Christianity, Where Art Thou: Examining Religion, Mythology, and Mysticism in Film Anna Katherine Drew College

"What do you sell?” asks Delmar, leaning in to the one-eyed salesman. “The word of God, which, let me tell you, there is damn good money in during these times of woe and want.” The Bible has been misused, misquoted, and misrepresented by history’s finest enemies. The Crusaders, for instance, would chant “God Wills It” as they raped, pillaged, and plundered entire villages. It’s also been used as a source of wealth and fortune, as seen above with the Bible salesman. Abuse of the Bible and Christianity is not a new concept in our world, and the Christianity we see and know today is very different from Christianity 100 years ago, let alone from when it started. We have always mystified religion and become comfortable treating it more like mythology than theology – that is, treating it more like epics and legends of supernatural beings than the actual practice of believing in and worshipping a God.

The film O Brother, Where Art Thou? shines a light on the comparisons between Christianity and mythology, specifically Homer’s epic The Odyssey. The Coen brothers’ film is riddled with evidence of both texts, some more obvious than others. We begin with our protagonist, Ulysses Everett McGill (George Clooney). While Odysseus is the...