Coen Brothers

FYI: My knowledge of the works by the Coen Brothers isn't too extensive. I've seen Raising Arizona, The second 1/2 of The Big Lebowski years ago, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Ladykillers (not good), and No Country For Old Men (crazy good).

I feel bad that I have not seen Fargo, but worse that I haven't seen The Big Lebowski in its entirety, so I'll find a way to watch it tomorrow... Oh, it's 2am, so I mean... later today.

1) How does Whitman bring both high and low culture into his work? And the Coens? What are the implications of such a mixture? What about the image of “overeducated and underemployed slackers” (sound familiar?)?

In my freshman year of high school, my English teacher was educating us on what "allusions" were, so she had us watch an episode of The Simpsons during class and asked us to write down all the allusions and references to outside sources that we could identify... Pretty awesome assignment, cuz it's my favorite show. The Simpsons always had elements of "high" and "low" culture, and sometimes after rewatching old episodes, I'd find myself laughing at different things that I hadn't laughed at before, not laughing at things I had previously found funny, and then also still laughing at other parts that transcended any humor boundaries. Both Whitman's and the Coen Bros. use of language can be said to be part of the "low" culture (as seen in the clip you provided). Whitman operated in a medium that, in a way, was always part of "high" culture (literature, poetry). The Coen Brothers can bring philosophical elements into their dialogue, and also draw inspiration for their stories/characters from "high" culture sources, like Homer's The Odyssey for O Brother, Where Art Thou? or the novel No Country For Old Men by Cormac McCarthy (I was assigned a Cormac McCarthy book in high school, so it must be "high" culture I guess). At the same time, the Coens show off a bit of "low" culture through a lot of their humorous techniques, whether it be physical comedy, grotesque and dark comedy, or a shitload of cussing. They also like writing in some characters that are crazy STUPID for comic relief. George Clooney in O Brother? STOOPID. There really weren't any smart characters in that movie, actually. I guess Clooney was the smart one of the bunch. The hearts and souls were on the right track though. As for the implications? An example can be found in the movie O Brother, where the politician dude wants to gain favor with the public to win re-election, but has difficulty connecting with the common people. Near the end of the film, he grants the Soggy Bottom Boys pardons for their troubles with the law for performing their song in support of the politician dude. The mixture of high/low culture attracts a wider audience with the purpose of being inclusive to all kinds of people. Even in saying that though, it might seem as if a person can only enjoy either high OR low culture, and not both... In looking at the Coen Brothers and Walt Whitman, who are writers, we see how the high/low culture can come from one source, and audiences to their work can simultaneously enjoy both aspects of the work, too.

2) In what ways do the Coen brothers live up to Whitman’s image of the American poet? Do any films in particular come to mind? In what ways do the Coens’ portrayal of America and Americans relate to Whitman’s? 

Whitman in his Preface: "A great poem is for ages and ages in common and for all degrees and complexions and all departments and sects and for a woman as much as a man and a man as much as a woman."

This makes me think of how the Coen Brothers told the story of O Brother, Where Art Thou? in which the 3 main characters mingle with different types, different colors, different classes through their journey in America. Just from what films I have seen, I can't say I have seen much representation of an upper-class (I see more middle and lower-class people in their films) and I don't see a whole lot of women in large roles. Other aspects of Whitman's Preface ask that the poet "absorbs" their nation just as the nation absorbs the poet, involving every aspect of said nation. The Coen Brothers do seek to portray American in an honest way, I feel. They follow the interactions of people from different backgrounds. They try to show an honesty in their dialogue, and their scenes that have no spoken words as well. They try to show American in different time periods, in different locations, just for the sake of showing the world what that particular slice of America might feel like at that moment.

3) Just as Whitman catalogs all walks of life in “Song of Myself” and “Song for Occupations”, the Coen Brothers seem to create remarkably diverse characters in each of their movies. How might any given character of a Coen Bros. movie fit into the Whitmanian ideal? Would Whitman be able toeasily relate to/connect with other Coen characters besides The Dude? Why are these characters so relatable to Whitman?

Just like you guys say in the question, Whitman catalogs all walks of life in those two poems, and the Coen Brothers have made some of those in the Whitman catalog into major and minor characters in their films. When you guys say "Whitmanian Ideal" I don't know how one character would fit into a Whitmanian Ideal. i think that the conglomerate of all the characters the Coens have presented is itself partly representing the Whitmanian Ideal, if that makes sense. The Whitman Ideal involves an ideology that strives to be inclusive, strives to be democratic, and strives to have permanence. Whitman loves the idea of him being able to "connect" with all kinds of people, and I think he's have no qualms with spending time with any of the characters in the films (except Chigurgh... that foo would kill him). The Coens like to "get around" when it comes to fleshing out characters from all across America in the same way Whitman tried to do with his poetry.

They try to keep their portrayals away from being too flashy or too unrealistic (except for comic relief) and this puts their work on a pedestal isn't any higher than their audience. They want to tell you a story, but they want you to feel that they, and their characters, are all living in the same real world as you, giving the films a sense of equality, rather than escapism.

"The messages of great poets to each man and woman are, Come to us on equal terms, Only then can you understand us, We are no better than you..." -Whitman

Actually, not all of the Coen characters are mean to show common America. Some characters are just... fucking insane.