The Odyssey Movie Analysis

The Odyssey by Homer is a story that has been told countless times over several thousand years with many different versions. O Brother, Where Art Thou? is one of these versions. Even though this movie is considered to be one of the better adaptations of The Odyssey, it has some details that make it undeniably American. The main parts of the story are there, such as the Cyclops, and Odysseus escaping Ogygia, but things such as the Klu Klux Klan (KKK), and the music played throughout the movie make it distinctly American.
In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his men find themselves on an island where a cyclops named Polyphemus lived. Polyphemus was a son of Poseidon who tried to eat Odysseus and his men (and successfully did to some of them) before

Odysseus escaped by poking his eye out. In the movie, Everett and his men come across Big Dan who represents the cyclops. Big Dan was a one-eyed bible salesman who Everett and Delmar come across along their journey. He ends up mugging them and killing the toad Delmar believed to be Pete. Big Dan is an Americanized version of Polyphemus because he kills one of Everett’s ‘men’ and threatens the lives of the others like Polyphemus did to Odysseus.
In O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Everett McGill and his men, Pete and Delmar, escape jail like how Odysseus had to escape Ogygia in The Odyssey. When Calypso kept Odysseus on her island, it was like a guard does to their prisoner in jail. He stayed there for several years while she kept him from returning to his family. Everett was kept in a literal jail, chained to Pete and Delmar, with a guard keeping a close eye on him while he worked in the field and in the jail itself. Both men were trapped against their will, but they both also managed to escape due to their desire to complete their ultimate goal: to return safely to their families.
While the Coen brothers made O Brother, Where Art Thou?

a retelling of The Odyssey, they included details that gave the movie its own American twist. One of these details would be the KKK’s involvement in Everett and his men’s quest to return to home. The KKK is a well-known part of American history due to their origin right after the freeing of the slaves after the American Civil War. They have gone down in history because of their violent crimes against African Americans and those who stood up for their rights. Because Everett saved Tommy from the KKK, it represents Odysseus’ journey to the underworld, but it being the KKK means it becomes inherently American.
Another piece of the movie that makes it an American tale is the music. The style of music used in O Brother, Where Art Thou? is bluegrass which came from the South. This works its way into the movie subtly by being the background music in many scenes throughout. One example of this is when Pete and Delmar run into the river with the worshippers to be blessed by the preacher. As this is going on, the worshippers sing “Down To The River To Pray”. This song is a classic hymn, particularly in the South. The music is another way the Coen Brothers took an American aspect and tied it into the movie to make it

American.
O Brother, Where Art Thou? incorporates many details throughout the movie to make a great rendition of The Odyssey with traits to make it an American tale rather than just another inaccurate retelling of The Odyssey. The Coen Brothers stay true to the bigger pieces of the classic poem while adding in aspects of American culture. The story of Ulysses Everett McGill is one of the best renditions of The Odyssey because of its own quirks being added to an already great plotline.