{"id":5058,"date":"2022-03-31T22:29:37","date_gmt":"2022-03-31T22:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/farefwd.com\/?p=5058"},"modified":"2022-04-30T19:31:06","modified_gmt":"2022-04-30T19:31:06","slug":"damn-were-in-a-tight-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/2022\/03\/31\/damn-were-in-a-tight-spot\/","title":{"rendered":"Damn, We’re In a Tight Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Damn, We're In a Tight Spot<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Both Oh Brother Where Art Thou?<\/em> and\u00a0No Country for Old Men<\/em> are concerned with devil figures and, more particularly, the deals we make with these devils.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

By Whitney Rio-Ross<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

On the surface, the Coen Brothers\u2019 comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou? <\/em>and their adaptation of Cormac McCarthy\u2019s No Country for Old Men <\/em>seem like very different movies. From its opening credits that claim the story is based on Homer\u2019s Odyssey <\/em>(and it is, in the loosest, most playful sense), O Brother, Where Art Thou?<\/em> does not take itself seriously. Though the film includes some weighty topics, it is an unapologetically silly movie. No Country for Old <\/em>Men is dead serious. The Coen Brothers do manage to bring their characteristic dark humor into the film through their direction of some dialogue, opting for a Flannery O\u2019Connor flavor when possible. Still, it is a tale of immorality, violence, and anguish where no one has the last laugh.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

Yet despite their difference in tone, the two films have similar obsessions. In O Brother, Where Art Thou? <\/em>Everett McGill is on the run after breaking out of prison. We see almost immediately that he and his fellow outlaws Delmar and Pete are basically harmless both because they are good-natured and too foolish to pull off any serious crime. Sheriff Cooley, the man chasing them, is far more dangerous and malevolent, aiming to kill the lovable convicts. No Country for Old Men<\/em> has the opposite setup. Ed Tom Bell, the sheriff of a generally quiet Texas county, is an honorable man who genuinely cares for his people, including Llewelyn Moss, a man who found drug money and is now on the run from cartels and an unrelenting hitman named Anton Chigurh. Chigurh is a merciless, seemingly invincible outlaw who embodies all the evil Sheriff Bell fears. In the novel, McCarthy describes Chigurh as \u201ca true and living prophet of destruction.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

In these inverted situations, both movies are concerned with the devil figures and, more particularly, the deals we make with these devils. O Brother, Where Art Thou?<\/em> addresses the topic literally. Soon after Delmar and Pete are baptized and commit to \u201cthe straight-and-narrow from here on out,\u201d they offer a ride to a Black man hitchhiking with a guitar case in hand. In the car, the man introduces himself as Tommy, and Delmar asks why he was standing in the middle of nowhere. Tommy says, \u201cI had to be at that crossroads last midnight to sell my soul to the devil. . . . He taught me to play this guitar real good.\u201d \u201cOh, son! For that you traded your everlasting soul?\u201d Delmar asks. \u201cI wasn\u2019t using it,\u201d Tommy responds. Though Tommy\u2019s situation comes up more seriously later, this episode is one of many absurd encounters on Everett\u2019s journey, and far from the darkest.<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

The plot of No Country for Old Men<\/em> starts with a deal gone terribly wrong. While out hunting, Llewelyn Moss comes across a group of trucks carrying dope, the ground littered with bodies and bullet casings. After some searching, Llewelyn finds a case carrying over two million dollars. Llewelyn gives into temptation and takes the money, making himself the prey to men more vicious than he can imagine. Apart from Llewelyn\u2019s story, Anton Chigurh enjoys making deals with unsuspecting people he has no reason to kill through a game. When he is annoyed by a clueless gas station clerk, he makes him call a coin toss for no apparent reason, though the viewer understands that the clerk is gambling for his own life. His only possibility for survival is to strike a deal of chance with Chigurh. Anyone who meets the devil, we see, risks a terrible bargain.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Trying to strike a deal or dance with the devil is not the way to save lives.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters\u00a0in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.<\/em><\/p>

\u2014I Peter 5:8-9<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The protagonists of both movies are always on alert, knowing they cannot rest because evil certainly doesn\u2019t. It\u2019s obvious in O Brother, Where Art Thou?<\/em>, as the convicts are literally on the run from lawmen. The issue is more nuanced in No Country for Old Men<\/em>. Sheriff Bell must find Llewelyn soon because Chigurh is already hot on the trail, but that is not the only evil that concerns Bell. He sees it springing up in new ways all around him. He misses the days of the old timers\u2019 when some sheriffs didn\u2019t even carry guns. Of course, some of this is the classic problem of an aging person longing for imaginary \u201cgood ole days.\u201d (His uncle reminds him, \u201cWhatcha\u2019 got ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 new. This country\u2019s hard on people. You can\u2019t stop what\u2019s coming. It ain\u2019t all waitin\u2019 on you. That\u2019s vanity.\u201d) But Bell isn\u2019t entirely delusional. He became a sheriff in a time distant enough from America\u2019s bloody settlement of the West that he does not associate his home with violence; it was also before drug wars brought loads of automatic weapons into the county. For a time, he was living in a short window of Andy Griffith\u2019s justice. Parts of his world are changing for the worse in ways he does not understand and at a terrifying speed. \u00a0At some point in both movies, we see the protagonists resist the demonic that threatens them and refuse to compromise with the devil figures. Everett, Delmar, and Pete come upon a KKK meeting where Tommy is about to be lynched. The three men do not hesitate to risk their lives saving Tommy and disguise themselves so they can help him escape. Throughout the movie we have seen Everett talk his way out of difficult situations, or at least try to. Here he makes no attempt to reason with the demonic group or craftily escape a fight he is almost certain to lose. When the three catch up to Tommy and tell him they intend to save him, Tommy says, \u201cThat\u2019s mighty kind of you boys, but I don\u2019t think nothin\u2019s gonna save me now\u2014the devil\u2019s come to collect his due.\u201d But his friends don\u2019t share his fatalism. Perhaps Delmar and Pete are fueled by their faith in God and Everett by his remarkable faith in himself. Whatever the case, they\u2019re willing to try. After some clumsiness, they end up victorious against the clan, cutting loose the burning cross to fall on those who were about to hang Tommy in its name.<\/p>

Sheriff Bell knows what drug cartels and their involved parties are capable of and is baffled by Llewelyn\u2019s arrogance in thinking he can take their money with body and soul unscathed. Bell doesn\u2019t let this frustration keep him from trying to save Llewelyn, though. He speaks to Llewelyn\u2019s wife, Carla Jean, and assures her that Llewelyn is not in trouble with him and that his job is to protect her husband. While federal agents are looking for the Chigurh and dealers, Bell is concerned only with the man he has sworn to protect him. Bell\u2019s fear of Chigurh and everything he represents could be enough to keep him from hunting down the invincible outlaw. Regardless, Bell knows that he could come across Chigurh at any moment since they are looking for the same man. He is still risking his life, but he knows better than to get caught up in his game. In the opening voiceover he says, \u201cI always knew you had to be willing to die to even do this job\u2014not to be glorious. But I don\u2019t want to push my chips forward and go out and meet something I don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>

In rescuing Tommy and searching for Llewelyn, Everett and Sheriff Bell are not acting on their own behalf but putting their lives at stake for another man, willing to meet the devils they know may torture them as well. In these actions, both also understand in their gut that trying to strike a deal or dance with the devil is not the way to save lives. They don\u2019t need to pet hell\u2019s hound to believe it bites.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

The devil never offers a gift; all his favors have a price.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Then the devil<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.<\/em> And the devil<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>said to him, \u201cTo you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

\u2014Luke 4:5\u20136<\/em><\/p>

So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, \u201cI am innocent of this man\u2019s blood; see to it yourselves.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

\u2014Matthew 27:24<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

In O Brother, Where Art Thou?<\/em>, we see two signs that the devil is at work in the authorities of Mississippi. First, we are told that Sheriff Cooley could in fact be the devil. When Pete asks Tommy what the devil looks like, he says, \u201cHe\u2019s white\u2014white as you folks, with mirrors for eyes and a big hollow voice and always travels with a mean old hound.\u201d This is a perfect description of Cooley\u2014a white man who wears mirrored sunglasses, with a hound by his side. Behold the arbiter of justice.<\/p>

Second, Mississippi\u2019s gubernatorial race is underway. The current governor, Pappy O\u2019Daniel, is also on his way to Everett\u2019s town, where his opponent is having a campaign rally. Throughout the movie, we see that Pappy is a crooked, entitled businessman desperate to hold onto his power, though he makes no effort to interact with his constituents. Pappy\u2019s competition is no better. Homer Stokes promises reform but turns out to be the leader of the local KKK. No matter how the election goes, the men making the law are as evil as any outlaw.<\/p>

Yet Pappy turns out to be the convicts\u2019 savior when the men reveal themselves to be the hit band The Soggy Bottom Boys. While Stokes is enraged with the men for ruining the lynching and raves about their lawlessness, Pappy sees an opportunity. \u201cSounds like Homer Stokes is the kinda fella gonna cast the first stone!\u201d he tells the audience. \u201cI\u2019m a forgive and forget Christian. And I say, well, if their rambunctiousness and misdemeanorin\u2019 is behind \u2018em . . . . by the power vested in me, these boys is hereby pardoned!\u201d But the devil never offers a gift; all his favors have a price. In exchange for freedom, Pappy expects The Soggy Bottom Boys to endorse his candidacy publicly by leading the crowd in a song. Everett tells the governor that the song is one of their favorites. \u201cSon,\u201d Pappy replies, \u201cyou gonna go far.\u201d<\/p>

Sheriff Bell\u2019s trust in the law he works to uphold is waning from the start of No Country for Old Men<\/em>. He can see that, along with the world, the institution he is a part of could very well be going to hell. He does not intend to go there with it. In the opening voiceover he says, \u201cYou say it\u2019s my job to fight it, but I don\u2019t know what it is anymore. More than that, I don\u2019t want to know. A man would have to put his soul at hazard. He would have to say, okay, I\u2019ll be part of this world.\u201d<\/p>

The following scene shows what Bell is realizing. Chigurh easily strangles a deputy who arrested him, his face emotionless. To have survived with Chigurh in the building, the deputy needed to lock eyes with Chigurh\u2019s crazed gaze and have a powerful weapon at hand ready to use at the first sign of attack. If an officer wants to capture the devil, he must imitate the enemy. Bell wants to be different from the enemy. When he is in the thick of his search and going to speak to Carla Jean, he asks his secretary, \u201cWhat is it Torbert says about truth and justice?\u201d \u201cOh, we dedicate ourselves daily anew. Somethin\u2019 like that,\u201d she replies. \u201cI\u2019m gonna commence dedicatin\u2019 myself twice daily. Might come to three times before it\u2019s over with,\u201d Bell says. He knows that remaining honest and just in his job is becoming more difficult but will continue the good fight long enough to save Llewelyn.<\/p>

Unfortunately, Bell does not save Llewelyn. This failure confirms Bell\u2019s mistrust of the world, the law, and himself. If he cannot at least save his own people without agreeing to an evil world\u2019s terms, what good can he do? He might as well retire before he, too, starts to look like the devil.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Despite their power and their lies to people and themselves, these devils don\u2019t write the end of the story.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

\u201c[The devil] was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.\u201d<\/em><\/p>

\u2014John 8:44b<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

After their pardon, Everett and his friends go to his old cabin to find his wife\u2019s wedding ring. There Cooley and his deputies wait for them with three nooses and three graves. He knew where to come because he had tortured Pete earlier, who gave up their destination in exchange for his life. The group tells Cooley that the governor offered them a public pardon, but Cooley doesn\u2019t care. \u201cIt ain\u2019t the law!\u201d Everett protests. Cooley smiles. \u201cThe law. Well the law is a human institution.\u201d Here we have more confirmation that Cooley is beyond human. He speaks of himself and this execution as an inescapable destiny: \u201cEnd of the road, boys. It\u2019s had its twists and turns\u2014but now it deposits you here. You have eluded fate\u2014and eluded me\u2014for the last time.\u201d<\/p>

Chigurh has a strange code of honesty. A fellow hitman, Carson Wells, says as much when Llewelyn wonders if perhaps he could make a deal with Chigurh. \u201cYou can\u2019t make a deal with him,\u201d Carson explains. \u201cEven if you gave him the money, he\u2019d still kill you for inconveniencing him. He\u2019s a peculiar man. Might even say he has principles, principles that transcend money or drugs or anything like that.\u201d When Chigurh later offers Llewelyn a deal, it\u2019s a devious one: \u201cYou bring me the money, and I\u2019ll let [your wife] go. Otherwise, she\u2019s accountable, the same as you. That\u2019s the best deal you\u2019re gonna get. I won\u2019t tell you you can save yourself, because you can\u2019t.\u201d Llewelyn\u2019s wife has done nothing to Chigurh; he is dealing with the lives of people he hasn\u2019t even met. Llewelyn does not give back the money, believing both he and his wife can survive if they get to each other soon.<\/p>

Weeks after Llewelyn\u2019s death, Chigurh shows up to Carla Jean\u2019s house to kill her. \u201cYou got no cause to hurt me,\u201d she tells him. \u201cNo. But I gave my word. . . .Your husband had the opportunity to save you. Instead, he used you to try to save himself,\u201d Chigurh explains. While this is a deceptive take on the events, it works with Chigurh\u2019s logic; the devil understands lies, not truth. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to do this,\u201d Carla Jean says. Annoyed, Chigurh sighs, \u201cPeople always say the same thing.\u201d (Carson spoke those very words moments before Chigurh shot him.) Chigurh decides to offer Carla Jean a chance, telling her to call a coin toss for her life, as he did with the store clerk. In a divergence from the book, Carla Jean refuses to call the coin. \u201cThe coin don\u2019t have no say. It\u2019s just you,\u201d she argues. \u201cWell, I got here the same way the coin did,\u201d Chigurh retorts. Like Cooley, Chigurh sees himself as an inevitable force, at one with fate. We do not see Chigurh kill Carla Jean, but based on how he responds when annoyed or threatened, we can guess what happens.<\/p>

It is after their speeches about fate that things go wrong for these devils. The Soggy Bottom Boys cry out to God, and a wall of water crashes on the scene. We knew that a dam was being released to flood the area, but with all that happened over the course of a few days, everyone forgot, including the devil. Despite his belief in his omnipotence, it turns out that he does not control everything. We don\u2019t know if the sheriff or his crew survives the flood, but The Soggy Bottom Boys miraculously do, and there is no sign of the executors.<\/p>

No one is saved in No Country for Old Men<\/em>, but we see that Chigurh is not immune to the fallen world. He has escaped seemingly impossible situations and healed himself from life-threatening injuries. He seems invincible and certainly thinks of himself as such. Chigurh\u2019s comeuppance has nothing to do with weapons or an intent to kill. Rather, a car t-bones his truck only moments after he kills Carla Jean. Like Chigurh, the audience has no warning of the crash, emphasizing the shock he feels after yet again demonstrating his power to take lives. His arm severely broken and his head bleeding, he makes one more deal by paying some boys to say they didn\u2019t see him. Then he slowly stumbles off like a wounded animal.<\/p>

As with Cooley, we don\u2019t know if Chigurh ultimately survives. But we do know that even he is at the mercy of things beyond his realm. Despite their power and their lies to people and themselves, these devils don\u2019t write the end of the story.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

We are left with the issue of how to operate in a world where, at least for now, the devil has great power. If we must be ready for attack from all sides, what can we do?<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.<\/em><\/p>

\u2014James 4:7<\/em><\/p>

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>For if they fall, one will lift up the other.<\/em><\/p>

\u2014Ecclesiastes 4:9\u201310a<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Despite the devil\u2019s defeat in O Brother, Where Art Thou? <\/em>and No Country for Old Men<\/em>, we are left with the issue of how to operate in a world where, at least for now, the devil has great power. If we must be ready for attack from all sides, what can we do? \u00a0We cannot trust the laws and principalities that are supposed to protect us from lawless evil, and that evil is indeed at hand. We\u2019re in a tight spot.<\/p>

Both Everett and Sheriff Bell believe one of the devil\u2019s lies by the end of their movies\u2014that they are alone with no God to protect them. The consequences of this belief diverge with their genres. Despite seeing an answer to his surprisingly poignant prayers moments ago, Everett falls right back into his atheism, even seeing the flood as a sign of human progress beyond religion. He says,<\/p>

No, the fact is, they\u2019re flooding this valley so they can hydro-electric up the whole durned state. Yes sir, the South is gonna change. Everything\u2019s gonna be put on electricity and run on a payin\u2019 basis. Out with the old spiritual mumbo-jumbo, the superstitions and the backward ways. We\u2019re gonna see a brave new world where they run everyone a wire and hook us all up to a grid. Yes sir, a veritable age of reason\u2014like the one they had in France\u2014and not a moment too soon.<\/p><\/blockquote>

Bell shows some better sense than Everett; he has seen the worst fruits of the very \u201cprogress\u201d in which Everett places his faith. But rather than misplacing his hope, he falls into despair. Unlike Everett, he did not personally experience God\u2019s demonstration of power against the seemingly omnipotent Chigurh, nor did Chigurh\u2019s accident save him. Though he was spared a confrontation with this devil figure, he credits this not to a hedge of protection but to his own cowardice, or at least his incompetence in the face of such evil. He confesses to his uncle, \u201cI always figured when I got older, God would sort of come into my life somehow. And he didn\u2019t. And I don\u2019t blame him. If I was him, I\u2019d have the same opinion of me that he does.\u201d<\/p>

We can laugh at Everett, shaking our heads at his self-deception. We have seen God save him time and again, seen that despite his vanity and dishonesty, there is a goodness in him that allows us to hope for his redemption. He broke out of jail not because of his lawless nature but because he wanted to restore his broken marriage covenant before it was too late. He risked his own life to save a man who was more a stranger than friend. There\u2019s hope for Everett yet, because despite his belief that he can depend on himself, he is not alone. His family and The Soggy Bottom Boys (two of whom are quick to give the Lord due credit) will be there the next time he crosses paths with the devil.<\/p>

We cannot laugh at Bell in his despair. We know he is an upstanding man, that even if he never \u201cfought\u201d much evil, he did his best to care for the people he promised to protect. Unlike Everett, though, he is not a young man rejoining society; he is old and in retreat. If there is no God, or at least none whom he can trust to protect his soul from the world\u2019s evil influence, what more can he do?<\/p>

The Coen Brothers, however, do not leave Bell totally hopeless. As in the book, they end with Bell describing two dreams about his long-deceased father. In the book, Bell is ruminating to himself, not speaking to a particular person. The film, however, does not end with an internal monologue via voiceover. The final scene shows Bell talking to his wife, who urges him to tell her about the dreams. Though he seems embarrassed to share them, he does. He has faith in his marriage covenant, a promise he takes seriously enough that he even tells his secretary not to call his wife saying that he is on his way to another town until he has actually left the building. \u201cDon\u2019t wanna lie without what it\u2019s absolutely necessary,\u201d he says. There is great trust between them, and he is willing to continue trusting her even when the world has given him reason to question everyone.<\/p>

Then there is the final dream itself. Bell describes riding up a cold mountain with his father and how his father goes ahead of him carrying a fire in a horn: \u201cAnd, in the dream, I knew he was goin\u2019 on ahead. He was fixin\u2019 to make a fire somewhere out there in all that dark and cold. And I knew that whenever I got there, he\u2019d be there.\u201d In his subconscious, Bell knows that as he drudges on in a dark, cruel world, there is light waiting up ahead\u2014light and a loved one to bring him comfort. In the bright morning with his wife listening, he is already experiencing some of that.<\/p>

Throughout the movie, Bell and other old men use language of the end times. \u201cSigns and wonders,\u201d he says earlier when he hears about teenagers with green hair. But this final scene echoes more hopeful words about the last days: \u201cI will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams\u201d (Acts 2:17).<\/p>

These films\u2019 endings offer us some tangible hope beyond the promise that the devil will not have the final word. Our hope is that we can live in the meantime. To do so, we must look to those who suffer alongside us and do our best to love them in even the simplest ways\u2014taking a family stroll, listening to an old man\u2019s dreams. We won\u2019t come together to make a perfect world; as a fallen body, we\u2019ll surely want to abandon each other at some point. But by resisting the temptation to make covenants with the powerful and instead promise ourselves to our fellow strugglers, by the power of the Spirit spilled out, we might make a life here.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Whitney Rio-Ross\u00a0<\/strong>holds a Master\u2019s in Religion and Literature from Yale Divinity School. Her writing has appeared in\u00a0<\/em>Sojourners,\u00a0<\/em>Reflections,\u00a0<\/em>America Magazine,\u00a0<\/em>LETTERS JOURNAL,\u00a0<\/em>The Cresset,\u00a0<\/em>St. Katherine Review,\u00a0<\/em>The Other Journal, and elsewhere. She is the author of the poetry chapbook\u00a0<\/em>Birthmarks\u00a0and lives in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Both Oh Brother Where Art Thou? and\u00a0No Country for Old Men are concerned with devil figures and, more particularly, the deals we make with these devils.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":5104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"ocean_front_end_style_editor":"no","ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"0","ocean_second_sidebar":"0","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"0","ocean_custom_header_template":"0","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"0","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"0","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"off","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[10,66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-essays","category-issue-17","entry","has-media"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farefwd.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/o-brother-where-art-thou-2001.jpeg?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/56"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5058"}],"version-history":[{"count":59,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5058\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5454,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5058\/revisions\/5454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}