In the movie O Brother Where Art Thou?, three men (Ulysses, Pete and Delmar)escape from prison to recover over a million dollars in treasure that Ulysses claimed to have stolen from an armored car and buried before he was put away. This turns out to be a big lie, especially since before that one of the guys (Pete) only had several weeks left to serve, but now because he ran away had to serve over 50 years. They spend most of the story looking for the treasure, and at one point record a song that becomes popular "Man of Constant Sorrow" calling their group the "Soggy Bottom Boys. After they find out that Ulysses was lying just to get his wife back, they go on to help him get her back and find her ring so they can be together. "I ran into several mythological references during this movie:
-The blind man Weaver that tells them their futures
-The blind man Root that runs the radio station
-The one-eyed Bible Salesman Dan Teague
-Tommy Johnson the guitarist who sold his soul to the devil
Out of the four I saw in the movie:
-The blind man Weaver that tells them their futures reminds me of Achilles mother from the Iliad, when she told him the two paths he could take for his future, die and be immortal or live with a family and be forgotten.
-The guitarist Tommy Johnson, who sold his soul to the devil so he could play guitar reminds me of the story of Atlas, when Heracles tricked him into taking the sky while he ran away with the golden apples. Both Atlas and Heracles were stuck in a weird place, left there to ponder their foolish decisions.
Interesting comparisons. I have to admit that the Tommy-Atlas was a bit of a stretch but its ok i guess.
ReplyDeleteYou noticed some key mythological references and even interpreted them in a unique way. The blind man who tells the 3 men their fortune in the beginning of the film made me think specifically of the blind prophet motif, particularly Tiresias in Oedipus, Antigone, and The Odyssey. But the idea of one being vaguely told their fate is another common occurrence in myth, which is exemplified through Thetis' warning to her son.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'd have to know more about the story of Atlas and Heracles. I'm not seeing too many connections just on this short analysis.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Big Dan Teague as the cyclops and the blind man as some sort of seer (probably Tiresias) are valid mythological comparisons. I'm curious though what myth the blind man running the radio station represented.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the mythological references that you listed. I really like your point of view on what the blind man represented. I automatically thought he resembled Tiresias from the story of Antigone, but I like the comparison that you made.
ReplyDeleteYour perspective on the blind man wasn't something I expected because I don't think I've ever heard of that one. However, I think it's interesting because the blind man tells them they'll find something that they don't expect, so I guess the choice was theirs whether or not to go on their quest.
ReplyDeletei'm not that familiar with the store of Atlas so I cant give an accurate analysis of that comparison, but from what I do know I don't think that the devil had to trick Tommy into selling his soul because that is something that he really wanted to do with his life.
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