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Brittni Shoup-Owens

Professor Berry

ENG 332

11 September 2017

Greek Chorus in Disney Movies and Oedipus Rex

In movies, plays, audio books, and T.V shows, elements of a Greek chorus are often

found. Shows like Jane the Virgin, Gossip Girl, Greys Anatomy, and many more all share a

common ground with one specific aspect of Greek drama. They all have some type of third party

voice, other than the character, that explains and provides

details about the character, the plot, or the setting. This

voice may take the form of a narrator, or a chorus. A

chorus, according to The Compact Bedford Introduction

to Drama, by Lee A. Jacobus, are people who usually represented the citizenry in the drama

(35). The chorus within the drama, much like in the T.V shows, assist the audience in further

understanding the plot, setting, and characters. A few examples of where choruses are relevant

are in the story, Oedipus Rex, and the movies, Hercules and Beauty and the Beast. The story of

Oedipus Rex and the production company, Disney, both use a wide variety of Greek Chorus

elements.

Greek Chorus elements, according to Wikipedia, consist of the following: the chorus

offers a wide variety of background and summary information, provide commentaries on themes,

brings awareness towards the characters mood, emotions, or actions, or provides thoughts and

expressions the characters are forbidden to show. In some rare cases, the chorus could also

provide non-main characters with insight. Performances consisted of song, sometimes dance,
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masks, and a chorus of 15 to 24 members

(Wikipedia). Chorus also hinted at the audience

whether a play was about to begin or end. They

played a major role in Greek dramas, however,

Wikipedia states the importance of the chorus

declined after the 5th Century BCE, when the chorus began to be separated from the dramatic

action.

The story of Oedipus Rex separates the chorus from its main characters. The first

example of Greek Chorus in this story can be found on pages 46 and 45 of our textbook. Oedipus

and Kreon are discussing who mightve killed King Laios, and all the damage its brought on the

city and Oedipus is also telling Kreon that he, as well as Apollo, will help heal the city from its

devastations. Then, the chorus chimes in and

begins to pray to Zeus, Apollo, Athena, and

Artemis, begging them to aid the city and

prevent catastrophe. This makes the audience

aware of the physical attributes of the city and

just how much destruction they have faced since the murder of King Laios. The chorus is also

asking Zeus to bring destruction upon whoever murdered King Laios and then again are calling

upon the Gods and Goddesses to be with their city, showing the audience that even though

theres a King, not everything on Earth is up to him.

Another city that was often in devastation and poverty was the city of Thebes in the

animated movie, Hercules. In this movie, audiences often see the five muses, a group of ladies,
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who provide extra commentary via song about Hercules and the events happening throughout the

movie. The first example is found in the song: The Gospel Truth I

This specific song is an example of a chorus, because it is providing the audience with a

brief backstory of who the muses are, how the Titans once walked amongst the Earth, how messy

the Earth was until Zeus came along, and how he captured the Titans. They also state how

although it seems impossible, its the Gospel Truth. The second example, correlates to the first.

It is of the muses, but this time around, they are singing in a much drearier tone. The example is

found in the song: The Gospel Truth II

Although this chorus moment is brief, the Muses are explaining who Zeus is and letting

the audience know that they dont want to upset him. Without revealing what it entailed, they

spoke of the evil plan Zeus had, which involves Hercules. This can be viewed as a major

foreshadow for the audience, and lets them

know something wicked is coming. The

music sets a dark and mysterious tone,

which correlates towards the personality and

emotions of Hades. The third final example from Hercules shows the muses yet again, still

singing in a dreary tone. The example is found in the song: The Gospel Truth III

In this chorus, the muses are assisting the audiences comprehension of Hades carried

out plan. The Muses are letting audience members know that although Hercules didnt drink

every drop of the Mortal Potion, given to him by Pain and Panic, he isnt able to come home,

but still has his God-like strength. They also give an insight as to how old Hercules was when

Zeus carried out his plan from the words, Was hatched before Herc cut his first tooth.
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Commentary on the emotional reactions of Zeus and Hera are also provided, giving the audience

a perception to how the kidnapping of Hercules made them feel.

The feeling of not being able to do anything about a devastating act of betrayal, isnt a

good one. However, it leads to the second example from Oedipus Rex. In this encounter, the

chorus is telling Oedipus they heard King Laios was killed by travelers. They also share that

because Oedipus is threatening the murderer, it could be preventing the murderer from coming

forward. They provide Oedipus with the blind

seer and let him know that the seer will point

out the murderer to Oedipus himself, despite

his blindness. This is an example of Greek

Chorus because it is showing the audience that

the Chorus has a way of determining who the murderer is, without questioning everyone in

Thebes. They are also providing emotional insight for the murderer by stating the murderers

caution on professing his unforgiving act. Upon further reading, the audience finds out the seer

has an oracle he doesnt wish to share with Oedipus, and this causes the two to argue. From

there, the chorus tells Oedipus and the seer to stop arguing, because their words were out of

anger, and that they need to take time to figure out Apollos oracle (pages 49 to 51). This is an

example of a chorus element, because it is telling the characters to put aside the emotion they

dont realize theyre demonstrating.

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Anger is an emotion that Disney portrays often throughout movies. One example of an

angry character is Beast in Beauty and the Beast.

Beast is a young handsome prince (Adam), with

a curse upon him. This curse turns Adam into a

hideous and ferocious beast, while also turning

all his castle workers into pieces of furniture that

are personified. The curse is supposed to caution Adam of his cold heart, and his carelessness of

others. He is given a rose, and must find true love before the last petal falls on his 21st birthday,

or the curse is forever stuck.

When Beast takes Belle as a forever hostage in lieu of her dad (who was found lurking

around the castle), he, at first, doesnt try to be her friend. The personified furniture reminds

Beast that that Belle could be the one to break the curse but Beast doesnt see the possibility.

Ultimately, he decides they should be friends because forever is a long time. Throughout the

journey of befriending her, the pair begin to fall in love, although both are unaware of their

developing feelings.

During the ballroom dancing scene, Mrs. Pots, acts as a chorus and sings a love song.

This song directs the audience towards the hidden

emotions of both Belle and the Beast. The song

and Mrs. Pots speak about the pair being a tale as

old as time and how even though they didnt

want to, the Beast and Belle, began to develop

feelings and change their perspective towards each other. This is a major relation towards a
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chorus, because it is mainly showing the audience the hidden emotions of the main characters

and provides them with a view from an outside source.

Perspective can come in many shapes and forms. One perspective of these choruses is to

compare and contrast them. In all honesty, there are mostly similarities. All three instances

indicate characters acting as choruses, aiding the audience in emotion, plot, and setting

circumstances. The major differences, are that they all take place during a different time, have

different characters, and different plots. Mainly, they all carry out the same duty, which is to

provide the audience with a viewpoint other than their own.

Despite whether its a chorus or another character speaking about whats happening,

viewpoints are crucial to movies and plays. Without them, the audience could miss an important

attribute, such as where the character

came from or why a character reacted

the way they did. These viewpoints,

choruses, and/or narrators allow the

audience to see hidden emotions of

characters, details about the plot, and

references to the setting. Hercules, Oedipus Rex, and Beauty and the Beast all have elements of

Greek Chorus.
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Works Cited

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<https://i.ytimg.com/vi/rDqh4bpZrs/maxresdefault.jpg>.

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<https://static01.nyt.com/images/2017/03/12/arts/12BEAUTY-BEASTJP3/12BEAUTY-

BEASTJP3-master675-v2.jpg>.

Beauty and the Beast Scene. Digital image. Highsnobiety. Https://www.highsnobiety.com/, n.d.

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content/uploads/2017/03/15201224/beauty-and-the-beast-gay-scene-07.jpg>.

Beauty and the Beast. Perf. Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. 2017. Beauty and the Beast Ball

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<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-VeQqV-KTI>.

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anatomycast.jpg>.

Hercules. Disney, 1997. Hercules-The Gospel Truth. YouTube, 18 Sept. 2007. Web. 7 Sept.

2017. <
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<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRq7lLawQB4&index=1&list=PLzI66cukPwQ6jRhvq

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<https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ux0Irxb9mDo/maxresdefault.jpg>.

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<https://zgreatbatch.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/oresteia-chorus.jpg>.
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Originals. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Sept. 2017.

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