...Have you ever read a book and then watched the movie? When you are watching the movie you find some things similar, but most of it is different, right? I read the book The Odyssey and watched the movie O Brother Where Art Thou? I compared the similarities and the differences. When I was doing that, I found a lot of the same things in the movie as they were in the book. This was a movie and book that were different, but the same in different ways that were sometimes hidden in the storyline of O Brother Where Art Thou? I thought there were many similarities in the movie and in the book. One that really caught my attention was the prophecy. In the movie when the men were riding with the blind guy on the train track he said, “ You guys will seek a great fortune, but not the one you are looking for…” In the book Odysseus goes to the underworld and Tiresias of Thebes tells him, “ If you don’t show restraint and control you won’t make it home.” The prophecies are alike in many ways....
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...Brother Where Art Thou?” is closely related to the story of Odessyus in a number of ways. Everett from “o Brother Where Art Thou?” is loosely based off of Odessyeus due to their similar character traits. Both characters want to return to the women they love but with many obstacles in their path. Odesseus, king of Ithaca, conqueror of Tryo, undertakes a twenty year journey to return to his home and reunite with his wife. Everett, a citizen of Mobile, Alabama and a criminal running from the law after escaping prison with his three brothers after being arrested for practicing law without a license. A similarity between these two plot’s outcomes is that in Odesseyeus’ story, he returns to Ithaca only to find his own people rogue and disrespecting...
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...“O Brother Where Art Thou” review by Nicholas Drake “O Brother Where Art Thou” is a film, that if you have not yet seen it, you should do so. It takes little to know time to recognize the influence of Homer’s The Odyssey in the film, as it is based off of the epic. Set in rural Mississippi in the 1940’s, we join the story where Ulysses McGill (George Clooney), Pete (John Turturro), and Delmar (Tim Blake Nelson) are escaping prison in a search for a “hidden treasure”. Along their journey, the three cross paths with bank robbers, con artists, a mass baptism, and they almost see their demise. The music used in the film, contributes tremendously to its tone. The use of oldies and bluegrass music makes for a better viewing experience because of the visuals used in the film. Farmlands, cotton fields, dirt roads, and Dapper Dan’s hair pomade along with the music used in the film help create the experience of what life was like in rural Mississippi during the 1940’s. Ulysses McGill, played by George Clooney, acts as an Odysseus like character. Though his performance is not knock-your-socks-off good, Clooney does do the role justice and carries the sarcastic comedy that occurs frequently in the film. Turturro and Nelson’s characters, Pete and Delmar serve as sidekicks to Clooney but contribute to the plot seamlessly. Other characters like Big Dan played by John Goodman and Babyface Nelson played by Michael Baddalucco serve as plot twisters in the film. While their roles do not contribute...
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...A multitude of books, movies, songs and other works are created based relatively close to original works, as is Oh Brother, Where Art Thou in relation to The Odyssey. Between the two works, countless similarities are found such as physical features and leadership skills. One specific portion of correlation comes from the cyclops scene in The Odyssey which is comparable to the scene that Big Dan is present in during Oh Brother, Where Art Thou. Throughout the whole scene it is easy to recognize slight resemblances. The first comparable component is physical. Both Big Dan and the Cyclops have only one eye. With this characteristic integrated into Big Dan, it is easy to conclude that the director of the film Oh Brother, Where Art Thou intended...
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...Final Film Critique: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Robert L. Forbes ENG 225 Film: From Watching to Seeing. Instructor Ebony Gibson April 29, 2013 Final Film Critique: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Everyone likes to laugh, and this film is no stranger to the call. O Brother, Where Art Thou is indeed a comical action/adventure and musical romp Directed by Joel Coen and Produced by Ethan Coen. The Cast consist of many favorites in film such as George Clooney, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, John Turturro, and Tim Blake Nelson. The film O Brother, according to well-known film critic Roger Ebert (2000), “is based on Homer’s The Odyssey” (p.1), this is an epic Greek poem around 700 B.C. Although the setting is much different, the Homeric journey of three would be prisoners of the late 1930s are similar to The Odyssey and its theme of perseverance. The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou however has a comical twist accompanied by great Gospel/Bluegrass music, and scenes that play into an allegorical concept including references to repentance and salvation during the depression of that era. The storyline in this movie the collaborating efforts of the Coen brothers and cinematographer Roger Deakins bring together...
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...Movie Summary- The Hero’s Journey For this assignment I decided to rewatch a movie I know that follows the hero’s journey very well, and that is “O Brother, Where Art Thou” by Joel Coen, starring George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson and John Goodman. The call to adventure in this movie is when the three farm workers decided to escape their work farm, and a black man that is blind predicts that their quest to fortune will give them nothing but failure. The refusal of the call is when Pete (one of the workers) doubts of the man’s prediction. The supernatural aid in this film is obviously the blind man that predicts the future. The first threshold the prisoners have to pass is to escape the farm they were sent to to work. The men enter the belly of the whale when Pete’s cousin calls the police to arrest the men for the money he would get in reward and the prisoners have to advance past this step...
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...In the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" there are many elements of The Odyssey used to explore aspects of modern American culture. For instance, in the beginning there was a scene in which people were getting baptized. Two of the three main characters, Delmar and Pete, wanted to join in because it forgave all of their sins. This shows that during the Great Depression, a lot of people looked to religion to help them out of their hard times. This also resembles the scene in The Odyssey with the lotus eaters. Another example is the “cyclops.” The man portrayed as the cyclops in the movie, Big Dan Teague, is a member of the Ku Klux Klan, a symbol of racism. He is later killed by a burning cross, which shows that racism is disheartening. A scene in the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" involves baptisms. The filmmakers, the Coen brothers, used the scene in Homer’s The Odyssey with the lotus eaters to develop this scene in the movie. The scenes are very similar in that they lure the men in and provide them with something they like; in the movie they are redeemed of their sins and in The Odyssey they are provided with food. In "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Delmar is the first to get baptized and he says, “Well I was lyin' - and I'm...
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...In the movie O Brother Where Art Thou we meet Ulysses Everett Mc Grill, who had escape from prison with Pete and Delmar. Pete, Delmar and Everett where chain together and Everett convince them to escape from prison in search of a treasure he had buried. Everett was the leader of the group and made the decision for them. As their journey began Everett intentions manifested slowly through the movie. What makes a hero, “Hero a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character” Dictonary.com. Everett is not a hero, he is an opportunist. He was charismatic and uses it to his advantage to fool Pete and Delmar to follow him on his journey. Everett motive to escape from prison was for his own selfish reason to see his wife. Pete and Delmar...
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...Odyssey and the movie O, Brother Where Art Thou have many similarities and differences such as the same adventures portrayed in a different way. Sometimes the stories are portrayed so differently it is very difficult to find them. There are also many differences to fill in some of the plot holes that the Odyssey has. There are many similarities between O, Brother Where Art Thou and the Odyssey. The adventures are similar, but portrayed in different ways. A similarity between the Odyssey and O, Brother Where Art Thou is at the beginning of O, Brother Where Art Thou when a blind man is telling them a random jumble of phrases. In reality he is telling their future. In the Odyssey Tiresias tells Odysseus the future and also Tiresias is blind....
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...Wouldn’t it be cool to learn about a character who is hubris and caring at the same time? Yes it would be cool so lets talk about it, but first let me explain the purpose of the essay, the purpose of the essay is to try to get people interested in The Odyssey, and to teach about the greek mythology legends. The book is called The odyssey by Homer and the book is called Oh Brother Where Art Thou by the director named Joel and Ethan Coen which is also the writers of the movie as well. Odysseus is very caring and loving especially on Calypso’s island when Penelope and Odysseus were hugging. Another reason on how Odysseus is showing that he is caring and loving is when him and Penelope are also crying while they are hugging. In the movie...
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...Everett from “O Brother Where Art Thou” and Odysseus from “The Odyssey” are alike because they share a similar journey. Everett and Odysseus just want to get home to their families. Although they come from different backgrounds, Everett as an escaped convict, and Odysseus as a war hero, they share the same enthusiasm to get home. For example, in “O Brother Where Art Thou” a quote states, “Everett and Penny walk arm in arm, the seven Wharvey gals behind,” this quote shows that Everett did finally get home to his family after all. In “The Odyssey”, another instance would be, “What I want and all my days I pine for is to go back to my house and see my day of homecoming,” this quote shows Odysseus longing for his home. Obviously both of these quotes show that these two characters would like to go home or have successfully gotten home. Everett and Odysseus encounter a one-eyed man/monster who has a desire to either hurt them or kill them. For example, in “The Odyssey,” a quote would be, “ Two he seized and dashed to the ground like whelps, and their brains ran out and stained the Earth,” this quote is appropriate for this topic because it says that the Cyclops basically wanted to kill...
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...Jade Zayas Intro to World Mythology Final Paper 05/07/2012 O Brother, Where Art Thou? vs. The Odyssey When it comes to entertainment and box office hit movie making, it is not uncommon to come across films adapted from popular literature. Taking a story that is popular and well-known is a formula for a successful film, as long as it is done the right way. The Coen Brothers, famous for successful films such as “Fargo” and “The Big Lebowski,” made a movie together entitled “O Brother, Where Art Thou.” This film, while unique in its setting and a little bit different in the plot, is clearly an adaptation of the ancient classic poem “The Odyssey” by the poet Homer. Even a review by the renowned film critic Roger Ebert states: “O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a Homeric journey through Mississippi during the Depression (Ebert, Roger 2000).” The film itself depicts the obstacles and fate of a man during the Great Depression who escapes from jail and whose only goal is to make it back home. The struggles he and his fellow escapees meet along the way are strikingly similar to the perils that face Odysseus and his men on their mission to get back to Ithaca. Also, the character references in the film that parallel the characters in the epic poem are abundant. The film is almost a modern homage to the ancient poem in all the different ways it emulates “The Odyssey.” To fully understand all of the different ways the film relates to the poem, it is important to establish the character...
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...Brother Where Art Thou? Several factors lead to the impaction that a reader may face or feel including, but not limited to the obstacles they face, the characters’ goals, and the setting. To start off with, the characters’ actions is a reason that a literary journey can influence a reader. From The Odyssey, we can see that Odysseus’ main obstacle was the cyclops. What this means is that the cyclops impacted his journey because he had to defeat him. Additionally, from O Brother Where Art Thou? we can also see that they faced a major obstacle as well which was the law. To explain further this means that there were multiple times that their plan could have failed when...
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...understanding to someone. Both O' Brother Where Art Thou?and Homer's Odyssey have characters who go on epic journeys in a search for their home. With help from their friends, both characters make the perilous journey home, but not without costs. Both heroes must face many villains and challenges along the way. Although Everett and Odysseus have their differences, both are just men who want to return to their families. Everett and Odysseus are trying to get back to their homes before their wives can remarry. Everett convinces Pete and Delmar to escape the chain gang with him in search for treasure, in order to get his wife Penny back. Even though there...
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...Brother, Where Art Thou clearly is a modern representation of Homer’s The Odyssey. There are multiple people and scenes in the movie that are similar to those in The Odyssey. Not only are there obvious similarities but also minor ones that not everyone may catch. Throughout this paper, you will believe the fact that this movie resembles the myth in plenty of ways. To point out the obvious, Homer’s ‘Odysseus is represented by Ulysseus. They both let their pride get in front of them. Also, the way their relationship with their crew is close to exact. Both crews question their leader for some decisions they make get them into trouble. Odysseus and Ulysseus outsmart people plenty of times. Specific times were when Odysseus tricked the Cyclopes into thinking his name was “No Name”, and Ulysseus tricks his ‘crew’ into believing they are going to search for a treasure when really he just wants to get his wife back. Like I just stated, Ulysseus went on his journey to stop his wife, Penny, from marrying a suitor. In resemblance, Odysseus has to make it home to his wife, Penelope, to save her from marrying one of the many suitors that are living in his home, waiting for her to wed one of them. When Odysseus returns to his homeland, his son doesn’t recognize him right away, same as Ulysseus’ daughters deny it’s him because they believe he was dead. As you can see, there are plenty of obvious similarities, but there are just as many non-obvious similarities. When Odysseus is on his...
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