"I'm taking him to the sheriff to make sure he's destroyed."
Luckily, the little pup was able to escape that grim fate, but really, a simple leash
for Toto would have saved Dorothy a few tears.
Even a rope would do the trick.
It's a farm; they have to have a rope, right?
Dorothy's dress has pockets
If you're a woman, you know how hard it is to find clothing featuring real, honest-to-goodness
pockets.
It's a real problem.
As Tanya Basu wrote in a fascinating piece for The Atlantic:
"Women's slacks, dresses, and blazers often have no pockets, or worse, 'fake' pockets
that serve no utilitarian purpose besides...leading the wearer on to believe they have a handy
wardrobe aide, until it’s too late."
The pocket problem is a real and pressing issue for women.
That's why when we come across a cute dress with pockets, we want to shout our excitement
from the rooftops.
With that in mind, imagine our utter excitement upon spotting a pocket on Dorothy's famous
blue and white gingham dress.
Where on Earth did she get that dress?
Blink and you'll miss it, but remember the scene when Dorothy and the gang first meet
the Cowardly Lion?
Dorothy can be seen gingerly pulling a handkerchief from a discreet pocket at one point in order
to comfort the wildly sobbing beast.
According to NBC News, this secret pocket was sewn into a seam so that actress Judy
Garland would have a convenient place to keep her cigarettes.
So now you know.
Sending the wrong message
Arguably the most famous quote from The Wizard of Oz is Dorothy's line,
"There's no place like home."
But watching the film as an adult, this sentimental quip sounds like an alarmingly unadventurous
PSA.
Before she leaves Oz for Kansas, the Tin Man asks Dorothy what she's learned, to which
she replies,
"If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own
backyard."
And when she finally wakes up in the comfort of her own bed, Dorothy says,
"And I'm not going to leave here ever, ever again, because I love you all!"
Well, it sounds like the main takeaway from The Wizard of Oz is that young people should
never venture further than their own backyard.
Sorry Dorothy, but that's just not a message that we can get behind.
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