Gays and Oz: Why There’s No Place Like Homo

"….in other words, they were going to need…gays." "Mary, it takes a fairy to make something beautiful!" (Emory: Boys in the Band)

I want to learn more about the books some time. I've heard that after the first book, one of the characters is a princess who was cursed to be a boy, and they lift that curse, and she becomes a reoccurring character. A transgender princess from over a century ago. It was really in the zeitgeist.

In 1956, for my 8th birthday, my mother took me and a bunch of friends to see "The Wizard of Oz" on the big screen at the Bruin Theater in Westwood, CA. I will never forget the thrill of Dorothy landing in Oz and the switch to technicolor. Karel Kavanaugh was so traumatized by the Wicked Witch of the West, my mom spent a lot of the film with her out in the lobby of the theater, trying to comfort her. I didn't know it yet, but that was very close to the end of the best part of my childhood. My family was about to lose everything. To this day, whenever I am facing something difficult in my life, I watch "The Wizard of Oz" beforehand. Thank you for this video.

I'm straight. I have no strong feeling about The Wizard of Oz in any format, especially the movie. My parents were religious extremists who hated just about any aspect of popular culture, especially if it was associated with Hollywood. So, I first saw the movie as a young adult and wasn't impressed.

In hindsight, I'm grateful there was no TV in our house until after I left for college (thank you LBJ) spewing mind killing consumerist cr@p day and night.

However, I watched the first Wicked movie last year, and was blown away by the message, and so deeply grateful that it has resonated with so many. During this dark time, any glimmer of light is a treasure to be cherished.

Thank you for your thoughtful, informative post. It has me interested in revisting the original Oz movie; I'll watch with a new perspective.

NMRK ❤

In my high school film class when we analyzed queer representation (because my film teacher was a badass) in media the first thing we talked about was the wizard of oz

I loved Margaret Hamilton in the movie !!!! ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Fun fact: There was actually an incident that happened on set that made a lot of the Actors think that Baum was sending his regards from Beyond the grave.

The Prop master bought a rack of random suit coats from a thrift store,and one was given to the Actor who plays the Wizard,and one day he looked inside and saw a tag saying that the coat had been originally made for Frank Baum in Chicago.

I'm an 80 year old straight female who watched it every year. I related to all the same themes. It's universal.

You need to talk about the queen of all Queer "coded" animes, Sailor Moon.

A group of friends asked me to sing that "WhoaOAHAHAAAAA" song once at a karaoke night, since I have a background in music. I told them I'd never seen Wicked and had never heard it I got my "gay card revoked" in a surprisingly cold way — it genuinely seemed to turn some of them against me in a way that lasted. It's weird to be required to like something, no matter what community you live in. I still like the original film, because I like classic films. It doesn't give me any gay feelings.

at about 10:45……the "excuse me"………is that where Steve Martin got it from. That pretty much launched his career

Not true. I was a big WOZ fan in the 80's and was in the Navy at the time. I openly spent all my time reading all the OZ books while in the Data Processing room (I maintained the computers). Never was once asked if I was gay even though I was not married at the time. By the way I am not gay. Not everyone that like the Wizard of Oz is gay.

I hope to see more videos when you feel inspired. Great job!

I was once told by an affable barstool expert that in the original L. Frank Baum book: the characters the Cowardly Lion, the Tin Woodsman, & the Scarecrow were written as gay stereotypes. Our gay stereotypes have evolved quite a bit over the last hundred and some years; but the Cowardly Lion is your classic scared of girls type. The heartless Tinman couldn’t care less about them dames. And the Scarecrow is the kind of idiot who could get talked into anything, including homosexuality apparently.

You think there’s any truth to this yawn?

I was playing final fantasy II while listening to this video in the background when the "It's a twister" line from airplane came on, just as I was flying into a cyclone on the back of a dragon lol

These Seamen or this semen…

45:26 made me think of scream 3, Parker Poseys iconic line delivery “you’re such a complex character” lol

The wrestling scene also includes a brief moment with two men who are flamboyantly homosexual. They’re slight and effeminate, and during the match, one says in a cartoonish voice, “What a brute! Let’s go!” as he gestures with a limp wrist. They stand up and prance away clutching large handkerchiefs Can you post that scene from the 1932 movie, The Sport Parade?

legendary compulsive, chronic lying, drag queen ginger minj

Who ??? Adele Meddzine?!?!?

Hi Matt, love your content. Always incredibly insightful and well-researched.
I would say, with this episode, for me personally there was a lot of cutaways. In podcast form, it’s very jarring to listen to, very stop/start.
I really enjoyed your Rock Hudson episode a while back. It flowed really well, and the cutaways were relevant, and more selectively placed. Like using quotes in an academic essay to back up your statements.
For this one, there were pop culture reference cutaways that weren’t directly related, and were more like a soundboard used as reaction clips, and there was a lot of that.

"Queer people" ???????