Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Political interpretations of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Political interpretations of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" include treatments of the modern fairy tale (written by L. Frank Baum and first published in 1900) as an allegory or metaphor for the political, economic, and social events of America in the 1890s. Scholars have examined four quite different versions of Oz: the novel of 1900, the Broadway play of 1901, the Hollywood film of 1939, and the numerous follow-up Oz novels written after 1900 by Baum and others. The political interpretations focus on the first three, and emphasize the close relationship between
The Wizard of Oz on television during commercials. Angela Lansbury also narrated a documentary about the making of the film, originally entitled "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: 50 Years of Magic" and years later retitled "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: The Making of a Movie Classic". It was first shown immediately after the movie's 1990 telecast, and is included as a supplement on all the DVD releases beginning with the 1999 DVD release. Jack Haley, Jr., the documentary's director, was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work. When shown on Turner Classic Movies, "The Wizard of Oz" was usually hosted by TCM host Robert Osborne.