Here & Now Anytime 25 at 250: Costumes from ‘The Wiz’ and the car that changed America
Mar 20, 2026
Dwandolin Reese, Smithsonian humanities leader, recalls The Wiz’s iconic costume design and its ties to Afrofuturism and diasporic style. Kathleen Franz, Smithsonian transportation curator, traces how the Ford Model T transformed manufacturing, mobility and everyday life. They discuss costume craft, cultural visibility, mass production, and the ripple effects of a car that reshaped America.
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Model T's Design Enabled Mass Affordability
- The Model T made cars affordable by stripping optional features and selling a basic, easy-to-produce vehicle.
- Ford standardized parts and used a moving assembly line, cutting chassis time from 12 hours to 93 minutes and spawning aftermarket industries.
Fordism Was Integration Not Invention
- Henry Ford unified existing techniques like interchangeable parts and division of labor into large-scale assembly to industrialize production.
- He scaled and combined methods from gun manufacturing and meatpacking to create Fordism that spread across industries.
Assembly Lines Sparked Labor Backlash
- Rapid assembly-line production intensified labor demands and led to cultural critique and labor organizing.
- Popular culture like Chaplin's Modern Times captured the human toll and spurred unionization for worker safety.