The wizard of Oz, a psychoanalytical view.

A modest Compromise

The motion picture The Wizard Of Oz (1939) is a movie about a young girl named Dorothy Gale who is sent-unknowingly on a journey of self discovery and exploration. In the movie, Dorothy is swept away from her homeland of Kansas by a tornado where she ends up in a strange and interesting land known as the land of oz. Once in oz, Dorothy alongside friends she meets along the way embark on a journey to see the wizard of oz who will be able to help Dorothy return home. When looked at in a Freudian point of view, the places, characters and plot development all exemplify psychoanalytical feats, all falling under Freud’s theory of id, superego and ego. Firstly, in the movie, Dorothy’s life in Kansas is a physical representation of her superego. In Kansas, Dorothy is presented with the harsh reality’s and consequences of life. This is Dorothy’s conscience at work and for her, life is hard. Secondly, the land of oz is the fictional representation of Dorothy’s id. The land of oz symbolizes all that Dorothy wants. She wants to be heard, she wants her opinion to matter and she wants to feel loved, all of which is not being experienced in Kansas. Finally the character of Dorothy is a depiction of her ego. Throughout the whole movie Dorothy is trying to make a compromise between her superego(Kansas) and her id(land of oz) and at the end of the movie a compromise is made thus concluding the power struggle between id and superego.
To begin with, Dorothy’s superego is physically depicted by her life in Kansas. In Kansas, Dorothy has to face all of the harsh realties of growing up. She lives with her foster-parents where her voice in not so often heard. In Kansas, Dorothy makes many attempts to be heard but is soon shut down by everyone around her. She is simply a child looking for attention, but her thirst for attention is not fully quenched until later on in the movie. In Kansas, a sepia tint is used and this says a lot about life in Kansas. The sepia is used to further exemplify Dorothy’s superego. The sepia represents the dark, ominous and bleak realities of life that Dorothy has to face, the reality being that she is basically alone in this world. She may have family but her voice does not really matter when it comes to this. Later on in the movie, Dorothy signs a song titled “over the rainbow”. This song is really a plead from Dorothy’s id, which in other words is the land of oz. It can be viewed as being a metaphor for what Dorothy really wants “Somewhere, over the rainbow, skies are blue. And the dreams that you dare to dream Really do come true”. The color blue here can represent hope. This hope being derived from Dorothy’s ego which will force Dorothy to keep moving on and to not give up. The dreams that Dorothy dares- which are formulated by her id, will really come true one day when a compromise is made between her superego and id, by her ego.
As previously mentioned, Dorothy is swept away by a tornado which in turn brings her to a fictional land which is a representation of her id. The tornado in this case is the result of another plead from Dorothy’s id. A pathetic fallacy is the result of a confrontation between Dorothy’s superego and her id. Dorothy’s family in Kansas takes her dog Toto away because it is causing trouble for the neighbors(superego). Dorothy does not want this to happen (id), so she decides to take the dog and leave. One thing led to another and Dorothy became very upset and the environment around her reacted to this. A tornado hit Kansas and Dorothy was swept away into a magical land known as the land of oz.
Conversely, the world of Oz is a fictional utopia that is a representation of Dorothy’s id, or in other words, what she wants and desires. The land of oz represents the other side of the rainbow for Dorothy. It is on the opposite side of the spectrum from her superego, being the harsh realities she has to face in life(Kansas). The use of color in the land of Oz further exemplifies that this is Dorothy’s id. The land of oz is such a joyful and happy place because of the added color. It makes it seem like a paradise compared to Dorothy’s life back in Kansas where sepia tone is used. Dorothy’s main desires are all fulfilled in the land of oz within the first couple of minutes of her arrival. In Kansas, all Dorothy wanted was to be heard and for her voice to matter. In the land of oz, she is proclaimed to be the savior of the munchkins because she kills the wicked witch of the east. Anything she says is highly valued and everyone’s attention is focused on her, which is exactly what she wanted. After discussing with Glenda- the good witch in the land of oz, Dorothy decides that she must return home. Her returning home at this point is her ego trying to make a compromise between her superego and her id. She decides that she must embark on a journey to see the great wizard of oz, who will guide her home where she will live happily ever after. On her journey, Dorothy meets various odd characters that she befriends. In Kansas, Dorothy does not seem to have many actual friends although, it seems like she wants to. In the land of Oz, this want for friends is fulfilled and with the help of her friends Dorothy is able to complete her journey. Everything Dorothy wants in Kansas is carried out in the fictional land of Oz, which is in reality Dorothy’s id. Finally, throughout the whole movie Dorothy is unknowingly battling between her superego and id, trying to make a compromise between the two. She is trying to find a median between the harsh realities and sepia tint of Kansas and the colorful vividness and joyfulness of the land of Oz. At the end of the movie, Dorothy returns home with the help of the friends she has made along the way. Dorothy returning home at this point is really the compromise she has decided to make between her superego and id. Once arrived back in Kansas, Dorothy awakes to find herself surrounded by her whole family and some friends of the family. Due to the fact that Dorothy was taken away by the tornado, this made her family realize that she was still there, it shone a light on her. Her family came to the realization that she is a human being and that she is important. The future is looking bright for Dorothy, her voice may now be heard by everyone and her thirst for attention is quenched, at last.
In essence, The Wizard Of Oz is a movie that depicts a high level of Freudian psychoanalytical criticism. The plot line, places in which the story take place and the main character of the story all exemplify qualities of Freud’s id, superego and ego. Kansas being Dorothy’s superego in which she has to face the harsh realities and consequences of life where sepia tint and pathetic fallacy are used to demonstrate this. The land of Oz is a colorful fictional utopia that is used to represent Dorothy’s id. Dorothy’s wishes and desires are all fulfilled here by the people around her and the journey she has been faced with. Finally, Dorothy herself is the ego in the movie. Throughout the whole movie she is trying to make a compromise between her superego and id, and at the end of the movie she succeeds in doing so by returning to her home of Kansas after completing her journey in the land of oz. At the end of the movie, a balance is achieved between id and superego with the help of ego. As with life, the ego will always be trying to find compromises and because of this, harmony is the product.