The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers (The Philosophy of Popular Culture)

306 Pages·2008·2.41 MB·english

by  Mark T. Conard

The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers
The Philosophy of Popular Culture

The books published in the Philosophy of Popular Culture series will illuminate
and explore philosophical themes and ideas that occur in popular culture.
The goal of this series is to demonstrate how philosophical inquiry has been
reinvigorated by increased scholarly interest in the intersection of popular culture
and philosophy, as well as to explore through philosophical analysis beloved
modes of entertainment, such as movies, TV shows, and music. Philosophical
concepts will be made accessible to the general reader through examples in
popular culture. This series seeks to publish both established and emerging
scholars who will engage a major area of popular culture for philosophical
interpretation and examine the philosophical underpinnings of its themes.
Eschewing ephemeral trends of philosophical and cultural theory, authors will
establish and elaborate on connections between traditional philosophical ideas
from important thinkers and the ever-expanding world of popular culture.
Series Editor
Mark T. Conard, Marymount Manhattan College, NY
Books in the Series
The Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick, edited by Jerold J. Abrams
Football and Philosophy, edited by Michael W. Austin
The Philosophy of Film Noir, edited by Mark T. Conard
The Philosophy of Martin Scorsese, edited by Mark T. Conard
The Philosophy of Neo-Noir, edited by Mark T. Conard
The Philosophy of The X-Files, edited by Dean A. Kowalski
Steven Spielberg and Philosophy, edited by Dean A. Kowalski
The Philosophy of Science Fiction Film, edited by Steven M. Sanders
The Philosophy of TV Noir, edited by Steven M. Sanders and Aeon J. Skoble
Basketball and Philosophy, edited by Jerry L. Walls and Gregory Bassham
The PhilosoPhy of
The Coen
BroThers
Edited by
Mark T. Conard
T U P K
he niversiTy ress of enTUcKy
Copyright © 2009 by The University Press of Kentucky
Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth,
serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky,
Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College,
Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State
University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania
University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western
Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.
Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky
663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008
www.kentuckypress.com
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
The philosophy of the Coen brothers / edited by Mark T. Conard.
p. cm. — (The philosophy of popular culture)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8131-2526-8 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Coen, Joel—Criticism and interpretation. 2. Coen, Ethan—Criticism and
interpretation. I. Conard, Mark T., 1965–
PN1998.3.C6635P45 2008
791.4302’330922—dc22 2008038678
This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting
the requirements of the American National Standard
for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Member of the Association of
American University Presses
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Mark T. Conard
Part 1. The Coen Brand of Comedy and Tragedy
Raising Arizona as an American Comedy 7
Richard Gilmore
The Human Comedy Perpetuates Itself: Nihilism and Comedy in Coen
Neo-Noir 27
Thomas S. Hibbs
Philosophies of Comedy in O Brother, Where Art Thou? 41
Douglas McFarland
No Country for Old Men: The Coens’ Tragic Western 55
Richard Gilmore
Deceit, Desire, and Dark Comedy: Postmodern Dead Ends in
Blood Simple 79
Alan Woolfolk
Part 2. Ethics: Shame, Justice, and Virtue
“And It’s Such a Beautiful Day!” Shame and Fargo 93
Rebecca Hanrahan and David Stearns
Justice, Power, and Love: The Political Philosophy of
Intolerable Cruelty 109
Shai Biderman and William J. Devlin
Ethics, Heart, and Violence in Miller’s Crossing 125
Bradley L. Herling
“Takin’ ’er Easy for All Us Sinners”: Laziness as a Virtue in
The Big Lebowski 147
Matthew K. Douglass and Jerry L. Walls
No Country for Old Men as Moral Philosophy 163
Douglas McFarland
Part 3. Postmodernity, Interpretation, and the Construction of History
Heidegger and the Problem of Interpretation in Barton Fink 179
Mark T. Conard
The Past Is Now: History and The Hudsucker Proxy 195
Paul Coughlin
“A Homespun Murder Story”: Film Noir and the Problem of Modernity
in Fargo 211
Jerold J. Abrams
Part 4. Existentialism, Alienation, and Despair
“What Kind of Man Are You?” The Coen Brothers and Existentialist
Role Playing 227
Richard Gaughran
Being the Barber: Kierkegaardian Despair in The Man Who
Wasn’t There 243
Karen D. Hoffman
Thinking beyond the Failed Community: Blood Simple and The Man Who
Wasn’t There 267
R. Barton Palmer
List of Contributors 287
Index 291
Acknowledgments
First, I’d like to thank the contributors to this volume for all their hard work
and patience, which are clearly evident in these terrific essays. Many thanks
are also due to all the good people at the University Press of Kentucky, with
whom it continues to be a real pleasure to work. Last, for all their love and
support I want to thank my family and friends, especially Nayia Frangouli,
Brad Herling, Chris Landis, John and Linda Pappas, Yvonne Roen, Aeon
Skoble, and Jerry Williams.
vii

I
ntroductIon
Mark T. Conard
Since arriving on the cinematic scene in 1984 with Blood Simple, Joel and
Ethan Coen have amassed an impressive body of work that has garnered
them critical acclaim and a devoted following. Their highly original works
include both comedies and dramas and cover various genres (neo-noir, the
romantic comedy, the western, the gangster film). However, most, if not
all, of the Coens’ films defy exact categorization, and they always bear the
brothers’ unmistakable stamp. From the Irish gangster morality play Miller’s
Crossing (1990) to the film blanc Fargo (1996), from the neo-noir comedy
The Big Lebowski (1998) to the Odyssean O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000),
the Coens never fail to have something interesting to say and always say it
in a unique and entertaining fashion.
As I’ve already hinted, much of the Coens’ work can be characterized as
neo-noir, whatever other styles or genres the brothers are working in. For
those unfamiliar with the term, “film noir” refers to a body of Hollywood
films from the 1940s and 1950s that share certain visual features, such as
stark contrasts between light and shadow and oblique camera angles meant
to disorient the viewer, as well as particular themes, such as alienation,
pessimism, and moral ambiguity. Classic noirs include The Maltese Falcon
(John Huston, 1941), Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944), and Out of
the Past (Jacques Tourneur, 1947). Any film coming after the classic period
that displays these themes and has a similar feeling to it we refer to as “neo-
noir.” Later films, such as Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974), Body Heat
(Lawrence Kasdan, 1981), and L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997), fall
into this category, as do many of the Coens’ films. Blood Simple is a quite
self-conscious neo-noir, for example, and The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001)
is clearly an homage to classic noir. As we’ll see later, many or most of the
brothers’ other movies can likewise be identified as noirs.