Coen And Hosseinis O Brother, Where Art Thou And The...

Coen, in his film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and Hosseini, in The Kite Runner, immerse their audience in the protagonists’ journey, encountering ideas of religion, politics and race through a range of literary and film techniques. Coen and Hosseini condemn the tangible racial and ethnic intolerance through characterisation, parody and mise-en-scà ¨ne. Allusion, imagery and humour explore both the comfort and danger of religion while symbolism, humour and historical references expose the deceit and failure of politicians. Coen and Hosseini, through literary and film techniques, subvert racial stereotypes and highlight the injustice of racial and ethnic discrimination. Hosseini’s juxtaposition of the Pashtuns with the Hazaras highlight the†¦show more content†¦Moreover, Hosseini alludes to the Holocaust through Asef, whose â€Å"sociopath[ic]† characteristics, German mother, â€Å"blue eyes† and admiration for Hitler promote the association with this â€Å"ethnic cleaning,† thus emphasising the evil of racism. Although extremism is criticised, Hosseini prevents the reader from dismissing everyday racism through General Taheri’s dialogue when he questions â€Å"why there is a Hazara boy† living with them, conveying that the Hassan’s death has its roots in the ingrained racist and prejudiced culture. Moreover, he is concerned about â€Å"the community’s perception,† suggesting reputations and societal expectations drive these prejudi ces. This is illustrated earlier when Baba’s desire to be close to his â€Å"illegitimate† son parallels the social barriers relationships between Pashtuns and Hazaras. Comparatively, Coen’s integrated band overcomes these social barriers, subverting the idea that the deep south is inherently racist, as â€Å"folks don t mind they’s integrated,† in a time when integration was illegal. With the literary techniques of juxtaposition, parody, historical references and dialogue, and Coen’s manipulation of lighting and soundtrack, Coen and Hosseini overthrow racial stereotypes, criticising the societal expectations and casual racism that underpin extremism. Hosseini and Coen explore religion as a recourse, and the flaws of religion without morality through