It amazes me how often people refer to Oscar Diggs, The Wizard of Oz as a “hack.” I mean, sure, on a superficial level, he was not an actual magical wizard until much later in the original series by L. Frank Baum. Sure, he lived his life in solitude as a result of it. These things we know. Further, he seemed proud of this, declaring himself proudly to be a humbug wizard.

But a hack?

When I hear the word the word hack, it generally makes me think “someone without talent.” Or quite possibly, someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing. Maybe someone who is, well, below a certain acceptable caliber when it comes to talent.

None of these things should apply to Oscar Diggs. Granted, we don’t know a lot about the character. We’re not really all that sure where he came from, other than the fact that he was originally from Omaha and the son of a politician. We know that he was a stage magician, and that he retired, taking up a job as a balloon flier, according to one account. Or, according to another, flew a balloon as part of his act, which was still ongoing at the time of his mysterious flight to Oz. We know that he was very charismatic, and was somehow able to convince people in Oz, which is comprised for four countries, not one to follow him, and let him be their leader. And we know that he did not like the Wicked Witches, and that he wanted them dead.

But think about it for a minute. Does any of this sound like something a “hack” could have pulled off? Wouldn’t you think that it would take something to sway 50,000 people or more who are accustomed to seeing magical acts as part of every day life?

I think it would have. If you apply any sort of logic to it, Diggs would have had to be good, damn good in order to attain and keep the faith of the people. He may not have been a real wizard, at least, not at first…. but there had to be something. Maybe a sort of charisma that you see in the great leaders of today. Maybe a sort of charm where he could convince people to do what he wanted them to do.

I’ve always wondered why someone would so proudly declare himself a fraud to begin with. Why would you tell someone you didn’t know what you were doing? Maybe that’s not it. Maybe what he’s declaring is not that it’s that he doesn’t know what he’s doing at all. But that he’s brilliant at deceiving people.

And if that’s the case… are you really going to believe him, when he tells you that he’s a fraud?