O Brother, Where Art Thou

O Brother, Where Art Thou is probably one of my favorite movies in general and it's filled with images of what we think the South was or even is. It's actually based on Homer's Odyssey. For a complete review, check out the summary at Wikipedia. First of all, it's set in Mississippi 1934 during the Great Depression, so the setting, the locations, the images are all the director's interpretation of the South. Many of the songs in the soundtrack are typical Southern style of the time like folk music, bluegrass, and so on. Also, the main characters are entranced by the baptism they see by the river. So, this idea of religion and Christianity is definitely portrayed in the movie. Also, the KKK and the burning cross, Grand Wizard are further portrayed, and in a sense suggests that the South must be represented with these images. Of course, most, if not all the accents in the movie are the typical Southern drawl, which have to be included in the movie to make it a genuine Southern movie. And also, on a deeper level, the plot shows the transition of the Old South to the New South. The plot is three men traveling around trying to get to a valley and find the treasure and money one of them buried there before it is flooded by the creation of a hydroelectric power plant. And on the way to the valley, they go through the Southern farmlands and forest. So, the audience gets to ideas of the South, one of industrialization but also agriculture. You can check out this video of a song that the main characters sing here.