Following our own Yellow Brick Roads

I’ve been thinking a lot about knowledge and power recently, in particular the relationship between knowledge, power and courage. Perhaps because I saw the Tin Man outside a gift shop whilst on holiday, I haven’t been able to get the 1939 iconic cinematographic creation of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ out of my head. I’d hazard a guess that most of us have seen it.

You would be justified in asking what a film loved by children and adults alike has got to do with knowledge and power. Well in many ways it is a bit of a pandoras box, a children’s story on one hand and a philosophical tale exploring themes of courage, humanity, intelligence, and power on another. Many of us have searched / are searching for a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, the nature of that pot is for each of us to know / determine, it can range from the simplest wish to the most aspirational and challenging goal.

Dorothy is headstrong and determined, questioning many things, including the notion of ‘perfect’. Her ideological views are dismissed leaving no opportunity for her to explore them further. She spins into Oz, a world with seemingly endless possibilities. Oz enables her the opportunity to view things differently, listening and understanding the views of others more, questioning what she knows, including about herself, redefining herself with new understandings and navigating new paths.

Dorothy wants to go home but learns quickly that there is no turning back, retracing steps is not possible, so she finds an alternative path and follows the yellow brick road. The symbolism is interesting. The yellow brick road could be a symbol of knowledge, a road to follow to find the ‘answers’, spiralling wider as it goes on, splitting into multiple directions, demanding choices around which path to follow. The ruby slippers symbolise ‘power’. The Wizard symbolises 'knowledge'.

Dorothy meets the Scarecrow first, at a crossroads, where he tells her that people without brains do a lot of talking (love that!), perhaps an interesting reference to wisdom and knowledge. They happen upon the Tin Man, unable to talk due to a seized up rusty mouth, perhaps symbolic of the fact he seemingly has no heart, or perhaps became stuck in a particular mindset. Then they meet the Cowardly Lion, roaring and portraying a toughness, but at the same time upset because he lacks courage.

As the friendship of the new group develops, their relationships evolve, as does the yellow brick road, possibly symbolising a broadening of knowledge and acceptance as they continue their journey to meet the Wizard, someone who allegedly ‘holds the answers’.

The ‘power’ of Dorothy’s ruby slippers gets them in to see the Wizard, symbolic perhaps of how we influence. The lion sings whilst they wait, earning him the crown of King. He says that being King will make him fearless and moves swiftly on to talk about everything he can do with courage. His power coming from a title, and the title coming from the ‘given’ power. The Wizard, a man behind a curtain, is an illusion but uses his status to grant the group their wishes. Looks important, so must be important. Power based on smoke and mirrors.

There are many things to consider. The characters all highlight different attitudes and in their respective ways seek validation of how others see them. Dorothy was on a journey of discovery, starting down a path where she hoped to find the pot of gold, ‘the answer’. Dorothy found herself in a ’lead’ role as did the Wizard, both learning to act into the role. The others are on their own journeys of discovery, with different starting points, different experiences, different desires, different ways of thinking, different hopes and concerns.

Concepts of courage, power and knowledge are throughout. Courage of one’s own convictions in terms of searching for answers, courage to admit what we don’t know and courage to admit we’ve lost our way. Dorothy had the ‘power’ to go back at any point, but she didn’t believe it, she needed to discover who she is and believe in herself first, perhaps the first step in demonstrating courage.