Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Stories from O Brother

"O Brother Where Art Thou" provides some interesting allegories about people's various experiences during the Depression.  Many of these stories deal with the desperate and/or strange moves people make to cope with the economic hard times. 

Share one scene (or recurring relationship if that's easier) from the film that stood out to you as a poignant Depression coping mechanism.  Describe a bit about it and why you chose it (was it the visual, musical, acting, etc.).  In what ways do you think the film represents how the Depression shapes human nature?  Is it accurate?

14 comments:

  1. The one scene that stood out to me was the one where the 3 men run into a child with a shotgun and a barn. The kid said, "Are you from the bank." Then the kid took a couple of shots at them near there feet. After the three men 2 prisoners and one man who the prisoners picked up on there journey the kid brought them to his dad. His dad hid them in the barn for the night. Midnight the dad of the kid told the men who have been chasing them since they escaped from the prison. The men lit the barn on fire with the prisoners and other man in it. Some kid then rescued them and brought them to safety. I chose this scene for the fact that the dad told on these three men just because it was the depression. He was hoping for something in return. I think this film is somewhat accurate.

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  2. The one scene that stood out to me was when Pete Hogwallops own cousin turns him and his friends into the police. This scene stuck with me after we finished the movie because I found it unimaginable that his own cousin would sell him out for money. It goes to show how desperate his cousin was for food and money. Another aspect of the movie that stayed with me was when Everett McGill was constantly putting Dapper Dan in his hair. Though he is running for his life, he has no money, and no food, the fact that he is focusing on constantly fixing his hair shows how egotistical Everett is. I think the film represents how the depression shapes human nature because it shows that people were turning to religion, selling their soul to the devil, and would rat out anyone, even if it was their own family, for a meager penny. I do believe that the film is accurate, in a time of hardship, as depicted in the movie, people can be selfish. People are willing to do whatever it takes in order to get ahead and I think O Brother Where Art Thou shows that people can be greedy and self-centered in times of great distress.

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  3. I thought how the movie kept changing back and forth between highs and lows (in the character's journey) was interesting. Because of the depression, it is easy to change sides back and forth. The lack of organization in the depression made it easy for anyone to be successful but then losing it. A scene that stood out was when they were outside scheming for how he would see his wife then they are performing on stage then get pardoned. This shows how pretty much any social class status was open and possible for anyone to endure.

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  4. The scene I chose is when the three prisoners went to one of the man's cousin's house, and that cousin led the police there and tried to capture them. When one of the prisons asked for the reason, the cousin answered that was because of the depression. I chose it because it told me how the Great Depression affected people's actions and mind. Under the pressure of Great Depression, people could even sacrifice others to earn benefit for themselves. It is true the the Great Depression was a hard for almost all the American people, but it is also true that the Great Depression could shape people in a negative way. This movie is sort of accurate describing the Great Depression because sometimes the movie was exaggerating :)

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  5. The scene(s) that I found stood out to me as a poignant Depression coping mechanism is the constant stealing money. The first scene that this occurs is when the three main characters catch a ride with a bank robber who was currently on the way to go rob a bank. I found the bank robbing scene very shocking because usually when people rob a bank they want to cover up their identity, in this case it was the opposite. As soon as he walked into the bank he screamed and wanted everyone to remember his name, George Nelson. The people in the bank acted very calm as if they see this more often than they should, and just let the scene play out. The second scene of stealing that surprised me is when two of the main characters were sitting under a tree with "Big Dan." Daniel proceeded to steal all their money and their car with no remorse. He felt like he deserved something. The film is accurate in showing how extreme people would go in times of harship.

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  6. One scene I thought embodied a Depression-era coping mechanism was when Homer _____ was being pelted by food when the crowd’s opinion of him changed when he condemned the Soggy something Boys. This reminded me of how the common people of this era were constantly pointing fingers and putting blame on other people (such as foreign countries). Overall, this movie represents human nature in that we are- and I do somewhat believe- at our core, greedy, self-interested, money hungry people who only care about themselves. This is particularly expressed in the corrupt politicians and everybody doing anything they can. “The end justifies the means”.

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  7. The scene that I found exemplified people coping with the Depression the best, is the KKK scene. From a movie critics perspective, I enjoyed the aerial view of the KKK dancing and singing. The fact that they had organized dances to their songs shows how strongly the people in this organization felt about their cause. They were dedicated enough that they had their own singing, dancing, and organized rituals. It wasn't just a bunch of people who had an idea-- They were expressing that idea and fighting for a cause. The aerial view also showed how huge a number of people were following the KKK during this time. When Homer Stokes (the grand poobah) gave his speech about why they were hanging a random black boy, he stated how they were 'dirtying the white culture and race with their color'. He stated how they were taking over white America-- in other words, he was saying they were taking over in the everyday American scene. He also included Jews in the 'colored' group. Jews were immigrated into America at this time to escape the Nazi regime. They weren't really against the blacks as the were in the 1800s...they were against black people and immigrants taking American jobs previously worked by whites and taking white women (which at that time were still objectified) and cancelling out their thoroughbred white genes with mixed ones. They were cancelling out the thoroughbred white Americans. The KKK's hatred had less to do with the hatred of impure colored genes, but the fact that they were taking over the American scene and the thoroughbred whites were disappearing. How do I know this? WELL, if they really cared about dirty genes, they wouldn't let a dwarf be in their secret clan because of his "dirty genes". If they cared about dirty genes, they wouldn't want the dwarves to mix with the standard humans, and they wouldn't support them either by letting them express their beliefs in the KKK. They took out their anger by "hanging themselves a negro". He was chosen at random, and did nothing to provoke the KKK other than exist. By eliminating him, they were eliminating their racial competition for white women (who they believed belonged to them) and jobs. This is how many KKK members, and others who silently agreed with them but weren't in the clan, coped with the Depression; they blamed the immigrants for the lack of jobs. Their hatred loomed out of the business world and into everyday life. Many people did not like immigrants-- They still don't today, especially with today's Recession.

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    Replies
    1. *that I found that exemplified people
      *Jews were immigrating
      *as they were in the 1800s

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  8. One scene that really stood out to me was the very first one when the 3 guys stayed at one of the guys, brothers house. The three guys say that they need the chains taken off of them, they borrow some cloths and go to sleep in the barn. In the middle of the night, the police come to arrest the 3 men because the brother turned them in, to get the reward. The brother said something along the lines of , sorry brother but I gotta feed my family. This scene really shows how desporate people were during the depression and how they would so anything for money. Yes there were other scenes where they robbed a bank, recorded and song for money, etc. the worst was when the brother turned them in for the reward. There seems to be a sense of every man for themselves theme in the movie because just like the cyclops character, all anyone wants in the movie is money and during the depression people would do anything to get it.

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  9. Okay well there were a couple events that really caught my attention. Like when they happen to come across the Ku klux klan meeting. Just there luck they were walking in the woods and seeing hundreds of people in the woods with sheets over there heads. This is just one obstacle in there way trying to rescue a fellow friend. It is just surprising seeing how anyone can be a member of the Ku klux klan it surprises me.

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  10. Singing and music were the most prominent coping measuers that I saw in the movie. If you had a radio or a record player you could have some sort of tranquility and pleasure in your life. While without music your life would see to be much harder qnd less deisireble

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  11. The scene that stood out to me was when the three main characters were visiting one of their cousins for help with the chains and they end up running into the man's kid. The kid meets them at the door with a shotgun in his hand and he starts letting off rounds at their feet and asking if they were from the bank. The boy claimed his father taught him to shoot people who were from the bank. This shows during that time or hardship and depression, people HATED bankers. There was just no money.

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  12. The scene that stood out to me the most was the scene where the brother betrays his brother and their two friends (the three runaway convicts). To me this scene stood out as a sign of the depression for many reason. One, it showed that people were willing to do anything for a few extra bucks because money was so incredibly scarce. I mean the man betrayed his own brother. Not to mention that surrounding factors in this scene such as the bad condition of the house, the barn, and the clothes the brother and his son were wearing. Everything seemed wrecked and empty which showed even farther how the Depression affected everyone.

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  13. I didn't get to see this movie so.......do I get points off for not completing this blog?...

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