Daily Dialogue — October 2, 2016
“You seek a great fortune, you three who are now in chains. You will find a fortune, though it will not be the one you seek. But first… first you must travel a long and difficult road, a road fraught with peril. Mm-hmm. You shall see thangs, wonderful to tell. You shall see a… a cow… on the roof of a cotton house, ha. And, oh, so many startlements. I cannot tell you how long this road shall be, but fear not the obstacles in your path, for fate has vouchsafed your reward. Though the road may wind, yea, your hearts grow weary, still shall ye follow them, even unto your salvation.”
— O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), written by Ethan Coen & Joel Coen, inspired by “The Odyssey” by Homer
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Clairvoyance.
Trivia: References to Homer’s “Odyssey”:
* The names of George Clooney and Holly Hunter’s characters (Ulysses and Penelope)
* One-eyed Big Dan as the Cyclops (blinded with a burning pole)
* The three girls by the river as the Sirens
* Ulysses’ wife marrying someone else when he comes home
* The old-man disguise
* The changing of one of Ulysses’ companions into an animal
* The Baptists made people become loyal to God when they were baptized as the Lotus Eaters in The Odyssey became loyal to the people of the island when they ate the Lotus Flowers
* The Ku Klux Klan has a rank of Grand (or Exalted) Cyclops
* They catch a ride on a hand-pumped railway that is being operated by a blind prophet, who tells them that they will not find the treasure they seek. The prophet character in “The Odyssey” was Teiresias, whom Odysseus consulted in the underworld when he needed information on how to get home again
* The movie theater scene as the trip through the Underworld.
* Odysseus nearly drowned, but clings to a piece of wood.
* Odysseus and Everett both reveal themselves by performing an act no one else could: Odysseus strings a special bow and fires it through seven rings; Everett sings “Man of Constant Sorrow” as only the leader of the Soggy Bottom Boys can.
* “Pappy’s” given name, Menelaus, is the same as the king who declared war on Troy in the first place.
* The Latin equivalent of the Greek name Odysseus is Ulysses.
* “Sing in me O Muse . . . “, the line at the beginning of the film, is the first line of the Odyssey.
* The killing of the cattle of Helios by the “fools” in the Odyssey is mirrored by Baby Face Nelson shooting the cows.
* Every time Ulysses falls asleep something bad happens.
* The song which plays throughout the movie is called “Man of Constant Sorrow,” Odysseus means “man who is in constant pain and sorrow.”
* Pappy’s opponent for governor is named Homer
* When Ulysses first meets Big Dan in the restaurant there is a statue of Homer in the background.
* There is a “Blind Bard” who pays the boys to “sing into his can.” Homer was often (and probably erroneously) thought to be a blind bard who told his stories verbally to his students.
* Much like the Ku Klux Klan scene, Odysseus and his men hide from the Cyclops by dressing as sheep.
Dialogue On Dialogue: The blind seer foretells the future right down to a cow atop the roof of a cotton house.