Below are a number of images of items that fans of The Wizard of Oz collect. As you look them over, consider the ways that the original story has been transformed into a commodity--an object designed for ownership and consumption. This begins, of course, with the very story itself--once published as a book, it becomes not just an example of literary art, but a commodity to be bought and sold, produced and consumed. What is the role of consumption in the success of a story? What drives people to want to own objects like those found below?

Barbie as Glinda

Ken as the Cowardly Lion

Tommy as a member of the Lollipop Guild

Dorothy

Scarecrow

The "real" cows in Kansas City

The Dorothy Cow

The Scarecrow Cow

The Tin Man Cow

The "Cow"ardly Lion Cow

The Wicked Witch of the West Cow