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The Myth Modernized in O Brother, Where Art Thou? - Online Term Paper

The Myth Modernized in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The Myth Modernized in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

The viewer is told at the beginning of the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? that the movie is based on Homer's Odyssey. The hero is named Ulysses; his wife is Penny (Penelope), and he undertakes an eventful journey to reclaim her. With his companions, he encounters a blind prophet, a one-eyed brute and some seductive Sirens. After many adventures, he arrives home and manages to oust the suitor (in this story, only one suitor is involved); he is reinstated in his family and, like Odysseus, settles down to a life of respectability.
In addition to these obvious references, the Coen brothers built in ironic commentary that underscores ...

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without chafing for freedom and adventure as Tennyson's Ulysses did.
In Homer's time, those who listened to the story of The Odyssey would have known what to expect in the broad sense, and additionally the poet wove in many peripheral storylines and allusions, some obscure, some familiar to most of his listeners. Therein lay the pleasure of the tale: the recognition of some elements, the surprise of new ones, and the skill with which they are blended and presented. The always inventive Coen brothers have achieved a similar effect in this remarkable film.
By telling the viewer up front that the story is inspired by The Odyssey and by making obvious references, they immediately establish that this film is a "road picture". By setting it in the rural South of the thirties, they provide a time and place with which most of their viewers are familiar, but which most have not experienced first-hand. The chain gangs, the colorful politicians, Baby Face Nelson, river baptisms, ...

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The Myth Modernized in O Brother, Where Art Thou?. (2015, September 15). Retrieved March 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Myth-Modernized-O-Brother-Where-Art/104979
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"The Myth Modernized in O Brother, Where Art Thou?." Essayworld.com. September 15, 2015. Accessed March 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Myth-Modernized-O-Brother-Where-Art/104979.
"The Myth Modernized in O Brother, Where Art Thou?." Essayworld.com. September 15, 2015. Accessed March 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Myth-Modernized-O-Brother-Where-Art/104979.
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PAPER DETAILS
Added: 9/15/2015 11:14:20 AM
Category: Film & Theater
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 761
Pages: 3

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