O Brother, Where Art Thou? The title itself is a nod to Preston Sturges’s 1941 Great Depression flick Sullivan’s Travels, a tale of a comedy
director’s struggle to release a socially-conscious movie (entitled O Brother, Where Art Thou?) in a time where
people go to the movies to escape the world, not accept it. Following a number
of mishaps and shenanigans, our protagonist finally reaches the end of the
movie with a new-found appreciation for the comedy genre.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? was based on
the Greek epic The Odyssey, but in
many ways resembles Sullivan’s Travels.
Like O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Sullivan’s Travels has its roots in a
well-known piece of literature; the 17th century adventuring tale Gulliver’s Travels. Both of these
movies, as well as the works they were based on, follow a man and his wild journey
that leads to self-discovery.
The
opening scene of O Brother Where Art
Thou? immediately establishes the tone for the remainder of the movie. We
are welcomed with a panning shot of the fields of Mississippi and the
sounds of pickaxes and chain-songs. After a long shot of the plains the camera rests
on a group of chain-gangers, picking away at rocks on the side of the road. Eventually
the camera returns to the fields, where we are greeted with a change of pace as
our protagonists emerge from the fields chained together and on the run.
The
rest of the film follows our protagonist, a smooth-talking fugitive by the name
of Everett Mcgill. Everett is a smart, but arrogant man. His self-pronounced “capacity
for abstract thought” is the leading cause of his troubles. We watch as Mcgill
tries as hard as he can to resist change in the name of stubbornness, until he
eventually accepts that he can’t outsmart everything. The Coen brothers make this both implicitly and explicitly obvious
through their writing and use of symbolism.
The use of symbolism is a major plot element of O
Brother Where Art Thou?. One example of symbolism usage is the amount of dirt and grime coated on Everett’s
face at any given time. Early in the movie the other two members of the
chain-gang come across a congregation in the woods being baptized. Delmar (one
of the fugitives), sprints to the front of the line, where he is baptized and
told he is absolved of all his sins. The third fugitive by the name of Pete hastily
follows suit. As they wade back shore they tell Everett to do the same, but out
of stubbornness he refuses, ridiculing their superstition. Everett’s pride is implicitly
represented by the grime built up on his face. His unwillingness to be
baptized, which would at the same time wash away the dirt, shows he is too
prideful to buy into spirituality, even after Delmar expresses that “it couldn't
hurt.” They continue on their journey, but now with a clean-faced and
clean-slated Pete and Delmar.
It
isn’t until the climax of the movie that Everett accepts his fate and shows
some semblance of humbleness. Having finally been caught by the authorities in
the woods with nooses ready, our trio is brought to their knees and told to
pray before they’re strung up. Our once prideful protagonist, who at the
beginning of the story might have kept his mouth shut, is now praying to God
for mercy, not just for his own sake, but for the sakes of his family and his
fugitive companions. Only seconds later a deus
ex machina takes place as a cataclysmic flow of water comes crashing down
around them, freeing them from their fate. As our protagonists are brought to
the surface of the water, we see Everett’s face washed clean, symbolizing a newfound
humbleness and maturity.
The
Coen brothers also implicitly express the meaning and tone of the movie on a
scene-by-scene basis. In one scene, the three protagonists stumble across a
group of scantily-clad women singing and washing their clothes in a stream.
All
around them are beautiful trees and the sounds of nature. The film is
over-saturated, making the scene appear more intimate. The three beautiful women
continue to wash their clothes while lulling the protagonists in, before
getting up and dancing around them. The camera zooms in to a close up of each
of our protagonists with a women wrapped around each one of them, giving the
scene a much more personal feel. Slowly the camera begins to zoom out and the once
sweet sound of the women singing becomes distorted with an eerie whistle,
giving the audience the clue that something isn't right. The camera fades to black
and we are left in the dark for a few seconds while the music still plays.
We
are quickly cut to a much less appealing scene of a close-up of Delmar laying
face up in the mud. The saturation from the previous scene has disappeared and
been replaced with an assortment of grays. The contrast between this scene and
the prior one gives the audience the idea that our protagonists have been
duped. It’s only seconds later that we realize our assumptions were correct, as
the camera jumps to the point of view of Delmar and we see that he discovers Pete missing.
Works Cited
- Prince, Stephen R. Movies and Meaning: An Introduction to Film. 6th Edition ed. N.p.: Pearson Education, 2013. Print.
- Coffey, Donnacha. "O Brother, Where Art Thou? FilmGrab." Web log post. Film-grab.com. N.p., 5 Sept. 2010. Web.
- Woods, Conley. "Sullivan's Travels (1941)." Sullivan's Travels (1941). N.p., 2007. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
- Ebert29, Roger. "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" All Content. N.p., 29 Dec. 2000. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
- O Brother, Where Art Thou? Dir. Ethan Coen and Joel Coen. Perf. George Clooney. 2000. DVD.
- Richards, Evan. "The Cinematography of “O Brother, Where Art Thou” (2000)." @ Evan E. Richards. N.p., Aug. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
