The Wizard of Oz (w/ Franciso Pérez)

Rivka and Frank are joined by Francisco Pérez, an activist, educator, and the director of the Center for Popular Economics, who blows the lid off the 1939 movie-musical classic The Wizard of Oz. Francisco explains how L. Frank Baum’s original 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, offered an allegory for U.S. monetary policy and the populist economics movement of the 19th century. Specifically, the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 which sought to upend the gold standard in order to ease the strain on indebted American farmers. 

Links:

• Economics4Emancipation.net

A rough transcript of the episode is available here.

For next week’s movie, we’ll be watching the 2007 animated film Bee Movie. 

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What is Movies vs. Capitalism [DEAD FEED]?

MOVIES VS. CAPITALISM explores the politics of your favorite films through an anti-capitalist lens. Each episode, hosts Rivka and Frank are joined by a guest for a critical discussion about a film and how it’s obviously a scathing indictment of late-stage capitalism.

MVC examines the crucial intersection between pop culture and politics — unpacking the ideological messages baked into some of your favorite movies.