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University of Kentucky UKnowledge American Popular Culture American Studies 12-12-2008 The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers Mark T. Conard Marymount College Click here to let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, this book is freely available to current faculty, students, and staff at the University of Kentucky. Find other University of Kentucky Books at uknowledge.uky.edu/upk. For more information, please contact UKnowledge at [email protected]. Recommended Citation Conard, Mark T., "The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers" (2008). American Popular Culture. 5. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_american_popular_culture/5 conard_coen_dj2:Layout 1 9/29/08 6:18 PM Page 1 CONARD (continued from front flap) FILM/PHILOSOPHY THE PHILOSOPHY OF systems. The tale of love, marriage, betrayal, and divorce THE PHILOSOPHY OF in Intolerable Cruelty transcends the plight of the charac- “The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers offers a very ters to illuminate competing theories of justice. Even in smart, provocative, and stylishly written set of lighter fare, such as Raising Arizona and The Big Lebowski, essays on the films of the Coen brothers. The THE COEN the comedy emerges from characters’ journeys to the volume makes a convincing case for reading their brink of an amoral abyss. However, the Coens often films within a wide array of philosophical contexts knowingly and gleefully subvert conventions and occa- and persuasively demonstrates that the films of sionally offer symbolic rebirths and other hopeful out- BROTHERS the Coen brothers often implicitly and sometimes comes. At the end of The Big Lebowski, the Dude abides, EDITED BY MARK T. CONARD explicitly engage with central issues in the history his laziness has become a virtue, and the human comedy THE COEN is perpetuating itself with the promised arrival of a new- of Western philosophy, from Plato and Aristotle n 2008 No Country for Old Men won the Academy born Lebowski. to Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Sartre, Award for Best Picture, adding to the reputation of filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, who were already Baudrillard, and MacIntyre.” THE PHILOSOPHY OF I The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers sheds new light on known for pushing the boundaries of genre. They had these cinematic visionaries and their films’ stirring —MICHAEL VALDEZ MOSES, previously made films that redefined the gangster author of THE COEN BROTHERS philosophical insights. From Blood Simple to No Country movie, the screwball comedy, the fable, and the film for Old Men, the Coens’ films feature characters who The Novel and the Globalization of Culture BROTHERS noir, among others. No Country is just one of many hunger for meaning in shared human experience—they Coen brothers films to center on the struggles of complex are looking for answers. A select few of their protagonists characters to understand themselves and their places in find affirmation and redemption, but for many others, the the strange worlds they inhabit. To borrow a phrase quest for answers leads, at best, only to more questions. from Barton Fink, all Coen films explore “the life of the mind” and show that the human condition can often be THE PHILOSOPHY OF POPULAR CULTURE simultaneously comic and tragic, profound and absurd. SERIES EDITOR: MARK T. CONARD 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 MARK T. CONARD, associate professor of philosophy at plots and characters to the shadowy, violent, and morally Marymount Manhattan College, is the editor of the ambiguous world of classic film noir and its modern coun- terpart, neo-noir. As these essays reveal, Coen films often Philosophy of Popular Culture series and of numerous The University Press of Kentucky EDITED BY MARK T. CONARD books, including The Philosophy of Film Noir, The share noir’s essential philosophical assumptions: power Philosophy of Neo-Noir, and The Philosophy of Martin corrupts, evil is real, and human control of fate is an Scorsese. 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. Front cover: from Fargo, courtesy Gramercy Pictures/Photofest. © Gramercy Pictures. Coen films that stylistically depart from film noir still Back cover: from No Country for Old Men, courtesy Miramax kentucky Films/Photofest. © Miramax Films. Photographer: Richard bear the influence of the genre’s prevailing philosophical Foreman. Cover design by Jen Huppert Design (continued on back flap) 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 THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY 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 13 12 11 10 09 5 4 3 2 1 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.
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