While “Cabaret” relies on the cabaret setting as the narrative force of the film, it also relies on the history surrounding cabaret shows in Berlin. Both in film and in reality life, the cabaret served as a place of degenerate art and political dissent; this status distinguished the cabaret from other art and entertainment venues in Berlin at the time and anti-fascist, which demonstrates the political and anti-fascist nature of the film's scenes and performances, especially "Money" and "Cabaret". banned? Get an original essay In Friedrich Hollaender's essay "Cabaret", he describes the nature of cabaret as "handing out a poisoned biscuit" under the cover of normal evening entertainment, meaning that radical ideas are easily spread through performances in the cabaret unconsciously, appearing on the surface as fun entertainment. This can be observed in many elements of the film “Cabaret”, particularly in the songs “Money” and “Cabaret”. This subtle but intense political indoctrination effect is a key point in understanding the cultural and historical context and importance of “Cabaret” as a whole. "Money" is a performance by Sally Bowles and the host. The song they perform speaks to the necessity of money in every aspect of life and the adversity that surrounds poverty, along with the privileges that come with being rich. While this is a very serious topic and quite relatable to audiences of the time, the nature of the performance itself is quite entertaining. Through this juxtaposition, those watching enjoy entertaining and enjoyable entertainment while unconsciously being "fed" radical ideas about wealth and class structure, thus fully embracing the concept of the distribution of the "poison cookie" (Hollaender 567), thus the audiences will walk away with these new ideas associated with the positive aspect of cabaret entertainment and performance, whether they were consciously aware of it at the time or not. In Berlin during the Weimar Republic, at very superficial levels, cabaret was debated in terms of its cultural implications. utility. For example, many believed that the war time was too terrible to look at silly entertainment, while the other half of people saw cabaret as a positive and light-hearted outlet necessary in too serious times. As we can see in both Hollaender's essay and the film “Cabaret,” historically, the true nature of cabaret fell somewhere between these two ideologies: a source of entertainment that was extremely political in its essence while still being enjoyable, a necessity against a nascent empire of fascism largely defined by aesthetic grandeur without the underlying political meaning. The existence and success of cabaret was itself a political act, a pleasurable form of entertainment that included alcohol, a symbol of prosperity, against the rise of fascism and the tragedies of impending war. The cabaret shows criticized every single aspect of German political and social life. The most popular topics were sex, government and fascism, to the point that after the 1920s two separate words were used to establish the difference between types of cabaret shows: "Cabaret" for songs about lustful activities and "Kabarett " for direct political speech. . Cabaret allowed public discourse to thrive, even in an environment that threatened censorship. Citizens did not feel guilty in criticizing the state alCabaret, especially since it was all under the mask of humor. If they listened exclusively to political discourse, it would sound much more like dissent. This is where Hollaender's “poison cookie” comes in. Political dissent is so enjoyable that it doesn't even feel like political dissent, even when popular topics of criticism included Germany's very existence as a republic and the rise and influence of the Nazi Party. Specifically, the song "Money" combines lyrics about wealth and poverty with a humorous performance and choreography to fully encompass Hollaender's concept of cabaret. In wartime, poverty was prevalent, making the issue quite universal in historical context. At the same time, the song has an underlying Marxist theme, which is itself an act of political dissent as it is performed during the rise of fascism in Berlin, as it is fundamentally against Marxist ideology. Through the lyrics, the song juxtaposes elements of wealth and poverty, highlighting how wealth makes life easier and being poor makes life more difficult. For example, the host sings: "If you're rich and want to have a good night, you can pay for a gay fling" (Cabaret). This shows the ease and carefree life of the rich and also provides a sense of irony and self-awareness to the audience because most of the Kit Kat Club's audience are rich, as seen in the film, and looking for entertainment. in the same way as described in the text, a "night entertainment". On the other hand, the song highlights the trials and tribulations of poverty. Sally Bowles later sings "When you have no shoes on and your coat is paper thin and you look fifteen pounds underweight..." (Cabaret). While audiences will likely laugh at these lyrics as they are accompanied by joyful music and humorous choreography that exaggerate what it means to be cold and hungry, these lyrics describe the real hardships of people living in poverty. While Sally herself isn't exactly poor due to her father's money, the line about having a "paper-thin coat" directly refers to the fact that Sally has to sell her warm fur to get an abortion, highlighting the sacrifices one must make . do when they are poor and have no other choice. These texts are metatextual in that they refer to the events of the text itself, but also to the current historical moment. Although at first listen these lyrics may seem simple or funny, this is all due to the nature of cabaret described by Hollaender. The song's message is actually quite radical, and as stated by Hollaender, "its effect goes far beyond the innocuous evening to boil the otherwise placid blood and inspire a sluggish brain to think" (Hollaender 567). While on a superficial level the song “Money” simply describes the contrast between rich and poor, the foundation of the song is based on society's dependence on money, which is deeply rooted in Marxism. While the song “Money” describes how difficult life is for those who have no money or income and how all their struggles are based on poverty, it outlines Marx's idea that all of humanity's struggles are rooted in the dispute of class between the privileged and the poor. oppressed, i.e. the bourgeois and proletarian classes. This is revealed in the most basic way: the song sits between describing the privilege of the rich and the oppression of the poor. The repeated phrase of the title, “Money makes the world go round” (Cabaret), is itself an intrinsically Marxist phrase, promoting the idea that all history and conflicts are based on class struggle and, with that statement, money, which is directly related to class. It's an ideaextremely radical to express through a performance, especially in the cultural context of 1930s Germany when the Nazi Party came to power, as the Nazi Party was fundamentally against Marxist ideals. Therefore, the ideas expressed through the song “Money” are quite worthy of being the fundamental cabaret song described by Hollaender, corresponding to the exact function of cabaret in the Weimar Republic. Hollaender also describes the nature of humor used through stand-up comedy to “hand out the poisonous cookie” or unconsciously spread inherently radical ideas to audiences. Hollaender says that the humor in a stand-up show in particular, unlike other types of comedy shows, is not just a cheap joke, but "the regal joke, which, in affectionate mockery of all-too-human frailties, brings back the listener to the awareness of its strength” (Hollaender 567). While the superficial humor of cabaret relies on cheesy humor through choreography, such as Sally Bowles and the host dropping coins into their clothes and making loud noises, the lyrics themselves reveal a much more radical type of humor. Cheap physical humor also has a deeper meaning: they are literally dropping money into their clothes, portraying images of wealth perhaps of a sexual nature, demonstrating basic human dependency. from money. This can be seen in multiple aspects of “money.” The first and most obvious example is the fact that many members of the Kit Kat Club audience are themselves wealthy, such as Max, a frequent audience member for much of the movie that buys things for Sally and Brian. This song offers these wealthy audience members a reminder of their power in wealth through lyrics that outline their privilege, such as "Though you moan and groan a lot, you can take it on the chin and start" (Cabaret), which is actually a method radical enough to remind the wealthy class of their privileges and the fact that their problems are not as huge as they might seem. This is particularly effective in countering the adversity of the poor, which also ties back to Hollaender's idea of ​​the "royal joke", working both to empower the rich by nature of self-awareness of their privilege, and also empowering the rich by making them aware of the class structure that intrinsically binds them, then giving them the power to resist. The “Cabaret” show towards the end of the film serves the same purpose entirely, displaying the same basic qualities as a cabaret show in Weimar, although this performance relies much less on the comedic aspect and more on the performative . In this case the message is all in the text. Sally sings: "Life is a cabaret" (Cabaret). Given that the cabaret space in historic Berlin has been established as inherently and fundamentally political and anti-fascist, Sally's lyrics demonstrate her dedication to political dissent. By choosing to live his life as if it were a cabaret, he chooses to engage in active political criticism of the state, particularly the rise of fascism. Some criticisms of Sally claim that she is willfully blind and ignorant to the plight of her country and her peers, but "Cabaret" proves this to be entirely false. Performing at the Kit Kat Club and her specific life choices that reflect cabaret itself, Sally Bowles and the performance of "Cabaret" represents the active fight against the rising fascist politics in Berlin. Both "Money" and "Cabaret" from the movie "Cabaret" are therefore the perfect example of a cabaret show that subconsciously empowers its audience by giving them a sense of self-awareness compared.