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The Oppression Of Women In Dorothy Lantz's Wizard Of Oz

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Wizard of Oz wore to protect themselves from minorities getting into control. This is the central idea of many hate groups such as the KKK, the fear of minorities rising. Dorothy and her followers stripped down this ‘safety blanket’ and revealed the societies true intentions, which is to marginalize minorities further. By doing this, many women have the same courage Dorothy did by approaching a man/society and accepting the challenge of obtaining equal rights. Dorothy’s fantastic adventure appeals to many women of the 30s and 40s. This was a time of brutal oppression against women, where women's roles were strict of that in the kitchen. Lantz describes women of that time and their roles in depth as she states, “And just like Frederick Allen’s …show more content…

These women certainly seem to carry the stereotype of what constitutes the good woman to the audience (Cloud 108). Glinda gives the audience a figure to aspire to be. As Cloud states, she is very feminine with bright pink colors, her hair is curled to perfection, and her beautiful long dress is almost childlike. Dorothy looks up to her as a mother figure. Glinda has nurturing qualities and pushes them on Dorothy as well. The Wicked Witch of the West is the exact opposite of being unattractive and unwelcoming to Dorothy. This poses two type of women in the 30s and 40s: one that appeases men and stays in the home, and one that goes against the formalities of what defines a woman, resulting in hatred towards her. Dorothy chooses the type of women she wants to be minute she gets to the land of Oz by crushing the other Wicked Witch. Dorothy adheres to stereotypes and chooses to follow in the footsteps of Glinda. In Edward Recchia’s, “There’s No Place Like Home: The Midwest in American Film Musicals,” he talks about the way Dorothy provocatively defeats the witches saying, “the witches are destroyed not through consciously antagonistic acts by Dorothy

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