Philosophy in "CHICAGO"

Essay by mezhoudiHigh School, 11th gradeA+, April 2005

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"Razzle Dazzle them!" is a contemporary phrase the sophists would have said. It supports their views like their belief that every living thing seeks to be happy and to survive as long as possible so the only natural good is power because power increases control over the conditions of happiness and survival. The characters in Chicago crave power, fame, freedom, and identity. Velma Kelly and Roxy Hart want literal freedom from prison. Velma wants to restore her fame, and Roxy seeks to have the fame she has always wanted. Billy Flynn wants his fame and power to increase with every case he takes on.

The value of truth in the movie is scant. Every lie, every deception brings the characters closer to what they think is happiness, yet simultaneously they are digging a deeper hole. At one point or another that hole will become an abyss that they will never escape.

In the case of the movie, it is better to use deception to get each of the characters' way. They are so accustomed to being something they are not that it is second nature to lie and trick others. Appearance is more important to the prisoners as well as the media. This behavior diminishes the prestige of the society because it encourages bad values so people do not want anything to do with it ***. For example, when the Asian woman shoots her husband and his two lovers while Roxy is preparing for her trial, all the attention shifts towards the Asian woman; or at the end of the movie after Roxy is declared innocent, and all the press rushes outside to a new murder and leaves Roxy by herself without taking her picture. The press is interested in fresh "meat" and whatever will get the audience's attention no...