 I don't think that it's a secret that a brother or art there is heavily inspired by Homer's The Odyssey. It's not exactly a one-to-one retelling of the epic, instead it borrows certain aspects of the story, some events, some characters, and some themes, to help reimagine something completely new. One of the most significant aspects that it borrows from the epic is existing in a time of change. Homer's poem takes place following the Trojan War, and it spends a lot of the story in post-war Ithaca. During a time of change, and our protagonist, Odysseus, needs to face the changes in society. Similarly, O'Brother takes place in the 1930s. The world is becoming modernized, radio is taking over, and because of that new ideas are spreading out. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's go back to the beginning of the story and take a look at our protagonist. One of the biggest distinctions between him and his counterpart Odysseus from The Odyssey is their nobility. Everett is an escaped criminal, whereas Odysseus was a soldier returning home. Everett in many ways isn't a good person. He is self-absorbed, arrogant, a liar, and has no interest in anyone's well-being except for himself, even his two companions, Delmar and Pete. Early on, those two are determined to live a better life. They want to wash away their sins, cleanse themselves from their former lives, and they do just that. When they stumble onto a baptism, they both eagerly jump to the occasion, and following the baptism, they start to live meaningful lives. Well, it's funny you should ask. I was bad till yesterday, but me and Pete here have been saved. No longer doing anything bad. Everett, on the other hand... Baptism. You two are just dumbin' a bag of hammers. The ideas of right and wrong, at least early on in the story, is painted in pretty black and white terms. Everett may be our protagonist, we may like him, but he isn't a good person. Early on, he's willing to steal. You stole from my kin. Who is fixin' to betray us. You didn't know that at the time. So I borrowed it till I did know. He's egocentric, and will lie to anyone about just about anything so that he can get his way. Well, sir, we are Negroes. In this scene, he takes advantage of the blind studio owner. Merton, a lot of wishes, will have to just sign X, he's only four of us can write. Sight is a major reoccurring motif in the movie. In this case, it is used to show someone who is easy to take advantage of. It shows us that Everett is willing to use him to get what he wants. Unfortunately for him, this results in misfortune for the trio of him, Delmar and Pete. For example, while confronting Big Dan Teague, Everett isn't able to see past the lies and manipulation of Dan. He sees himself and Dan as one and the same, two successful fast talkers who try to rule the world. He doesn't see right from wrong, even after coming to, he's still confused about the situation. However, his worst trait is that he doesn't care about anybody except for himself. When they think Pete was turned into a toad, he doesn't care. You can't display a toad in a fine restaurant like this, while the good folks here go right off the feet. And when the toad was squished, Maybe it's for the best he was squished, barely a sentient being. In fact, Everett doesn't start on the road to redemption until a little over halfway through the film, when he sees his wife and daughters again. And through this, he's able to see his own flaws. He realizes that he isn't as good as a person as he could be. And from this point on, he does his best to be a good person, doing things he never would have done earlier, rescuing Pete, saving Tommy, and even going back for Penny's ring. He's putting his life on the line for others. At the end of the movie, he's still kind of snarky, but over the course of the film, he develops a care for others. But with the Coen brothers, it isn't just that simple. It isn't good enough for our protagonist to redeem himself in the end. The film also introduces the idea of moral relativism. Everett isn't a good person, but he isn't a bad person either. As I stated earlier, a big focus of the movie is the widening of the world, how radio is able to expand the world, and in essence, normalize the deeds of Everett. Now let me explain. While on the road towards redemption, he comes face to face with true evil. It helps put everything into perspective. Everett may be immoral in some senses, but in his heart, there is good. As aforementioned a major theme in the movie is what it means to be blind, or at least on a symbolic level. Dan is half-blind because he can't see right from wrong, or if he can, he always chooses wrong. Sheriff Cooley, on the other hand, wears big black sunglasses. It's unclear whether or not he is blind, but one thing that is obvious is that he isn't interested in the rules that guide everybody else. He is the judge of character, and doesn't care what others have to say about it. He is very much akin to Anton Sugar from The Coen Brothers No Country for Old Men. In much like their other films, there is a constant judge of morality. Bad people are punished for their crimes. Papio Daniel beats Homer Stokes in the election, and the good characters are saved by some mythical force at the last minute. At the beginning of the film, the trio runs into a blind prophet. In this case, his being blind takes on yet another meaning, which is that he has a greater understanding of life. These small and minute details of the tangible world mean very little to him compared to the spiritual world. He ends up foreseeing a prophecy. And by the end of the movie, Everett is able to find his fortune. It comes in the form of his redemption. He's able to do what is right, start caring for those around him, and at the end of the journey, he comes out on the other side a changed man. Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed. A Brother or Art Thou is definitely one of my favorite films by The Coen Brothers. I'm not exactly sure where it fits into their filmography, because there are so many great ones, but it's definitely somewhere floating around the top. Everything from the narrative and the characters, to the more stylistic elements like the color palette, and of course some that even mentioning the soundtrack. It's just so easy to fall in love with everything that is this movie. I'm interested where it fits into the rest of their filmography in your eyes, so make sure you drop a comment and let me know. Anyway, if you're new here, make sure you hit that subscribe button. I have a new video going up every Saturday. In case you missed it, I put a link to my playlist of videos discussing The Coen Brothers' work, including the aforementioned No Country for Old Men. So be sure to check that out if you're interested, and I will see you next week. Thanks for watching.