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 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. 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.