Dying for the cause
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Music as Myth in _O Brother, Where Art Thou?_, or how this movie ruined my childhood.
I, like many people in this class, was born in the year 2000, the same year O Brother, Where Art Thou? was released. Like most moms, my mom sang lots of lullabies to me. O Brother Where Art Thou? is one of my mom’s favorite movies, so naturally she had the CD, and sang the songs from it as she tried to get me to fall asleep. “Didn’t Leave Nobody But the Baby” was one of my favorites, and as I got older I remember learning how to sing harmony from Alison Krauss’ performance of “Down in the River to Pray.” I always knew the recordings I loved were from a movie, but never really thought to watch it. Basically, the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou? was an entirely standalone media experience for me as a kid. You can imagine my surprise upon viewing the Siren scene in the film. But that’s the genius of the Coen brothers’ use of music in O Brother, Where Art Thou? By including the traditional music of the setting in the rural American South, the film creates an immersive se
Odysseus is a charming man.
Every hero is strong, smart, capable, and accomplished in his particular area. Odysseus is already a hero when we meet him, having fought in the Trojan war in the Iliad, and endured his suffering already. The thing that sets him apart from other war heroes (aside from being alive still) is that he is dang charming. He's a very talented storyteller, as we see when Alcinous and Arete beg him to continue talking while he relates his backstory to them. He's "tall and handsome" and Arete comments, "And what a mind!" (12, 338). Alcinous also comments "[Some people] fashion lies out of thin air. But when I look at you, I know you are not in that category," which is interesting because we know that Odysseus is actually quite prone to lying, as he does to his slave and later his wife Penelope, as well as to the cyclops (12, 365-6). Everybody likes Odysseus, even though to us he doesn't seem all that likeable. He sacrifices others for the good of him
Your post was so well-written. Wow. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI liked how you summarized all that we discussed in class and examined Paul and the book as grey characters/things in their opinions. On one hand, Paul is a part of a system that exists and validates itself in the oppression of all other races. Like how Christianity furthers itself through mission work that often dilutes the societies it seeks to "save," thereby also establishing itself as the elite. But on the Paul goes out of his way to create change in the system, and not in the white savior, "I'll smash this sign," way, but through going to those he's trying to help and analyzing his own role in perpetuating and fighting the system. Similarly, Christianity, as you pointed out, can be very liberating and is a belief before it's political. Great post!