Alexander Anderson

Oral and Storytelling Traditions

O Brother Where Art Thou Film Paper
The film OBrother Where Art Thou is the story of three men that
escape from a prison yard in search of a treasure, claimed to be buried
by one of the escapees. His name is Everett, and to break free he must
also escape with Pete and Delmar. The story follows their path from
criminals, to famed musicians, and eventually unites the lead character
with his wife, Penny. This story touches on many different storytelling
traditions such as Mrchen and Sagen, folk ballads, and tall tales.
The story combines elements of Mrchen and Sagen literary
techniques, or that it seems to incorporate both fictional events and
some real events. One of the primary fiction or fairy tale events in
the story was the apparent transformation of Delmar into a toad. After
recording a major hit song in the studio with a black man they
encounter by the name of Tommy Johnson, they hear women singing
by the river. They go to investigate, and find three beautiful women
singing what sounds like a folk ballad as they wash their clothes. The
women quickly seduce the men, whom a drink which sends them into a
deep slumber.
When they wake up, they are all lying uniform on the ground, the
women have vanished, and they find a toad Petes clothes, giving the
illusion that he was transformed into a frog. The concept of a human
being turned into a frog by a magic potion is a very popular one in fairy
tales, and I felt it was incorporated very nicely into the story. Later in

Alexander Anderson
Oral and Storytelling Traditions
O Brother Where Art Thou Film Paper
the story, the frog was killed, and we discover that Pete was actually
captured by the authorities, not killed as Delmar had thought.
The story also features a very real scenario, which was nonfictional in nature, but certainly had some embellishments. The Ku Klux
Klan captured the African-American guitarist Tommy Johnson, whom
the three lads had recorded the hit song with earlier in the story. They
were preparing to burn him at the cross, as a demonstration of white
supremacy. The three bandits realized they had to save him, and
dressed up as Klan members in an attempt to save him. They were
discovered by Big Dan, and subsequently and were chased away by
the Klan, after cutting the ties to a cross that smashed Big Dan. This
segment certainly contains elements of truth, but likely was
embellished by the author.
It was not unusual practice for black men to be lynched by the
KKK in 1937 Mississippi. In fact was actually quite customary. I think it
is obvious that the embellishment comes in where they decided to
dress up and rescue Tommy from the Klan. First off it is unlikely they
would be successful in their effort to rescue him, likely killed them
selves. I also think that lynching was so typical during this time that
the group wouldnt have likely risked their lives to save Tommy
unfortunately. Luckily for this story, they made it out safely, and were
able to put a great concert together for the governor later in the story.

Alexander Anderson
Oral and Storytelling Traditions
O Brother Where Art Thou Film Paper
The main incorporation of folk ballads I can recall was with the
song the women were singing before the men were inebriated. I cant
recall what the song was about, or the theme, it seemed to be remnant
of a lullaby. The song that the men recorded in the studio with Tommy
Johnson was a traditional folk song. They recorded under the name
Soggy Bottom boys because they were trying to hide their identity. The
song became a huge hit and eventually saved them from the law.
The concept of Jack Tales is pretty consistent with this story.
Everett begins the film as a prisoner, and through a series of lucky,
fortunate, and unfortunate events, finds himself somewhat of a hero.
He goes against all odds, escapes from prison, records a hit song, and
is pardoned for his crimes. At the end, he even reunites with his wife
and seven children, who planed to leave him and marry another man.
The Jack in the tales usually overcomes all odds, and becomes
somewhat of a hero, or esteemed figure in his community. Everett in
this story fits that mold quite nicely, even if he had to do some
nefarious things along the way, such as lying to Pete and Delmar about
the treasure, getting into a fight with his wifes fianc, and breaking
free from his prison sentence.
Overall, I feel that the story OBrother Where Art Thou expresses
different storytelling traditions quite nicely. I personally really
connected to the character of Tommy Johnson, who claimed to have
sold his soul to the devil, to master the guitar. I feel that is also a

Alexander Anderson
Oral and Storytelling Traditions
O Brother Where Art Thou Film Paper
traditional tale to have sold your soul to the devil for fame, talent,
notoriety, or riches particularly in the 20th century. I really enjoyed the
shape of the movie, and felt that is was a nice blend of traditional
storytelling and contemporary cinematic techniques.