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This course will analyze the way the Coen Brothers’ films play with previously hegemonic myths about the American experience. How do their films negotiate expectations of genre? What happens to meaning when pastiche or appropriation become vital to the narrative and imaginary world of the films? We will watch up to a dozen films, including Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Miller’s Crossing, O Brother Where art Thou and The Big Lebowski, not quite in chronological order,. Readings from scholarly and theoretical material, as well as excerpts from many of their sources, from Homer to Hammett. We'll also consider some of the 20th century painting, architecture and style that informs their films. Mandatory out of class viewings.