Alessandro de Souza Ferreira

Prof. Alverson

English 201

March 7, 2014
Contemporary Greek Choruses
A Greek chorus is a group of twelve to fifteen people who remark on the dramatic action in a play. In Medea, written by Euripides in 431BC, the chorus is formed by a group of Corinthian women who lament the bad things that are occurring throughout the play. On the other hand, in the movie Legally Blonde directed by Robert Luketic in 2001, a group of girls that are part of a sorority called Delta Nu form the chorus, which supports the protagonist in her decisions by keeping her positive through all the film. Both of these choruses have similarities and differences that help in the understanding of the works.
Euripides presents the reader with a woman seeking revenge since her husband, Jason, who is in pursuit of another woman, Glauce, has abandoned her. At the beginning of the play, the chorus tries to lift Medea’s mood by saying, “If your husband is won to a new love / The thing is common; why let it anger you? / Zeus will plead your cause./ Check this passionate grief over your husband / Which wastes you away.” (Wilkie and Hurt). This is the only moment in the play in which the chorus attempts to influence Medea’s mood positively by telling her that her situation is not unusual and that she should not feel devastated by what is happening; that she should forget Jason and move on. However, the protagonist does not pay attention to what the Corinthian women suggest to her and tries to make them think as she does by stating that women live in a world dominated by men, in which the men hold them captive. The chorus then recites a revolutionary feministic ode “Deceit in men’s device now, / Men’s oaths are gods’ dishonor. / Legend will now reverse our reputation; / A time comes when female sex is honoured” (Wilkie and Hurt).
Throughout the rest of the play, the chorus does nothing to stop the evil plans of Medea, even though she is planning to assassinate the royal family. The fact that men in society suppressed women could be the reason why the chorus does nothing to restrain Medea from achieving her plans, as they themselves are not satisfied with this conduct. Later on in the play, when Medea is about to kill her children, the chorus starts to pray to the gods for her to stop this horrible crime, specifically to Zeus, but this does not prevent her from attaining her tasks. Consequently, this again shows how the chorus cannot impede the protagonist from achieving her plans, and moreover, the chorus cannot modify the action of the play. Essentially, the function of the chorus is to highlight the domination of men in society.
Robert Luketic presents the spectator with a young beautiful blonde woman, Elle, who is president of a sorority, Delta Nu, at the University of California. Elle’s boyfriend, Wagner, decides to break up with her, as he believes she is not serious enough. After receiving the news, she is devastated and agrees to recover him by any means, so she decides that the best way to prove to him that she is thoughtful enough is to attend his university, Harvard. During her stay at Harvard, she realizes that Wagner is not the love of her life and moves on with her successful career with her new boyfriend and fiancé, Emmett. Since Wagner breaks up with Elle, the protagonist falls into a melancholy state for most of the film. However, her sorority sisters, Serena and Margot, keep lifting her mood up by staying positive every time they speak to her. For example, when Elle is about to take the LSAT to apply to Harvard, Margot gives a lucky amulet to her by saying:
“Margot: Here, you're going to need this.
Elle: Your scrunchie?
Margot: My lucky scrunchie. It helped me pass Spanish.
Serena: You passed Spanish because you gave Professor Montoya a lap dance after the final” (Legally Blonde).
This displays that Serena and Margot are always worried about Elle and that they support her positively in every aspect they are capable of. Later on, when Elle gets rejected by Wagner and his new girlfriend’s study group, she goes back to her dorm and calls the “chorus” to inform them that she is not having a good time at Harvard. They tell her to get Wagner back quickly so they can all be together again. This clearly enhances Elle’s mood to keep up the fight. Later in the film, Elle is the lawyer of the defendant in a trial that is about to start, and suddenly Serena and Margot enter saying:
“Serena: Elle, we came to see your trial and look! There's like a judge and everything... and jury people.
Margot: Vote for Elle!” (Legally Blonde).
Serena and Margot gave Elle their indefinite support in whatever decision she makes, making Elle smile, which reflects her happiness. Principally, the function of the chorus is to highlight the teaching of the film, which is to have faith in yourself. Medea, the protagonist of Euripides’ play, is a dominant, ruthless, and astute character. The chorus helps to enhance her ruthless and dominant features as they highlight the fatality of her plans. However, she ignores them and keeps going on with her tactics. For example, when the chorus prays desperately to Zeus for Medea not to kill her children, she still commits infanticide. Without the chorus, Medea would not show those features that make her a feared character.
Elle Woods, the protagonist of Legally Blonde, is susceptible, adorable, extroverted, and determined. The chorus, Margot and Serena, enhances her susceptible and determined features as they appear when she is feeling weak to lift her mood so she feels determined again and can keep going for her goals. Without the chorus, it would be difficult to realize this.
Both choruses in Medea and Legally Blonde have similarities and differences. Elle’s sorority friends do not wear masks in the film; however, the chorus in Medea does in the play. Euripides’ chorus supports Medea just at the beginning of the play, but Elle is supported by Margot and Serena all through the film to keep her in a positive mood. Euripides’ chorus has between twelve and fifteen persons while Luketic’s has just two. Moreover, the film chorus interacts with other characters while in Medea, it is only visible for the spectators or readers and the protagonist. Nevertheless, both choruses at some point of the play or film support their protagonists to move on.
The contemporary chorus of Legally Blonde follows some rules of the Greek chorus. Serena and Margot do tell us the theme of the play, which is to have faith in oneself by highlighting the susceptible and determinant features of Elle. She then overcomes obstacles to graduate from Harvard University and find out that the person she was fighting for, Wagner, does not deserve her as she is worth more than a presumptuous cretin. This shows the spectator that anyone can achieve the goals he proposed by believing in himself. The chorus also divides the action during the play. For example, when Elle goes upset back to her dorm, she calls her sorority friends. After that scene, she is determined to be the best student in class and to be hired by one of her professors to work as a lawyer. It separated the moods of the protagonist from melancholy to determination.
Generally speaking, Legally Blonde and Medea are both from very different time periods; however, they still share certain characteristics on their choruses, which are determinant in understanding certain characteristics of the protagonists and therefore the meaning of both works.

Works Cited
Legally Blonde. Robert Luketic. MGM. 2001. Film

Wilkie, Brian , and James Hurt. Literature Of The Western World: The Ancient World Through The Renaissance. Pearson College Div, print.