O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Renegade Cut
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 вер 2024
- An analysis of the connection between O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Odyssey. Support Renegade Cut Media through Patreon. / renegadecut
~-~~-~~~-~~-~
Please watch: "The Fountain - Renegade Cut"
• The Fountain - Renegad...
~-~~-~~~-~~-~
I noticed another parallel between the Odyssee and the movie.
In the cinema, Everett gives Delmar a speech that women are not to be trusted. This speech is almost word by word similar to the speech Agamemnon gives Odysseus in the underworld in the Odyssee. Probably my favorite scene in the movie because of this :)
I credit this show for how well i do in film classes.
One thing to note about the Polyphemus's death, is that one thing the Odyssey explicitly says is that they hardened the stake they stabbed Polyphemus's eye out in a fire. While the flag's small stake didn't kill Dan, the burning cross did, so in a way he was still killed by a burnt stake.
I've loved Coen Brothers films for years but it took my fiancé to get me to finally watch this movie and I was blown away. Now I just need to get her to watch Barton Fink.
Did you ever watch it?
I still think this film is almost perfection.
In high school, we were taught The Odyssey ( in Texas, mind you - yippee-ki-yay ) and I loved it. The Cyclops, Odysseus tied to the mast to bear the call of the sirens so his men wouldn't, Calypso ( ohh la la ), etc. I love this movie and how it incorporated the mythos of Homer and that of the American south. And the cinematography was stunning, personally, this is best the Cohen brothers have created. For those who claim that George Clooney's acting is 'lightweight', I would counter that this was his best work.
Glad you included the Sheep/Clan parallel.
I am Greek. I had to study the Odyssey at 7th grade & the Iliad at the 8th grade.
And i mean the in original archaic texts....
Be glad you escaped this fate & have this film and review instead.
Good video Leon!
+SnakeEyes I tried reading in HS and didn't absorb a word of it. Gave up after 10 pages.
Well, we have Infinite Jest, so we're probably even.
I am from germany and we had to read the Illias...
I read the W.H.D. Rouse translation of The Odyssey in eight grade. It was pretty good and entertaining.
In Greek schools nowdays the Iliad and Odyssey are taught in modern Greek.
"Do not seek the treasure!"
We thought you was a toad
hahahaha
This is so awesome to learn. This movie is one of my favorite films, and now I get to see so much more into it now. My fav scene is the "Siren's Song" scene, as it's just sooooo relaxing listening to the girls sing with the gently flowing river in the background.
Tommy selling his soul to the devil to learn to play guitar is figurative. It just means he learnt to play guitar in jail. That's why his description of the devil matches that of the sheriff.
That's an interesting idea
Yeah, that sounds about right.
Outstanding answer, thanks
Awesome interpretation
IM THE DAMN PATERFAMILIAS!!!!!!!
3:08 Tommy selling his soul to the devil is a reference to the American bluesman Robert Johnson who is said to of sold his soul to the devil for the ability to play the guitar really well. He disappeared for a while and returned, playing much better than before. People thought he made the deal at a crossroads, thus, Crossroad Blues by Eric Clapton and originally, Robert Johnson.
"Law, is a human institution." Is a raw line
This video reminds me of something I read about The Force Awakens. Something like, it's not the story that's important, but rather TELLING the story that's important. So even if it's something that we've seen a million times, it doesn't matter. There are a million stories that rip off/reference The Odyssey like Joyce's Ulysses, 2001 (as mentioned here), and even The Spongebob Squarepants movie. And a million other things we consider classics are ripoffs of other works: The Lion King is Hamlet; The Big Lebowski is The Big Sleep; Avatar is Pocahontas, etc. That's why I've been able to successfully get over being bothered by similarities between works. In the end, it's just pointless.
Thank you this was such a big help to understand the connections between the works
I saw this movie as a kid. I remember getting upset by the frog squishing. ^^; I should rewatch it...
Thank you for this video, it made me very happy.
Our stories. What a great video. Well done!
Great review, Leon! Whenever this film is on tv, I always watch it, even if only for 15 minutes. I have always wondered how closely it followed the actual tale of The Odyssey.
Wonderful video! Thorough, but still engaging. Great job
Excellent soundtrack album, too!
brilliant interpretation. I was surprised to see you do none of the more zanier coen brothers films, as I always put this more with comedy. your interpretation has lead me to question more things about it, so good job
Lesson number one of the Odyssey, start the story in the middle
Well done video, and well researched to boot. After I watched O'Brother I always thought it was more Joyce than Homer. Obviously Ulysses (the book) is based on The Odyssey and so the two follow the exact same structure and have many of the same themes. But the main character in O'Brother Ulysses is much more Bloom than Odysseus. He's not manly, he's more thoughtful. He loses his fistfight, he is an outsider to religion, he is artful and articulate. Odysseus on the other hand is clever but manly. Pomade wouldn't be on the top of his list of concerns. Just my two cents.
Thank you for this
4:32 It’s not a toad, it’s a leopard frog
Excellent, excellent video. I'm such a fan of your work. Request for future video: Barton Fink.
What's going on in that movie? What's up with the ending and the burning hotel? Why does Goodman's character yell,"I'll show you the life of the mind! Look upon me!"?
go back earlier on his channel
I wonder, Could Pappy O'Donnell be a stand in for for Zeus? He has the most power in the film and ultimately pardons Everett. While in Hommer's Story it is Athena who helps Odysseus. Everett's constant concern with his hair are Odysseus' pride, which is his greatest flaw and as you said in the video its what kept getting in his way. They wear the beards to get into the rally so Everett can talk to his wife, a parallel Athena disguising Odysseus.
+John Lemus The Governor's (Pappy's) first name was Minelaus. I believe he was meant to stand in for the Greek King. however, more than one interpretation is obviously possible.
Yeah I did notice the Minelaus but thought it was too on the nose.
I think that the baptism in the movie has a much more positive spin than the loutass eaters do in the odisy.
Same here because ultimately... this film is about redemption. And that’s really what the mysterious blind man prophesies to them about that they will find a treasure but it will not be the treasure that they seek but that it will be a treasure that leads them to their salvation and this has led to a popular fan theory that if the ruthless sheriff is quite possibly the devil then the mysterious blind prophet might be an angel sent by God to help get them started on their journey to redemption or that he might even God himself giving them encouragement to seek salvation. The film is about the journey to becoming a better person and that it is not easy and sometimes it can even be scary but it is always worth it.
This movie is more about modern American culture and history. As a non American, I would love to learn more about that.
The only way that America can change is for it to experience a baptism of Truth that brings reconciliation with the sins of Slavery
i watched this film. i enjoyed it.
My first reaction when Dan Teague showed up was "oooooooooohhhh.... _polyphemus_"
4:31 i think this is more complex , only after i’ve seen it happen, it’s about a woman offering romance to a man , because of other intentions than his manhood , that turns the man into a frog , destroying his manhood , meaning swamp woman (marsha) , dirty woman , that’s where frogs live , not a huge sweet water lake woman , a high woman isn’t dirty and therefore her kiss can turn a frog into a prince
possible other coen films: the man who wasn't there, a serious man, blood simple, burn after reading and the hudsucker proxy
***** thanks for the reply. I look forward to that video in the future. I tell you, dude, i love movies too but I don't know how you do it every week. Seriously, are you that smart that you just write algorithms of movies?
Thank you
Geez, you should be happy for your interpretive talent. How long would this vid have taken you. Clipping, and narrating and researching. I really cannot imagine, but sure would like to know the hours & real days total.
No mention of Sullivan's Travels?
+Renegade Cut future episode maybe then? 😀
5:35 the son , the traveler , the lone wanderer
the hound is the world or earth
7:43 the anointed one
suffering servant / man of constant sorrows
A discussion about race in the film will be more timely and relevant
Strange. I like a lot of Coen brothers movies. I've enjoyed reading the Odyssey. I think that 2001 and Apocalypse Now are great films.
But O Brother Where Art Thou did not work for me at all. I couldn't finish it. Again strange. Oh well.
I'm a dapper dan man.
do a video on Logan
5:00 small typo. The god’s name is Poseidon.
Sorry but I disagree with your assessment of the sheriff as Posideon. He has dark eyes full of flames and is accompanied by a great dog. He is Hades with the guard dog Cerberus. Iirc Odessyus begins his journey home declaring he needs no assistance from any god, particularly Posideon. It is only when he recants and apologizes for his arrogance that Posideon allows him to return home. In OBWAT, Everett finally prays to God after being "unaffiliated" the entire journey that he is rescued from death and Hades by a flood (sent by the god to whom he just pleaded for salvation). As soon as he recants his prayer he sees a cow on the roof of a cotton house surrounded by the same flood waters, plus Pete's admonishment that reminds Everett there are powers greater than man and difficult to understand.
u gotta eat the lotus
Wait, it's Po-LI-fi-mus? I've been pronouncing it Po-lee-FEE-mus.
9:21 Stop appropriating Greek culture Leon!
Great video but I disagree with the general conclusion at the end. Maybe it's just me, but after all the think pieces about Star Wars and Superman I've read over the years, I'm coming to the conclusion that American critics are becoming increasingly fixated with mythology, at least in regards to adventure fiction, to the point that it's becoming reductive in their criticism of art.
There's a big problem with the basic premise that "mythology is timeless", namely that it isn't true. Certainly bits of mythology are timeless, namely the bits that writers over the centuries have cherry-picked to include in their own works. But writers cherry-picking ideas is true of all art, regardless of whether that art can be defined as mythology. Taking the few good ideas out of the Odyssey (which is in my opinion a very dull, forgettable read for the most part) is no different a process than taking the good original ideas from Harry Potter or any other recent work of fiction. As culture changes, it inspires original ideas that then become timeless. Why don't we give credit to those original ideas instead of trying to tie everything back to mythology?
I almost get the impression that the American fixation on "modern myths" comes from two places; the first is a desire for white Americans to have a connection to history they otherwise lack (hence the existence of Renaissance Fairs or occasional films about Americans traveling back in time and somehow ending up in medieval Europe). The second reason is that critics saying a work of fiction is based on mythology has the effect of elevating said work in the minds of others. Let's be honest, the majority of adventure stories are ultimately kitsch and therefore easy to dismiss by the "serious" critics. So instead of justifying your favourite kitsch film by saying, "It's well-made and I liked it.", the temptation is to say "It's like mythology, therefore it's much more than just kitsch because it transcends culture, human nature, space, time, etc, and therefore you have to pay attention to it if you're a serious critic".
Ironically, the connections to mythology don't actually matter. George Lucas created Willow using the same Hero's Journey formula and mythology references as Star Wars but hardly anyone remembers Willow these days. And for that matter, Superman doesn't have a whole lot in common with Hercules, besides his strength. In the 21st Century, when physically powerful superheroes are dime-a-dozen, the reason why Superman still resonates as a character is his modern sense of compassion and his relatable persona. These stories are kitsch, but they're quality kitsch. And what makes them timeless is the audience coming away and saying, "It's well-made and I liked it.", and then going back for more.
In short, Americans seem to have this need to tie American stories to mythology in order to make them seem "great" when in fact the original ideas that come out of these stories are really what make them great and timeless. By attempting to these works justice with the mythology angle, you ironically do them an injustice and diminish the importance of their creators.
I love Willow.
@@gbank44 Me too. Great adventure movie for kids and adults. Its a great film but get overshadowed (as everything does) by the SW juggernaut.
Well...as a movie, it sucks balls...