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an essay
No Place Like Hom(o)

Written by Vida Cooper

07 December 2006

What lies hidden in childhood classic The Wizard of Oz? Is it a mere story of a girl learning a lesson about appreciating home? Dare to question what really lies somewhere over the rainbow. Through elements of setting, plot, theme, and dialogue, The Wizard of Oz offers a symbolic representation of gradual acceptance of homosexual individuals.
Dramatic contrasts in setting and character are the first noticeable cues to the suspicion of homosexual undertones in The Wizard of Oz. Dorothy�s hometown in Kansas is cast in shades of brown. She lives in a semi-conservative area based on the behaviors and interactions between herself and the rest of her family. Everyone exhibits a moderate fashion, females in apron dresses and males in overalls. A twister ruthlessly mixes everything together: dirt, animals, even genders. Contrast to home, radiant sunbeams light the infamous Yellow-brick Road in the Land of Oz which is painted in magnificent colors. The solid colored rainbow is a symbol of gay pride (Toronto). Concepts of the rainbow continue throughout Dorothy�s time spent in Oz.
Throughout the film, the main characters are slowly journeying toward Emerald City. Emerald City not only exists in the Land of Oz; it is a commonly known nickname for Seattle, Washington. Many homosexuals acknowledge Seattle as a safe harbor due to its considerably widespread homosexual community (Wikipedia). Gay rights are strongly advocated as the �gay rights bill� has been passed due to support of homosexual marriage by Mayor Nickels (Nickels). As further evidence of homosexual prevalence in the film, to the searching eye, the main palace of Emerald City in Oz takes on the appearance of ejaculating penises, a view whence seen makes one hard-pressed to deny. When Dorothy returns to Kansas, brown hues take the screen once again, illustrating her return to her average, heterosexual community.
The progression of events alludes to underlying homosexual themes. Most are familiar with the overt theme of learning to appreciate one�s home and family. Few realize underlying themes of acceptance of subcultures. Irony reigns as the top literary element in representing the symbolism of homosexual undertones.
The first irony is in that Judie Garland�s character, Dorothy, is the least homosexual of all the characters. Judy Garland was at one time the �momma of all gay icons� (Hari 18). Though Garland was cast in this film at age fifteen, later in life, she condones the homosexual lifestyle as a result of her relationship with her homosexual ex-husband, Vincent Minnelli. Homosexuals were once referred to as being �friends with Dorothy� as an allusion to her acceptance of homosexuality (Yahoo). She may not relate directly to homosexual culture, but her personal hindrances include anorexia, alcoholism, hepatitis, liver damage, and an untimely, unglamorous death by overdose, possibly due to her addictions to a �pharmacist�s cabinet of drugs.� These generate the same emotions of failure and self-hatred that the homosexual identity leads to for many who claim it during this era (Hari 18). Garland�s character is accepting and condoning of disguised homosexuality in The Wizard of Oz as is Garland herself.
The film begins with Dorothy being disheartened by her dreary life on the farm and sings about flying over the rainbow to a beautiful place of dreams and excitement. Her word choice in the line, �If happy little blue birds fly�� alludes to homosexuality in that another term for �gay� is �happy.� She includes, �Dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.� This hints that she knows there is something challenging and controversial over the rainbow. If the rainbow is a symbol of homosexuality, this song is about venturing into a land of it. She goes inside to Aunt EM and discovers Mrs. Gulch, her unpleasant neighbor, protesting about Dorothy�s beloved Yorkshire, Toto. She stares intently at Dorothy, even while speaking to Aunt EM. Devastated that Mrs. Gulch has taken Toto to have him destroyed, Dorothy resolves to run away to somewhere over the rainbow. She meets a magician named Marvel who consults his crystal ball revealing that Aunt EM is very worried and possibly sick. At once, Dorothy and Toto run home as a tornado brews across the field. She is locked out of the cellar and goes inside to wait out the storm. In her room, she is knocked unconscious by a windowpane falling in. When she wakes up her house is on a seemingly endless spiral through the air, during which she witnesses several objects flying by her window. The creatures grow in promiscuity beginning with cows and farm life and ending with two men executing a hip-thrust motion in a rowboat and finally Mrs. Gulch transforming into an evil witch, the Wicked Witch of the West. This is the last thing she sees before her house lands in Oz. The twister also represents the whirlwind of emotions a straight individual feels when first entering a predominately gay atmosphere.
Seeing Oz for the first time, Dorothy�s exclaims, �Toto, I have a feeling we�re not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the rainbow.� Dorothy first meets the Munchkins shortly after her arrival as they are drawn out of their hiding places in which they are camouflaged as flowers in notably brilliant color schemes. Munchkins have little regard for gender. Three female munchkins represent the Lullaby League and are dressed in pink tutus. Three male munchkins costumed in exaggerated masculine clothing represent the Lollipop Guild. To see three overly emasculated men dancing to a tune about a Lollipop Guild alludes to a homosexual nature in which one is attempting to hide his orientation by acting the part of a �manly man.� Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, arrives by means of a colored bubble. Glinda is the Oz representation of Aunt EM and does not hold true to a heterosexual or homosexual identity, though she exhibits definite feminine characteristics such as an enormous ball gown, pale flawless skin, and a soothing lullaby voice.
The Wicked Witch of the West is the lesbian villain of The Wizard of Oz. She appears demanding the ruby slippers, which Glinda has secured on Dorothy�s feet under a spell which allows no one other than Dorothy herself to remove them. It is at this point that she says the infamous, �I�ll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!� As the angry witch dismisses, she bursts into a cloud of smoke which combusts into flames. Irony plays on the fact that the most blatantly lesbian character bursts into flames.
Dorothy is soon after directed on the path of the Yellow-brick road. Along the road she meets Scarecrow in a cornfield. To help end her puzzlement over which way to turn at a fork, he explains that both ways are nice and, �Of course people do go both ways. I can�t make up my mind because I don�t have a brain.� This strongly addresses the question faced by all homosexuals at some point at deciding which path to choose in life. Some people are bisexual and �go both ways.� Scarecrow is disheartened because he cannot scare the crows. As a gay man, he may be viewed as insufficient and stupid. When Dorothy claims, �Back in Kansas, you�d scare the crows to pieces,� her statement can be interpreted as one describing homophobia in Kansas and that if anyone back home ever saw a gay man, they would be terrified. Dorothy invites him on her journey toward Emerald City. Grateful for a new friend, he joins her.
Shortly after, they encounter Tin Man, who asks them to oil his mouth first with an oil can which alludes to gay foreplay. Tin Man is built without a heart. He has nothing but a hollow, empty barrel-chest. Without a heart, he cannot feel emotion. Another common misconception of the homosexual culture is that gay people have no feelings. Heterosexuals tend to persecute and slander homosexuals with a vast span of intentions. Many are incapable of acknowledging that sexual orientation has nothing to do with one�s reaction to absolute defamation.
The Lion, who has no courage upon meeting the others, is the most feminine character in the film, even more so than Dorothy herself. He has a constant habit of stroking his tail when he is anxious. He swats the air as he speaks, which is a common gesture of homosexual men. He serves as a prime example of what is considered a �sissy� in homo-erotic films (Gilbert 1207). Another anti-gay stereotype is that gay men are cowardly, that they are too sissy to be considered a real man. In meeting Lion, he criticizes Scarecrow by calling him a �lopsided bag of hay,� which he takes personally and Tin Man asking, �How long can you stay fresh in that can?� One statement is critical and the other resembles a pick-up line.
Each character joins Dorothy on her quest down the Yellow-brick Road. Using the gay bar reference, the shock Dorothy feels upon meeting each creature is similar to that which is felt by heterosexuals upon encountering homosexuals for the first time. Her overly friendly interaction represents those often engaged while entering into a gay environment in frugal attempts to hide ever-present discomfort. She accepts the three as her friends and companions as they form an unusual team.
The four immerse out of the woods and into a field of poppies that has been poisoned by the witch. Dorothy and Lion fall fast asleep in the field while Tin Man and Scarecrow are thrown into frenzy because they are so close to Emerald City that they can see the palace. Glinda sees their peril and sends magic snow to wake them up. The snowstorm itself is homo-erotic when the characters dance and skip through the field back toward the road singing, You�re out of the woods You�re out of the dark You�re out of the night Step into the sun Step into the light March up to the gate and bid it open This song can be interpreted as a song of �coming out,� proclaiming one�s orientation and heading toward new horizons.
When they finally make it to the palace in Emerald City, the Witch of the West writes a sky message reading, �Surrender Dorothy.� There is no comma between the words �surrender� and �Dorothy.� Rather than interpreting the message toward Dorothy asking her to surrender, it is interpreted as demanding that the others surrender Dorothy.
Upon entering the gate, a small man invites them in saying, �Now that�s a horse of a different color. Come on in.� In society homosexuals are often referred to as a �different color.� At first glance, the horse drawing the carriage is white. When the three take seats, it turns purple. As the horse walks, it changes colors following the order of the rainbow. Of the rainbow color spectrum, violet is the color of gay spirit (Mackinnon 1). Irony plays again as three potentially homosexual characters enter a carriage causing the horse to change. The carriage takes them to a room to clean up before meeting the wizard. Lion is given a perm and bow. They are sent down the dark hallway toward the wizard who sends them away to kill the witch and bring him her broomstick.
Eager to accomplish the deed, they retreat toward the witch�s lair. Upon meeting the witch she states, �It�s so kind of you to visit me in my loneliness,� which hints at her yearning for Dorothy. As Dorothy looks away or misdirects her attention from her opponent, the witch stares straight toward her eyes, reaching toward her face. As Dorothy returns direct focus toward her, the witch withdraws her desperate hand and puts her fingers to her mouth in a position that appears to be in longing. She goes on to condemn Dorothy to death saying, �You�ve been more trouble to me than you�re worth, but it will all be over soon.� She then gives her an hour-glass of time to wait, a gesture which proves her heart is not entirely cold toward Dorothy. Further evidence appears through the witch�s death as she steams and melts away after none other than Dorothy splashes her with water. A common feeling describing a female orgasm is the sensation of one of melting away (Miller). Along with the witch, one cannot forget the flying monkeys guarding her palace. Giving the monkeys wings is an attempt to make them into something they are not, birds. In a similar fashion, cross-dressing individuals are acting as something they are not. A lesbian witch has cross-dressing monkeys as palace defenders.
After escaping the witch, Dorothy and the others return to Emerald City with the witch�s broom in hopes that the wizard will grant their requests. He does so for Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion by revealing to them that they have always had the qualities they seek. This is parallel to a homosexual man�s discovery of self and realization of humanity, capability, and equality.
In the end, Dorothy does not want to remain in Oz. After returning home, she cries to Aunt EM about Oz, �Some of it wasn�t very nice, but most of it was beautiful, but just the same, all I kept telling anybody is �I wanna go home� and they sent me home.� This is almost an exact parody of what happens when heterosexuals venture into homosexual environments, such as gay bars. They may feel disoriented and afraid at first, but gradually, people realize that while there is some discomfort, most homosexuals are not about �converting straights.� Dorothy is bewildered by the idea of Oz at first and is overwhelmed by some of the creatures there. She does not blatantly show her discomfort and learns to accept them for who they are. As she helps Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion to find the qualities they are missing, she is demonstrating overcoming misunderstanding and differences and building sound relationships. At a gay bar, homosexuals and heterosexuals may form friendship-level relationships and learn to value each other and eliminate the stereotypes that homosexuals have no intelligence, feelings, or bravery.
The Wizard of Oz delves much deeper than a simple story of a girl finding her way home. It uses literary elements including setting, plot, theme, and dialogue to symbolize the gradual acceptance of homosexuals as being equal. At the end of the journey, everyone can return to their own culture unharmed and stronger for having had the experience of what is important in life�acceptance. For everyone, including homosexuals, there is really is no place like home.
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