In 2008 "No Country for Old Men" won the Academy Award for Best
Picture, adding to the reputation of filmmakers Joel and Ethan
Coen, who were already known for pushing the boundaries of genre.
They had already made films that redefined the gangster movie, the
screwball comedy, the fable, and the film noir, among others. "No
Country" is just one of many Coen brothers films to center on the
struggles of complex characters to understand themselves and their
places in the strange worlds they inhabit. To borrow a phrase from
"Barton Fink," all Coen films explore "the life of the mind" and
show that the human condition can often be simultaneously comic and
tragic, profound and absurd. In "The Philosophy of the Coen
Brothers," editor Mark T. Conard and other noted scholars explore
the challenging moral and philosophical terrain of the Coen
repertoire. Several authors connect the Coens' most widely known
plots and characters to the shadowy, violent, and morally ambiguous
world of classic film noir and its modern counterpart, neo-noir. As
these essays reveal, Coen films often share noir's essential
philosophical assumptions: power corrupts, evil is real, and human
control of fate is an illusion. In "Fargo,""" not even Minnesota's
blankets of snow can hide Jerry Lundegaard's crimes or brighten his
long, dark night of the soul. Coen films that stylistically depart
from film noir still bear the influence of the genre's prevailing
philosophical systems. The tale of love, marriage, betrayal, and
divorce in "Intolerable Cruelty" transcends the plight of the
characters to illuminate competing theories of justice. Even in
lighter fare, such as "Raising Arizona" and" The Big Lebowski," the
comedyemerges from characters' journeys to the brink of an amoral
abyss. However, the Coens often knowingly and gleefully subvert
conventions and occasionally offer symbolic rebirths and other
hopeful outcomes. At the end of "The Big Lebowski," the Dude
abides, his laziness has become a virtue, and the human comedy is
perpetuating itself with the promised arrival of a newborn
Lebowski. "The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers" sheds new light on
these cinematic visionaries and their films' stirring philosophical
insights. From "Blood Simple" to "No Country for Old Men," the
Coens' films feature characters who hunger for meaning in shared
human experience--they are looking for answers. A select few of
their protagonists find affirmation and redemption, but for many
others, the quest for answers leads, at best, only to more
questions.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
