ABSTRACT
In the famous 1939 American movie The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy, her three
companions, and her dog brave innumerable dangers to petition a wizard-
the Wizard of Oz-for his help. But although they have believed with full
faith in the Wizard’s omniscience and omnipotence, in the movie’s climax
they learn the truth. Dorothy’s dog Toto pulls a curtain away from a booth
to reveal an old man working controls and shouting into a microphone. The
old man is using smoke and mirrors to create an awesome image of ‘‘the
great and powerful Oz.’’ He is no wizard, but rather a clever, but weak and desperate man. The truth, that their elaborate beliefs about the wizard are
nothing but fantasy, shocks Dorothy and her friends. But once the fac¸ade of
majesty and mystery has been stripped away, they quickly learn that this
ordinary man can actually give them each just exactly what they need-the
self-confidence to make practical decisions for themselves and to use the
real resources they have to accomplish their goals.
