Cinematic Analysis of O Brother Where Art Thou

Part A:

Luisa McGarvey Blue Group 12-2-12

The theme of the movie O Brother Where Art Thou is that one must fix their past mistakes. The movie takes place in rural Mississippi during 1937 while three inmates working in a chain gang; Ulysses Everett McGill, Pete Hogwallop, and Delmar ODonnell escape to find 1.2 million in treasure that Everett claimed to have stolen and hidden before the valley is flooded. During their escape they attempt to jump onto trains, come across a blind man who tells them their future which is that they will seek a great fortune and find a fortune but it will not be the one they seek, and encounter many other different characters in their journey. Later Everett admits he only said he stole 1.2 million to convince them to escape with him when hes actually in jail fro practicing law without a license. Some of the people that they encounter are Petes cousin who helps them remove their chains but then turns them in, a guitar player named Tommy, a notorious bank robber named George Nelson, three sirens who seduce them and turn in Pete, and a man with one eye who mugs them. They also come across a radio station that pays them to sing a song so they call themselves the Soggy Bottom Boys and their song soon becomes a hit. After reaching Everetts hometown and finding out Pete is alive in jail they rescue him and Tommy who was going to be lynched by the KKK. Everett then finds out his wife is planning to remarry so he gets Delmar, Pete, and Tommy to sing with him as the Soggy Bottom Boys at a campaign dinner. The Governor then pardons them and Everett goes to look for the ring hidden in his cabin so his wife will marry him.

When they reach the cabin in the valley Sheriff Cooley who has been tracking them down is waiting and doesnt listen to their plea that they have pardoned. Before they can be hung Everett begins to pray and then the valley is flooded and they are saved. After returning to town Everetts wife tells him they found the wrong ring and as he his family walk off together she tells him he will have to find it even thought its at the bottom of a lake. The theme of this movie, that one must their past mistakes is shown when Everett goes back to his family and is able to win them back even after he has corrected his past mistake of being sent to jail.

Part B: The movie O Brother Where Art Thou takes place in rural Mississippi during 1937. In the beginning of the movie Everett, Delmar and Pete are all working alongside the road in a prison chain gang. While driving down roads during the 1930s chained prisoners, mostly black, became a common sight along southern roadways (Chain Gangs). The movie was partially historically accurate because there were many scenes through out the movie where cars drove past chain gangs on the side of the road and they didnt seem to think they were out of place. The part of the movie that was not historically accurate about chain gangs was that the majority of the chain gang in movie was not black while in reality they were mostly Southern black prisoner[s] (Chain Gangs) to whom there was little difference between his situation as a slave on the plantation (Chain Gangs) and as a chained prison worker on the roads (Chain Gangs). A topic in the movie that was historically accurate was when Tommy was about to be lynched by the

KKK during their ceremony that took place at night. During the 1930s people receiving a secretive visit from the KKK at night, victims of terrorism were lynched (African American Lynching, the Ku Klux Klan, and Hate Crimes) were primarily black since the KKK believed whites were superior. The movie O Brother Where Art Thou set in 1930s rural Mississippi portrayed some topics that were historically accurate while other were not.

Part C: 1. Discuss how various cinematographic techniques are used to increase the viewers awareness of the setting, characters or plot development. In the movie O Brother Where Art Thou there are many scenes showing the land, the people, and the objects in it. This helps increase the viewers awareness of the setting when there are many shots of the railroads, the landscape, the roads, and the valley. During the scene in the movie when Everett, Pete, and Delmar attempt to get on a train but fail after the train has passed there is a shot of them looking after the train after it gets farther and farther away. The image of the train slowly receding into the background shows their disappointment. Another cinematographic technique was the use of music when Tommy, Pete, Everett, and Delmar sing a song, which relates to the mood of the characters. This help the viewer better understand what they were feeling.

Works Cited "Chain Gangs." encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. <http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/6045/Chain-Gangs.html>. Steelwater, Eliza. "African American Lynching, the Ku Klux Klan, and Hate Crimes." The Hangmans Knot. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. <http://www.hangmansknot.com/articles/african-american-lynching.htm>.