Interpreting A Coen Brothers Film

My first experience watching a Coen brothers’ movie changed how I viewed film. Upon my first viewing of The Big Lebowski, I realized it was much more than a film about a middle aged stoner who lost his rug. I was able to identify different characteristics from a wide range of genres represented in classic films I had seen over the years. After numerous viewings, I could piece together a message the Coen brothers were trying to communicate to their audience through the film’s narrator: “Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes, well, the bear eats you” (The Big Lebowski). This lesson embedded in The Big Lebowski resonated with me because it speaks to the nature of life; the positives and negatives that follow us around as we meander through
These formulas can be thought of as a system that places films into different genre categories. However, before exploring film genre it is important to indicate how it is different from its predecessor, literary genre study. In literary studies, all-encompassing classifications have been forced on works of fiction. These groupings were created by critics to categorize the subject matter of the work according to their own standards (Schatz 15). Subsequently, analysis of literature centered around those who were critiquing it, not those who were consuming it. The opposite is true for commercial film since its primary focus is production and consumption (Schatz 16). According to film theorist Sarah Berry, “film genres are ways of grouping movies by style and story” (Berry 25). She supports this claim by referencing Aristotle’s Poetics and its impact on genre
The elements of their films include a heavy reliance on film noir and screwball comedy, a deep understanding of American film genres, and a presence of a moral code. In the first chapter, I examine the Coen brothers use of film noir. Chapter one includes a brief history of both film noir and screwball comedy to illustrate the common themes and motifs within each genre. The Coen brothers use techniques inspired by film noir shown through their use of lighting, character types, and narrative structure. To further show their affection for film noir, the duo constantly makes references to older noir