O my God, they killed Petey!

“I generally refrain from speech during gustation. There are those who attempt both at the same time; I find it course and vulgar. Where were we?”
“Makin’ money in the Lord’s service.”
“…Yes, Bible sales…One, where to find a wholesaler. The word of God in bulk as it were!” (52:25)

In this film, the Coen brothers do a fantastic job of creating vast caricatures of stereotypes of the South, often to the point to ridiculousness. This technique has often been used in TV and film for the purpose of destroying a stereotype. Examples of this can be seen in the 1970s’ blaxploitation films, often featuring a black male that heavily exaggerates the many stereotypes of black men. It’s a way to expose the absurdity of racism inherent in our society. While this particular scene is dealing with a different subject, I believe the Coen brothers are doing something similar. Big Dan T is a character that knows how to exploit the southern religious system for his own benefit. He makes his living as a con man, hiding behind the pious title of a Bible salesman. Using religion as the means to an end is not isolated to this scene. It is also reflected in Stokes’ speech to the KKK, essentially saying that Tommy must be hanged; it’s the will of God. Religion has been used as a failsafe for many years in the South, with misused and misinterpreted verses in the Bible quoted to support acts of violence, greed, and hate. Of course this is not isolated to the South, but growing up in the Bible Belt made this scene stick out to me. As evidenced in this movie, people do ridiculous things in the name of the selfish and greedy god of the South.

Writing this post made me curious; is this the way southerners outside of religion view the Christian church?