Oprah
and the movie Chicago
 On Thursday, January
23, 2003, the subject of Oprah's
show was that of domestic violence.
As I watched how
varying and opposite opinions were given, because, after all, Oprah
wants to present more than one side, the movie, Chicago, came to
mind.
It reminded me of all
the women in prison who committed a crime, namely, according to the movie, murder. The
movie, Chicago, talks about murder
because of betrayal, but Oprah
talks about violence which can lead to murder because of domestic
violence.
Still, the cause of
death in the movie and Oprah's
show on domestic violence is a result of a heightened, emotional state
of anger.
Oprah praises one of
the men she interviewed. The man said that the way to stop
domestic violence is for him to own, acknowledge, accept, deal with all
the painful emotions he is feeling. By doing so, his state of
anger can be diffused.
In the movie, Chicago,
how is this state of anger diffused? It is accomplished not in
"realistic" terms, but in "fantasy" terms as shown
by the jail dance sequence where all the women express their reasons for
their crimes through dance. The entire movie is based on fantasy
and instead of taking its subject of murder too seriously, it instead
shows this subject through dark comedy.
Also, because of this
subject it shows how the system is not always fool-proof. For instance, there is
the great example of Richard Gere's character. He is the
"system" embroiled in one big, tragic, comedy show. He
is "showtime" at its manipulative best. He isn't out to
be right. He is out not to lose a case, and his methods are an
ironic as well as sad show of how the courtroom, the jury, and the
public watching are things he can control. The movie cuts back and
forth from his court room scene to tap dancing to depict this. So
he tells Zellweger how to act and speak, and as a result, he wins his
case.
So the movie says, yes,
marketing works, and yes, we, the audiences are gullible.
Could it be our way of
suppressing or accepting our pains as a human race?
That could be another
subject for the next movie or Oprah
Winfrey Show.
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Your Movie Scripts!
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 "Marina, your eloquent words have
expressed the feelings of many Russell Crowe fans. Much of your insight
truly touches the core of who we think Russell Crowe is. It would be
presumptuous of me to truly know what Russell Crowe thinks of life, work, etc.
since I do not know him personally, however, through the movies and roles he has
carefully chosen, and the stories he tells in his music, lead me to believe what
you have written is true. Thank you." Gail
Silberberg, Millburn, New Jersey,
silberberg@comcast.net.
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