Film Analysis: O Brother Where Art Thou

There are many reasons to believe that O Brother, Where Art Thou is a movie based upon the events that took place during Homer’s The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a story about Odysseus and his adventure home after the Trojan War. O Brother, Where Art Thou was about the journey of Ulysses and his two partners escaping from prison. Both Odysseus and Ulysses were trying to reach home so they could see their families again. The blind man on the railroad tracks toward the beginning represented the blind prophet Teiresias. Both prophets give bad news. Odysseus is told it will take him many years to reach home. Ulysses is told he will not reach the treasure he seeks. The cousin that turned Ulysses and his two prison mates Delmar and Pete in for the reward represents the Circe turning

“The Breakfast Club”, a 1985 film, tells the story of five individuals, all from different walks of life, who find themselves together for eight hours in Saturday detention. There is Andrew the jock, Brian the nerd, Claire the princess, Ali the basket-case and Bender the criminal. Prior to the detention, they all have their own preconceived notions about each other. This is apparent in beginning of the film. Once they all enter detention, Andrew and Claire, the jock and popular girl, sit next to each other while the others are isolated. Throughout the detention, however, they begin to understand and sympathize with each other. The ending of the film is meant to insinuate that these five individuals, collectively labeling themselves the Breakfast Club, transcended all social barriers in the mere eight hours spent together. After analyzing the film, it becomes apparent that this is not the case. Subtle details towards the conclusion of the movie illustrates how strong the culture of exclusion is imbedded in each member of the breakfast club; whether it is subconscious or not.

The film O brother, where art thou? is set in the Great Depression of the 1930’s and emphasizes the struggle between the upper and lower classes by using a variety of cinematic devices. Through the use of these cinematic devices and comedic relief the realities of the Depression are viewed without creating a stark, melancholy, documentary-styled film. Examples in this film of these cinematic devices used to show these realities include:

While Jenny repeatedly rejects Forrest as her lover, she is romantically attracted to him enough to keep coming back into his life. After Forrest’s mother passes away Jenny comes back, saying she misses home and is here to stay. Even after leaving again, she comes back into Forrest’s life with a letter, inviting him to her Georgia home, which brings Forrest to the bus stop where he narrates his autobiography.

This structure is commonly seen in any film or television production, as using the structure makes sure that the narrative is continuing to move forward, and is developing. The film plot line I will be studying and making an analysis on is The Lost Boys.

The pivotal scene that will be thoroughly represented and analyzed is from the movie 8 Mile, directed by Curtis Hanson, and released in 2002. 8 Mile is a semiautobiographical film based on the life story of the iconic rapper Marshal Mathers, or better known by his stage name Eminem, and how he began his journey into the hip-hop industry. In this film, Eminem plays himself, as the main character named Jimmy Smith Jr.; however, throughout the course of the movie, he is referred to as Rabbit more than anything else. Rabbit lives in a very rough part of Detroit known as 8 Mile, in a mobile home with his single alcoholic of a mother. Their financial situation is dire and Rabbit decides he needs to find a different occupation. Rabbit works at a factory to barely make ends meet; however, the amount he makes is abysmal compared to what he needs. Rabbit has a passion for music, specifically rap. However, this is a challenge because at the time the rap genre was predominantly occupied by African-Americans. Despite this, Rabbit continues on in his pursuit of making a name for himself in the rap industry. He enters rap battle competitions in hopes of getting noticed. He runs into a group of local amateur rappers known as “Leadaz of tha Free World”. The leader of this group is named Papa Doc and he is portrayed to be Rabbits greatest adversary. Rabbit and Papa Doc both make it to the final round of the rap battle competition and that’s when the pivotal scene

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a 2001 film produced by Joel and Ethan Coen set in 1930’s Mississippi. The film is loosely based on The Odyssey by Homer. George Clooney stars as Ulysses Everett McGill, John Turturro as Pete Hogwallop, and Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar O'Donnell. Everett convinces Pete and Delmar to run away from prison to search for treasure. Pete and Delmar have big plans as to what they plan to do with the treasure; Pete wants to open a restaurant, and Delmar wants to buy back his family’s farm. The men have several adventures along the way and meet interesting characters. The first person they come to is a nameless man on a railroad hand cart warning the men to not seek treasure. They continue on and meet Tommy who is a black

The hero’s journey model, (also known as the monomyth), is a pattern of events and characters that appears in most movies, books, tv shows, etc. In this pattern, the hero leaves her/his mundane world, plunges into the unknown, undergoes test and trials, and returns with new knowledge and power. In the movie Citizen Kane, a rich man and a reporter covering the story after his death learns the power and problems with money and greediness. The movie starts with him being given away from his mother, the only truly happy place he would know. A very rich banker “adopts” him, as he has stakes in a mine that was thought to be worthless but turned out to be priceless. His threshold guardians are his conscience, and make him want to return to the

Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney), a suave, fast-taking convict, escapes from incarceration in Mississippi during the Great Depression. He is chained to two other prisoners, slow-witted Delmar (Tim Blake Neslon) and hot-tempered Pete (John Turturro), so the three must escape together. Everett convinces them that he has hidden $1.2 million after robbing an armored car, and promises to split it with them. They hitch a ride with an elderly blind man on a railway handcar, and he foretells that they will indeed find a treasure, though it may not be the one they seek.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is a Coen brothers film that was based on Homer’s epic, “The Odyssey.” The setting of the movie was during the depression era in Mississippi. The movie’s tone, characters, story, and settings reflect how barren and poor the general populous was after the stock market crash of 1929. This movie had many themes that warrant analysis. The theme of inequality between the white and black races was prevalent throughout the movie. Inequality and unfairness within the human race in general was also clearly depicted. This movie thoroughly depicts the multifaceted themes and issues present during the depression era.

The Opening Sequence of the Coen Brothers' Movie O brother Where art Thou? 'O brother where art thou?' has a unique storyline based on Homer's classic tale of 'The Odyssey', which is one story made up of short 'chapters', each relating a different adventure. In this story Ulysses, (who Everett McGill is based on) and his companions (who are the two men, Delmar and Pete, chained to Everett) are trying to get back home, however they anger the Gods and their journey is lengthened.

O Brother, Where Art Thou? is based off of Homer’s The Odyssey. After breaking out of jail, Everett, Pete, and Delmar make their way to Everett’s hometown where a treasure has been buried. They have

When watching The Hateful Eight it’s clear that Quentin Tarantino was inspired by John Carpenter’s The Thing. There are quite a few subtle nods to the classic horror film as well as some not so subtle similarities. One could watch one right after the other and immediately see the similarities between the two films. While most people would not consider The Hateful Eight a horror film it takes the greatest horror aspects of The Thing and uses them to its advantage. Quentin Tarantino took quite a few ideas from John Carpenter’s The Thing and modified them so they fit seamlessly in to his western film, including actors, characters, and even some music that was originally written for Carpenter’s film but was never used.

The untouchables is a movie based on the true events that occurred when the eighteenth amendment was passed. The eighteenth amendment established the prohibition of production, transport, and sale of alcohol. The Federal Agent Eliot Ness wants to stop Al Capone, who is the top of organized crime. It was a hard job for Eliot Ness because Al Capone with his money bought many policemen, politicians, and other important people, therefore Eliot Ness could trust anyone. Eliot Ness had to choose no more than twelve men to form his squad. The Untouchables were formed by Eliot Ness, and another nine men he picked, they were called the Untouchables because they never accepted any bribes. Al Capone One of Al Capone’s men offered Eliot Ness $2,000 to stop interfering with the organization and an additional $2,000 if he continued to cooperate. Eliot Ness’s plan was to make an impact in the income of the gangsters, so they couldn’t pay for protection. (Biography.com)

The movie in which I chose to do my movie analysis on was not one from the list provided. However, it is one of my all-time favorite movies The Band of Brothers a miniseries by HBO. I chose to do this one over the other because not only is it very entertaining and keeps you want to watch more, just to see what happens to everyone invaded but also because of the history be hide the story. The fact that they used real life experiences to help make the film just made it that much better. I watch The Band of Brothers at least a few times a year so I was happy to do this assignment.