The “Odyssey”, one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer, and “O Brother Where Art Thou”, a 2000 a film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. At first thought you would not think the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” and “The Odyssey” have anything in common. It is however, the modern film depiction of the troubles of a man during the depression and is molded by the ancient struggles of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. “The Odyssey” is about a Greek warrior and is placed back in the times of mythology. Whereas, “O Brother Where Art Thou” is a movie telling of three escaped criminals trying to find a treasure (which ends up being false), and the adventures and struggles they faced along the way.
“The Odyssey” depicted Odysseus’ journey back from the Trojan War, which was the story portrayed in The Illiad, to his homeland. It is believed that Homer is not the only author of the epic poems. "The story was memorized and recited by poets and minstrels during a period of several centuries when Greece had no written language." (Russell 151) Around 800 B.C. Homer put the story down in writing. According to Russell the stories are "... about the passions and follies of human beings and for this reason it seems in many ways to be as modern as the current dramas we see on television.”
“O Brother Where Art Thou” is set in Mississippi in the 1930s and tells of three prisoners who escape prison, hoping to return home to their families. While dodging a
Most people have fixed concept that modern day films and Medieval Greek Epic poems differ a lot as if they are black and white, but the film O Brother, Where Art Thou and the story of The Odyssey are both parallel and perpendicular. O Brother, Where Art Thou and The Odyssey portray their story on the same path, yet on the branched path.
The Odyssey by Homer is a Greek epic poem based on its main character Odysseus and it took place in the classical Greece. The book was composed in the eight century B.C.E, after the events it describes, and narrates several adventures with the objective of its main character to return home with his family. Moreover, the movie O, Brother Where Art Thou was published in the year 2000 and directed by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen. The movie also narrates the adventures of its main character Ulysses, interpreted by George Clooney, a prisoner that escaped from jail with two partners. Consequently, the film and the movie have its similarities and differences, but at the end the movie was absolutely based on the book.
Time has not become the conqueror for the classical epic poem The Odyssey. For the past 2,500 years it has been turning its pages for many people all around the world, classifying it as the Western literary tradition. Even in the 21st century The Odyssey is still depicting its prominence when the film O Brother, Where Art Thou was directed in 2000 by loosely portraying the epic. The Coen Brothers’ film O Brother, Where Art Thou mirrors themes, motifs, and symbols from Homer’s epic poem The Odyssey. Both creative works recount the twists and turns of a man’s journey home. But was it a relevant successful relation between the two? I tend to think so. The movie O Brother, Where
In both Homer’s The Odyssey and the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? the audience is given an opportunity to experience a spectacular adventure, filled with not only the sense of journey, but also the senses of peril and excitement. A tale about a Greek hero being compared to a film set in Middle America starring three jail-escapees seems rather far-fetched. However, upon closer inspection, both actually share a lot in common. The Odyssey stars Odysseus, a man famous for his heroics in the Trojan War. O Brother, Where Art Thou? shows a bit of a contrast by starring Ulysses, a former convict who escaped and began looking for “A Treasure”. So by default, one would assume that that these two stories would be completely different. However, it
The Odyssey is an epic about Ancient Greek culture written by Homer. This is one of the two major Greek poems. Odysseus is on a long journey back to Ithaca after the fall of Troy. The most valued life traits in an Ancient Greek culture is respect. Odysseus helps portray this by worshiping gods through the epic.
The amazing epic poem by Homer entitled “The Odyssey” shares many similarities and many differences as well with the Hallmark movie of the same name. The epic poem is about the hero Odysseus who has spent twenty long years filled with toil and loss, through war and sea desperate to return to his home of Ithaca. Odysseus has angered some of the gods and goddesses of a Greek Mythology with his destruction of the mighty city of Troy. Odysseus is represented in the poem and the movie, but there are several differences between the two in the events he encountered. There are also numerous similarities
The movie, O’ Brother, Where Art Thou, is an old-timey film based on Homer’s The Odyssey. The plot and characters are all loosely drawn from the ancient Greek myth, but is set in Mississippi during the Great Depression. The result is an original film filled with adventure, interesting characters, and side-splitting comedy. The George Clooney stars as the main character, Ulysses Everett McGill, with his two man crew, Pete and Delmar, as they trek across Mississippi in search of “treasure” and encounter many of the same trials and troubles that are told about in the myth of Odysseus.
The film O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a reinterpretation of the epic poem The Odyssey. The Coen brothers, writers and directors of the film, did not over analyze their representation. “It just sort of occurred to us after we’d gotten into it somewhat that it was a story about someone going home, and sort of episodic in nature, and it kind of evolved into that,” says Joel Coen in Blood Siblings, “It’s very loosely and very sort of unseriously based on The Odyssey” (Woods 32). O Brother, Where Art Thou? contains ideas from The Odyssey for the sake of modernization and entertainment of an audience that comprehends the allusions to the epic. The Coen brothers utilize elements of Homer’s The Odyssey to improve and to give direction to O
O Brother Where Art Thou? is set in rural Mississippi during 1937, at the tail end of the Great Depression. The story begins when three prisoners escape from their chain gang in search of the treasure that Ulysses Everett McGill claimed to have buried before he was sent to prison. McGill and his two accomplices—Pete Hogwallop and Delmar O’Donnell—journey across Mississippi in search of the lost treasure, narrowly avoiding the Sheriff Cooley and his deputies along the way. Their journey is scattered with tropes of populist
Many people might not have realized but in the movie “O Brother Where Art Thou” there are connections not only with actual events that have occurred in the 1930’s, but also with Homer 's "Odyssey". From similarities in characters and storyline in the Odyssey to the life during the Great Depression, are all included and demonstrated. However, just like similarities, there are also inaccuracies that are not exactly the same between the movie, story, and the actual events of the Great Depression. For example, the movie "O Brother Where Art Thou" was based on a greek myth called "Odyssey" by Homer. Also, the movie is based only from the perspective of 3 men escaping their sentence, not from the perspective of all the different races who had different opportunities and advantages compared to others.
The Odyssey by Homer is an age old tale, which tells the fate of Odysseus, who is a Greek warrior from Ithaca.
Book to movie adaptations have been an increasingly popular style of film. Many believe that the integrity of book to movie adaptations are lost when films are not exact replicas of the book. However, adaptations are a form of interpretation that involve some means of redesigning and reconstruction to convert them into a different art form. In this paper I will argue the reasons why I agree with the claim that O, Brother Where Art Thou is based on the epic The Odyssey.
The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou is a wonderful movie that was directed by the Coen brothers. The movie features a cast of talented actors, the movie has also won several awards. The book The Odyssey is a timeless classic and it was written by the mysterious bard Homer. The book tells the tale of our hero Odysseus as he attempts to make it home to his wife. There are many ways to relate the movie plot and characters, to Odysseus's journey in The Odyssey.
Odysseus is the genius tactician whom Everett is modeled after. In the movie O’ Brother Where Art Thou, Everett is extremely similar to Odysseus. Everett is comparably much smarter than those around him, like Odysseus, and believes in his own power. He is also surrounded by people who want to betray him or hurt him, and uses similar methods of not being caught. Also, they both fully believe they are better than and don't need others. Everett and Odysseus also both only want to get back to their wives while they still hold slight concern for their companions. Everett in the movie O’ Brother Where Art Thou is made to be like Odysseus because they are both intelligent, narcissistic and have the same goal.
The Coen Brothers’ “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?”, loosely based on Homer’s classic adventure The Odyssey, is a film amusingly filled with themes of symbolism similar to those found in Homer’s epic, while still maintaining a sense of originality and style that they have become so renowned for. An exciting and entertaining blend of high adventure, humour, and heartfelt emotion, at first glance, the film barely resembles Homer’s poem: only certain elements are obvious, such as the main character’s name and the three sirens by the river. However, a deeper and more intense analysis of the film and text exposes numerous, if not more subtle references.