It’s hard to miss the reference to famed American Southern Gothic writer Flannery O’Connor in 2017 film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. I find this film to be the best homage to Flannery O’Connor’s style and themes that I’ve come across in a long time.

In this video essay, I present an analysis of this film by essentially viewing it through the lens of O’Connor’s unique approach to art and stories. I draw upon her own commentary on her style, as well as literary criticism on her fiction. I think that deepening one’s knowledge of O’Connor opens up a much deeper understanding of Martin McDonagh's Oscar-winning masterpiece!

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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Introduction
00:33 O’Connor’s Cosmic Vision
02:44 The Reality of Evil
03:23 Grotesque Characters
06:37 O’Connor’s Violent Grace
07:39 Grace for Willoughby
08:35 Grace for Mildred and Dixon

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*Sources
- Christina Bieber Lake, The Incarnational Art of Flannery O’Connor - https://www.amazon.com/Incarnational-...
- Flannery O’Connor, A Good Man is Hard to Find and Other Stories -   / 48464.a_good_man_is_hard_to_find_and_other...  
- Flannery O’Connor, The Habit of Being -   / 48466.the_habit_of_being  
- Flannery O’Connor, Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose -   / 75087.mystery_and_manners  
- Flannery O’Connor, “Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction” - https://books.google.com/books/about/...
- Joyce Carol Oates, “The Action of Mercy” in Flannery O’Connor - https://books.google.co.th/books/abou...
- Paul W. Nisly, “The Mystery of Evil: Flannery O'Connor's Gothic Power” in The Flannery O'Connor Bulletin - https://www.jstor.org/stable/26669765...
- Thelma J. Shinn, Flannery O'Connor and the Violence of Grace in Contemporary Literature - https://www.jstor.org/stable/1207391?...

*Music (Creative Commons Attribution)
- “Northwest” by Oak Studios (   • [No Copyright Music] Northwest - Acou...  )
- “Odd Fellow’s Rest” by The Dirty Diary (   • The Dirty Diary - Odd Fellow's Rest (...  )
- “Theme from War, Inc.” by The Dirty Diary (   • The Dirty Diary - Theme From War, Inc...  )
- “Journey to the Past” by Carmen María and Edu Espinal (   • Video  )
- “Amazing Grace Instrumental” by Marcis (   • 🎵Amazing Grace Instrumental (Violin)  )


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