O Brother Where Art Thou

In the movie O Brother Where Art Thou, there are many things that are taking place with in the movie that are deeper then they appear. The movie is set during the Great Depression, but to better describe different aspects of it, The Coean brothers tied in some of the same storyline that is associated with the Odyessey. The one of the major events that is based off the Odyessey is the scene with the three women in the river, or the sirens. In O Brother Where Art Thou, one of the main charecters sees a group of women in the river washing their clothes and singing a song. He leaps out of the car and runs to them in river and eventually is followed by his two friends. The women seduce them with their song and wake up the morning on the ground and are missing their friend that was the one initially enchanted by their spell. This incident related closely to when Odessyus was sailing with his crew and passed the sirens singing on the rocks. The sirens in Greek Mythology, were known for singing on the shore to sailors who would become enchanted and would crash into the rocks and sink. The scene in the movie where this happens ties into the great depression as well. The women who took the man after he was seduced, turned him in to the police and collected the bonty that was being offered. Therefore, they probably had little money so they took the oppurnity they were faced with. Another scene with John Goodman where he is killed by the burning cross, is tied to the odessey becuase Big T is supppsed to be based off of the Cyclopes Polythemus who dies by getting stabbedin the eye with a flaming spear. Other connections are found in, Delmar and Pete getting baptized but Evrett not, because this is like Odyssyuse's crew eating the lotus but him chosing to not, and lastly Evrett's cunning quick witted prideful self ressembles Odysseyus, the main charector of the Odyssey. No matter how many times he say, "Damn we are in a tight spot", which is quite a few, he always comes up with a plan to get out of it. Another largely noted aspect of this film is its score. Through out the movie you hear music from folk to blues to soul. The music largely contributes to the flow of the movie by adding to the plot and making smooth transitions. The song O Death, which is sang during the KKK scene does a good job at explaining the mood through its lyrics. The line "no wealth, no ruin, no silver no gold, nothing satisfies me but your soul", helps frame the idea behind death in the KKK. Those men don't care about your money or you past, all they want is to kill.

Another song is Man of Constant Sorrow, it is one of the most popular songs in the movie, and it talks about the Great Depression and all the hardships the people are going through. The first line "I am a man, of constant sorrow" touches the hearts of many people because they know constant sorroe. They live in it everyday. The people love it because of how it relates to all of them.