During the early 20th century, America faced a period of uncertainty and desperation during the stock market crash in late 1929. People in the whole country were unemployed and many were dying of hunger and malnutrition. Additionally, marriage rates declined while divorce rates increased. There was total chaos and unrest throughout the country as it affected the American class to some extent. Together as a nation they had to learn to overcome this era of pain. This era is now known as the Great Depression. It has not only harmed the American people financially, but also emotionally. The mood and spirit of the people had dropped along with the economy. They needed an escape to serve as an outlet in their daily lives. Something they could relate to, something that had the ability to create a sense of comfort and familiarity. They found this outlet in films. The Wizard of Oz, a classic first shown in 1939, helped lift the spirits of Americans during the Great Depression through symbolism and metaphorically relating characters to the different divisions of Americans. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Movies were the source of entertainment that served as an outlet during this emotionally difficult time. Many of these films were comforting to Americans because the plot of those films paralleled what people were facing in their daily lives (Breitzer). What sets The Wizard of Oz apart from other films is that it was able to embody America as a whole. While many films appealed to a certain segment of society, The Wizard of Oz was not only able to represent America as a whole, but also recognized the different divisions within the nation. The film's ability to appeal to all Americans in some way makes the film a classic. When the film was first released it immediately won the hearts of many Americans. Many of them already knew the plot because they had already read the book, published in 1900, before the film was released. The film was so loved by critics that it was even compared to the greatest of those films. time, Disney's Snow White (Nungent). The film had the ability to enchant audiences of all ages and genders. The New Times writer states: "They are all presumptuous concepts, presented with a naive relish for their absurdity and an obvious - and quite natural - desire on the part of those who fabricated them to show what they could do" (Nungent). Talk about all the characters in the film, both main and secondary. It was justified that people loved and enjoyed it so much because of the quality of the animation and Technicolor for the time. Although the film begins in black and white, it later switches to Technicolor, symbolizing the transition from the dull and gloomy lives of the American people to a life full of color and happiness. Kansas is portrayed as a dull, lifeless gray place, depicting the state of Kansas in the early 1890s (Langley, The Wizard of Oz). A confluence of events, including scorching droughts, harsh winters, and an invasion of locusts, had transformed the rich lands into a wasteland unsuitable for agriculture. The farmers were rendered helpless after these events because the farms were their only source of bread and butter. This negative impact on agriculture was one of the causes of the Great Depression as farmers gave up (Robinson). In addition to farmers, the blow to agriculture affected all of America because this was also their source of food. America as a whole faced aperiod of unrest, but the nation had still managed to unite and fight their problems. They were able to unite as one nation and emerge from the Great Depression by living a simplistic life and rationing what they consumed.spent in their daily lives. In the film Dorothy notices a strong resemblance to America. In The Wizard of Oz, the protagonist Dorothy embodies America. She is a young, simplistic and naive girl from Kansas who is resilient and determined to find her way back home. Even though the Land of Oz seems much happier, more colorful, and helps Dorothy escape her current problems, she longs to return home to her family in Kansas. “No matter how shabby and gray our homes are, we real people would rather live here than in any other country, no matter how beautiful. There's no place like home." (Baum 33). While it may be tempting to stay in the Land of Oz, he won't let its luxuries sway him. He recognizes that even though Kansas is in bad shape, that's where all his loved ones are, so that's where he needs to return. He is able to do this with the help of the characters he meets along the way as he travels the Yellow Brick Road towards the Emerald City. Americans were able to use this as a glimmer of hope, recognizing that they will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel if they choose to never give up. Resilient Americans were resourceful and determined to emerge from this period of conflict (Lewis 412). Americans were able to quickly adapt to this new way of life and reused many of their items and only bought those that were absolutely necessary. They had to overcome hunger rates that were dropping day by day while unemployment rates were rising. . Unemployment affected people across America, from farmers in the West to workers in the East. The division of Americans that suffered most from the Great Depression was that of agricultural workers. Farmers were suffering from a terrible drought in the West, and the weather was getting worse by the day. In The Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy meets the scarecrow, he is disoriented and stuck until Dorothy arrives to help him. Similarly, farmers in Western countries were also rendered helpless by the stock market crash (Mintz). No one listened to the scarecrow in the film and everything he said was ineffective, just as farmers in the West were ignored, silenced or spoken out. Very few listened to what they had to say or the problems they faced in agriculture. They were often considered inferior to other men who worked in the industrial factories of the East. The film shows the immobility of industrial workers who had worked long hours to feed their family, seen through the Tin Man. Like the workers, the Tin Man in the film is shown as rusty and unable to move until Dorothy arrives and pours oil on him. Once she has poured the oil on him, the Tin Man is now able to move and speak. Many workers felt immobilized when businesses began to close due to the Great Depression. Helpless when they lost their jobs, workers were often dehumanized. This was demonstrated through the Tin Man's characteristics of being hollow and heartless. Together, the Tin Man and Dorothy continue their journey to the Land of Oz when Dorothy meets her third and final friend on the journey, the Cowardly Lion. The Cowardly Lion is seen as a representation of government officials, but particularly William Jennings Bryan. Bryan was similar to the lion because he had great talent in public speaking, just as the cowardly lion was heard..