O, Brother, Where Art Thou presented an excellent parody of
The Odyssey and I particularly enjoyed the adaptation of many of the problems
into a more modern presentation. The Odyssey has been a popular epic poem since
its creation, but it is possible that a lot of the meaning and familiarity with
the topics is lost on us because of the cultural differences.
In my opinion the best parallel was between Ulysses Everett
McGill and Odysseus. In the Odyssey we are told over and over that Odysseus is “tactful”
“great” and “wise”. It often seems to be over exaggerated and makes Odysseus to
look extra heroic. Odysseus is also made out to be even more heroic by contrast
of his crew. The crew is described in the opening “He [Odysseus] could not save
them from disaster, hard as he strove—the blind fools”. (Homer 1.10) Similarly,
Everett is accompanied by Pete and Delmar who are both not very bright and
blindly follow Everett.
Everett tricks them the entire time saying they are going
after a treasure but really Everett is just trying to stop Penny from getting
remarried. Everett tells them that he needed them to help him escape and to help
him through his journey. Odysseus also would not have been able to get home if
not for his crew, and most of them die because Odysseus convinced them to
follow him and help him get home. Both Odysseus and Everett tricked their “crews”
in order to get home.
The best similarity between Everett and Odysseus is the use of
pride. Odysseus, as we have seen in many scenes, loves to boast and even trash
talk people who oppose him. Everett similarly has a very witty tongue and often
displays his intelligence. Like when Pete questions Everett’s leadership he
responds with “Well Pete, I figured it should be the one with the capacity for
abstract thought. But if that ain't the consensus view, then hell, let's put it
to a vote.” Everett also has Odysseus’ pride which is epitomized by his obsession
over his hair. Throughout the movie is concerned about his hair, he only uses
Dapper Dan hair gel, and wears hairnets to sleep. Just like Odysseus’ pride was
his downfall with the Cyclops, Everett leaves a hairnet in their camp one night
and so the sheriff continues to follow him.
Yet another similarity between the two is how they got into their initial predicament. Instead of dying honorably on the battlefield, Odysseus is held up while he sails home. Instead of going to prison for something hard like bank robbery, Everett is detained for practicing law without a license (even though he pretends its about treasure, hyping himself up in the way that odysseus is hyped up on his journey)
ReplyDeleteEverett and Odysseus are the most clear connection between O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Odyssey. The similarities that you pointed out very important, especially in relation to pride. In both cases, pride is what leads to them being followed/inconvenienced on their journey home. Another similarity that I noticed was in their relationship with their children. Telemachus does not have a clear connection with the children except with their relationship with Everett. They are the ones that initially talk to Everett about Penny's plans to remarry, similar to how Telemachus talked to Odysseus on the shores of Ithaca. Also, they are not really able to recognize Everett, questioning the fact that he is their father when they meet him.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with your comparison that with both Everett and Odysseus, their hubris is their downfall. I would disagree though with the idea that Odysseus tricked his crew into going home with him. It seemed to me that it was divine intervention that both brought the crew along and eventually killed them
ReplyDeleteO Brother Where Art Though definitely doesn't shy away from poking fun at Homer's Odysseus. In The Odyssey, a reader is forced to remain uncomfortably silent as Odysseus manipulates, brags and obsesses over his perfect hair but in O Brother, we are invited to openly laugh at how pretentious Everett is. The movie also shows more sympathy to Odysseus' crew. Okay, maybe they aren't the sharpest pencils in humanity's pencil case, but that's not really their fault and they definitely don't deserve to be repeatedly screwed over by an egotistical aristocrat with a vocabulary that's too big for him.
ReplyDeleteI too found a clear connection between Everett and Odysseus in O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Odyssey. Only one difference though. I didn't really see Odysseus tricking his crew like Everett so obviously does in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". To me it seemed like in the Odyssey, the Gods getting involved brought the crew along.
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