# "The Wizard of Oz" is really a satire... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 22, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397 "2003-03-22T17:38:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/1 "2003-03-22T17:38:33Z")
So, we’ve had yet another of those claims that THE WIZARD OF OZ is a satire of Populist Politics: [Concerning the Wizard of Oz](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=171406) THE WIZARD OF OZ is actually a satire by Frank L. Baum, debunking the moon landings as a hoax. It’s obvious if you take a few minutes to think about it. Dorothy lives in Kansas (a barren flat plain, like the sets they used for the moon) with her Auntie Em, and the word “moon” starts with “Em.” She is taken to Oz by a twister, symbolic of the twisting of reality that the U.S. government imposed on us. She lands in Munchkinland (another “M”, symbolizing the trip to the moon) and remember that Baron Van Munchkinhausen was a famous ficticious legendary character who took a trip to the moon. Dorothy gets silver slippers from the witch, and the moon is always described as silver. She starts on the path of yellow brick – yellow for the sun, symbolic of Apollo (thus the Apollo mission), the ancient Greek God of the sun – in contrast to silver for the moon. The brick of the road is symbolic of the mud of earth as opposed to the dust of the fake moon. Her companion is the dog Toto, meaning that the whole moon landing is a hoax “in toto.” Toto travels in a little carrying basket, symbolic of the lunar module. She meets a scarecrow (crops), a tin man (industry) and a lion (animal life) – none of those things exist on the moon, so this is a symbolic way of saying that they didn’t really fly to the moon. They fall asleep in a poppy field (there are no fields of any kind), and sleep happens from lack of atmosphere. If astronauts had really landed on the moon, they would have fallen unconscious. They go to Emerald City (an allusion to the old legend that the moon is made of green cheese). The Wizard appears to them as a large, round face – the man in the moon! Note also the abundance of colors in Oz – red poppies, yellow brick road, blue Munchkinland, green Emerald City. But there are no colors like that on the moon. She melts the Wicked Witch with water, and there is no water on the moon. See again, how Baum uses all these things that don’t exist on the moon to be symbolic of the fact that Dorothy (mankind) never really went to the moon. The winged monkeys are symbolic of the astronauts, who are just trained monkeys (performers) and minions of the evil powers in the Dark Castle of the Government. Dorothy brings back the witch’s broomstick, like the astronauts brought back moon rocks, and everyone knows that you can’t fly on a broomstick – the moon rocks are no more real than a flying broomstick. And the final proof: the Wizard’s balloon is labeled “OMAHA.” Replace the OM with the letter that comes between them, N. Remember that THE WIZARD OF OZ was written in 1901, and the sum 1+9+0+1 = 11, so replace the H (from Hollywood) with the 11th letter that follows H, namely S (from “staged”). And OMAHA is decoded to read NASA! It’s obvious when you look at it. The truth behind the WIZARD OF OZ is that Frank L. Baum believed the moon landing to be a hoax, and symbolized it in his book. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/2 "2003-03-22T18:02:31Z")
It’s all so clear to me now! ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/3 "2003-03-22T18:04:35Z")
I thought it was a the story of Ozzy Osbourne’s troubled chilhood. How wrong I was :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ResIpsaLoquitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@ResIpsaLoquitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ResIpsaLoquitor)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/4 "2003-03-22T18:06:36Z")
Bah. Everyone knows the moon is made of paper, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/5 "2003-03-22T19:14:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\* Note also the abundance of colors in Oz – red poppies, yellow brick road, blue Munchkinland, green Emerald City. \*\* Purple horseshoes… **C K Dexter Haven** you quite understandably missed a very crucial aspect that both explains and expands upon the moon hoax viewpoint. Frank’s quite obvious _nom de plume_. Baum is an intentional misspelling of Balm. Frank L. Balm. F.L. Balm. Flat Lander’s Balm It’s more than just support for the moon hoax. The entire book proves the moon hoax and uses it as a means to further support the fact that the Earth is flat! Is it any wonder he picked Kansas as his “home”? I mean, I live in Kansas. There ain’t no flatter place than here. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/6 "2003-03-22T19:34:53Z")
All that, plus it’s the palimpsest (of sorts) of Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon”! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![SUPERKARLENE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@SUPERKARLENE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SUPERKARLENE)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/7 "2003-03-22T22:09:32Z")
I thought _The Wizard of Oz_ written around 1900… Either that, or I have been royally whooshed. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/8 "2003-03-22T23:37:53Z")
**SUPERKARLENE** , yes, _The Wizard of Oz_ was written in 1900 and published in 1901. So what? You gonna let a little think like a century stand in the way of progress? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/9 "2003-03-22T23:54:11Z")
[Nope, it’s a satire of the French Revolution.](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_392.html) Or of free silver. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![Murcielago](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Murcielago](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Murcielago)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2003, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/10 "2003-03-22T23:54:13Z")
- The Wizard of oz\* written in 1900? Don’t be so naive. Since the advent of the hoax, all of our so-called “histories” have been written to suit the manufactured version of events and to discredit the truth-seekers. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/11 "2003-03-23T00:46:35Z")
Of course, it’s L. Frank Baum, not Frank L. Baum. (Mr. Baum didn’t want to use his first name, Lyman.) ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/12 "2003-03-23T01:13:56Z")
Lyman? As in “Lying Man?” need we say more? ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/13 "2003-03-23T07:05:07Z")
**CK Dexter Haven** , your ideas are intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter. However, you still have some explaining to do. For instance, some of the most enduring images of each Apollo mission are of the [shiny, cylindrical Service Module surmounted by the cone-shaped Command Module with the long pointy bit on top](http://www2k.biglobe.ne.jp/~t_muto/apollo/cg/apollo.gif). If your theory were correct, wouldn’t there be some visual reference to this in the movie version of the [Wizard of Oz](http://www.movieprop.com/tvandmovie/reviews/wizardofoz.jpg)? _Never mind._ * * * Link fixed – CKDH ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/14 "2003-03-23T07:10:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Antonius Block \* > \*\* > If your theory were correct, wouldn’t there be some visual reference to this in the movie version ? > > \*\* Darn it, my first coding error on SDMB. The second link should be “… movie version of the [Wizard of Oz](http://www.movieprop.com/tvandmovie/reviews/wizardofoz.jpg)”. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/15 "2003-03-23T12:10:05Z")
Dex, you missed the most obvious clue of all. If you study the still frame of the scene where the munchkin is seen hanging himself in the background, you’ll clearly see that one of the three tramps holding the rope is E. Howard Hunt, who as we all know would never allow a lunar landing because it would expose the secret Illuminati moonbase built with technology which the Majestic 12 group developed by decoding the secret heiroglyphics in the Great Pyramid using a code found in the backwards playing of Tupac Shakur’s unreleased cover version of “Mazurek Dabrowskiego” which he recorded after helping to bury Paul McCartney, who was killed to prevent him from revealing his knowledge of how the Count St Germain was secretly directing the Knights Templar to steal kidneys and sell them to Howard Hughes in order to finance his plans to subliminally broadcast the secret formula for Coca-Cola during the final episode of MASH. I mean it’s pretty obvious when you think about it. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@The\_Bad\_Astronomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Bad_Astronomer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/16 "2003-03-23T21:53:22Z")
The problem with satire is that, for it to work fully, it must actually be more nonsensical than the idea it satirizes. For the Moon Hoax, _this is not possible_. I would love to laugh at this obvious over-the-top satire of the people who promote the hoax, but you have not seen what I have; this idea is actually more intelligent than many put forth by the hoax proponents. Even with the fundamental anachronism, you have put together a more logical scenario than Bart Sibrel ever could. I’ll add that I _do_ have a sense of humor about the hoax; when I give talks about it I use plenty of jokes, even bringing Barbra Streisand into the hoax (the two principle actors in “Capricorn One” were married to her, albeit at different times). But I read satires like this, and wonder-- **seriously** – how long before it appears on a hoax-believer’s site as truth. Sigh. I have the most ridiculous job on Earth. I really do. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/17 "2003-03-23T22:06:20Z")
A friend of mine once sent me the following deconstruction of OZ > [@](#): > > …I propose a modern day set of analogies for the > story. The Scarecrow clearly represents Chris Elliot and his brilliant > comedic performance in ‘Something About Mary’. Nick Chopper, the Tin > Woodsman, is an almost classic picture of an employee of any half decent > New York delicatessen; cold, heartless and with an axe to grind. The > Cowardly Lion certainly must portray the Chicago Cubs in their endless > quest for failure. > > ``` > Dorothy is a fascinating adaptation of the ancient gnostic > > ``` > > character of Sophia (Santa Sophia of the Eastern Orthodox tradition) while > her companion Toto acts as a metaphor for all bad rock bands of the 1970’s > and 1980’s. The Wizard is a hybrid of Bill Gates and Soupy Sales with a > dash of George Steinbrenner thrown in for good measure. The Wicked Witch > of the East is a personification of the mandatory instillation of airbags > on all late-model cars and trucks, while the Wicked Witch of the West > clearly refers to the anti-smoking laws recently enacted in the state of > California. > > ``` > The munchkins are a playful rendering of inner city crack babies > > ``` > > (a subject dear to my own heart) while the winged monkeys are a fabulous > illustration of people who insist on refering to service employees by the > names on their name tags. The field of poppies is two parts Prozac to one > part Viagra with a dash of Mountain Dew. Aunt Em is really Aunt Jemimah, > while Uncle Henry is an amalgamation of those two great military leaders > of poultry production: Colonel Sanders and General Tso. > > ``` > The yellow brick road is certainly the stretch of Interstate 94 > > ``` > > between Kenosha and Milwaukee with a particularly wonderful set of > roadside bratwurst-and-cheese emporia. The Emerald City is a delightful > and imaginative portrayal of Spokane, Washington; in particular the area > around the university. Oz itself represents the Universe as a whole, but > especially my car when I get stuck in traffic on the Long Island > Expressway, which is at least eight times a week. And Kansas represents > Nebraska. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/18 "2003-03-23T22:15:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Bad Astronomer \* > \*\*when I give talks about it I use plenty of jokes, even bringing Barbra Streisand into the hoax (the two principle actors in “Capricorn One” were married to her, albeit at different times). > \*\* Are you claiming that Ms. Streisand went to Mars? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/19 "2003-03-23T22:26:03Z")
> [@](#): > > The problem with satire is that, for it to work fully, it must actually be more nonsensical than the idea it satirizes. > > For the Moon Hoax, this is not possible. I had thought that this was a satire of the “Wizard of Oz is a satire of Populist politics” claims, not of the Moon Hoax. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397/20 "2003-03-24T03:47:34Z")
When D’Ora3 and her posse ride the carriage to the Wizard’s crib, doesn’t it Park On A Parkway? Word, Toto. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-wizard-of-oz-is-really-a-satire/163397.md?page=2)