"Odyssey" and "O Brother Where Art Thou?".

Paper Summary:

The following paper draws parallels between Homer's "Odyssey" and the Coen Brother's "O Brother Where Art Thou?". In the year 2000, the inventive and provocative filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen reworked the Odyssey in a liberal way, changing scenes, settings and characters. The writer compares the original epic and the original screenplay and discusses dozens of small but meaningful comparisons. For instance, Odysseus and his men descend into Hades where they encounter several ghosts from Odysseus's past; in the film the boys meet a fellow inmate who they thought was dead. Odysseus from the original epic and Ulysses from the film (played by George Clooney) both have to prove to their wives that they are true: Ulysses must bring Penny the ring to redeem himself. In the Odyssey, Book 23, Penelope declares that "there are tokens with which we two alone are acquainted," (Butler trans.). Although it was written millennia ago in ancient Greece, the parables of the Odyssey remain extant for a reason: Its themes are universal and accessible and adaptable for all time. The Coen brothers' movie "O Brother Where Art Thou?" exemplifies Homer's timelessness, as well as their own versatility.

From the Paper:

"Homer's Odyssey is more than an epic tale of a man "who wandered far and wide," across the sea; it is an archetypal journey with universal and enduring import. It is not difficult to find parallels between Odysseus's adventures and modern ones, for ultimately the Odyssey transcends its details. Homer erected a narrative structure that lends itself to adaptation and reconstruction. Most notable to modern reinterpretations of Homer's Odyssey is James Joyce's Ulysses, which focuses on and develops the relationship between father (Odysseus/Leopold Bloom) and son (Telemachus/Stephen Dedalus). In the year 2000, the inventive and provocative filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen reworked the Odyssey in an equally liberal way, changing scenes, settings, and characters. But whereas Joyce's version of the Odyssey is microcosmic, its journey more psychological than physical, the Coen brothers' O Brother Where Art Thou? rambles through a decidedly physical and farcical tale. At first glance the film resembles Homer's epic little: only certain elements are obvious like George Clooney's character's name (Ulysses) and the three sirens by the river. A deeper investigation of the film and the original text reveals numerous, if more subtle, references."

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