Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Week 7: O Brother

Well since I already posted the week 7 prompt about song lyrics, I will discuss the week 5 prompt which I forwent about a movie that I obsess about and has somewhat shaped me into who I am. The movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? is my favorite movie of all time. It’s an acquired taste of humor, so most of the viewers either love it or hate it. I’ve seen the movie near 30 times and can probably quote any line right out of the script. What’s the reason I love the movie so much? Other than the matchlessly comical dialogue, top-notch actors including George Clooney, and an enrapturing plot, I think the reason I love it so much is because everyone in my family loves it as much as I do. I first saw the movie as we rented it and watched it as a family pretty soon after it came out. I didn’t particularly like or appreciate the movie at first, probably because well over half the elements I find funny today went way over my head. The family loved it and bought it the same week. The more I watched it with my family, the more humor I picked up, and the more I related to the movie. Not a week goes by that I say a quote from that movie during some random situation. And rarely will I say a quote and somebody picks up on it and says, “Hey, that’s from O Brother, Where Art Thou.” But when I say any line from that movie around any member of my family, on we go throwing out our favorite quotes and laughing till we can’t handle it. Quotes like “Pete, the personal rancor reflected in that remark I don't intend to dignify with comment. But I would like to address your general attitude of hopeless negativism” or “Cows! I hate cows worse than coppers!” Even going through the quotes online right now had me laughing hard, but I realized without context how they’d seem bland. I admonish you to give the movie a try if you haven’t. And if you like it a little the first time, watch it again and again until you fall madly in love with its Ol’ Timey feel and incredibly humorous quotes.

3 comments:

  1. I will for sure watch this movie now. Never seen it, but it sounds like a must.

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  2. Has anyone ever noticed how lines like that in other movies that you might have seen when you were little, make so much more sense now? The one that comes to mind is actually from Toy Story 1, when Mr. Potato Head says to Ham: "Hey look, I'm Picasso!"

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  3. I like that you mention part of why you like it so much is that your family liked it. You also mention that you didn't like it at first because you didn't understand the humor, so it is possible that you could have liked it even if they didn't, but I think it's important to recognize how many things we love because people we love love them. It creates a sort of communal experience where we feel at home, where we find enjoyment and understanding with one another.

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