Thursday, April 14, 2016

Fargo




1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.
movies fargomovie car today has scenesMuch more sane than The Big Lebowski, Fargo is a drama set on entertaining with dark humor in contrast to its very wintry setting. One aspect of the film that was talked about in class, other than the film being based off of true events to an extent, is the accents and how exaggeratedly the Coen brothers stressed them. I don't say this to say that people don't actually have Swedish accents like in the film –– they do exist––but the accents were definitely exaggerated in the sense that they really stood out and became the first characteristic of a character, other than appearance, to really draw the audience in and set the tone of the movie. I honestly feel they took this very real aspect of Minnesota life and used it in such a clever way to get the most comedic response out of it, having conversations that are clearly dead and over revived with a bold "Ya!" Or having Marge, as the author of the article I will introduce next mentions, give her “Okey Dokey!" and “Thanks a bunch!” (Wilmington, par. 6) throughout the entire film with everyone she encounters no matter how rude they are to her. From the minute Margie stepped onto the screen I knew I was going to like this film, and it didn't let me down from that moment on. 

2) Find a related article and summarize the content. 
fargomovie  90s laughing laugh hahamaudit  smiling fargo sarcastic frances mcdormandThe article that I chose came from the 
Chicago Tribune and it starts with author Michael Wilmington touching briefly on how the film begins and the setting. While contemplating the name of the film, Wilmington goes into talk of the plot making sure to compare the brother’s previous work. He then proceeds to touch on the comedy aspect of the Swedish accent used in the film that I touched on in the previous question above. The idea of a “feeling of truth” (Wilmington, par. 10) comes into play as the author notices that Fargo emphasizes the natural procession of how life really is: cluttered with crazy routines and plans that are always biting its creators in the rear end. Wilmington suggests that audience members are too accustomed to the cops and crooks that do what they do so well that they forget about the ones in real life that do not always have plans that run so smoothly. In real life, there are cops and crooks that are far from that pristine and flawless idea; they make mistakes, forget things, and screw up their own plans like in Fargo.


Wilmington, Michael. "`Fargo' A Dark Crime Comedy That's Just Real Enough." Chicago
Tribune. 08 Mar. 1996. Web. 13 Apr. 2016. <http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1996-03-08/entertainment/9603080005_1_marge-gunderson-maternity-clothes-movie>.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class.  
This article didn’t really affect my thinking or ideas about the film. I feel as though I liked the movie just the same after reading it. I did like that it confirmed my thinking that the Coen brothers did very well using the Swedish accents to add to their comedy techniques in the film. One aspect of the Wilmington article that caught my eye and made me think was when he mentioned the cinematography done by Roger Deakins. Deakins was the cinematographer for not only The Big Lebowski, but the Shawshank Redemption as well. I thought this was a fun fact and it made me think about how vastly different all three of these films are. It is even more interesting having seen all three films in class this semester. Compared to Fargo, The Big Lebowski was pushed in a more creative and innovative direction when it came to cinematography. Deakins didn’t seem to hesitate to pull out those very odd and whimsical angle decisions. For example, we see “The Dude” in the dream sequence floating in between the legs of women down a bowling alley and having his body knock into pins. 

Kyle Buchanan wrote an article for Vulture, where Deakins tells of how his specification for very bright white light came into play for the dream sequence. However, in Fargo there were specific times with shots during the day and at night where Deakins specifically shot with little light to create the effect envisioned. I could tell that there didn’t seem to be many long shots in Fargo, but there were more in that particular film compared to The Big Lebowski. The Coen brothers tend to keep everything close up and personal with their films, switching between medium shots and close ups. One close up in Fargo that draws the audience into the intensity of the moment or what is happening, is the one of Marge the pregnant police chief. Not only is she my favorite character in the entire movie, but the one close up of her as she is driving the cop car with Gaear Grimsrud in the back of the car being incarcerated for the crimes that he committed. Marge contemplates and then confesses her confusion as to why Grimsrud would do such things. Similar to what Marge says in the film, there’s more to life than just money. I feel the brother’s close up feel of the films they make allow for the audience to focus more so on the characters introduced and to connect with them.


Buchanan, Kyle. "From Shawshank to Skyfall, How Master Cinematographer Roger Deakins
Got These Ten Shots." Vulture. 21 Feb. 2013. Web. 13 Apr. 2016. <http://www.vulture.com/2013/02/how-master-dp-roger-deakins-got-these-10-shots.html>.


fargomovie  90s fargo 1996 joel coen




4) Write a critical analysis of the film.
To tie things up, I felt this would be a good time to incorporate the handout from the class discussion about connotations. While the author and other basic reference information is unknown, wherever this excerpt came from, I enjoyed the read. The excerpt states, “Reading or analyzing a film involves a concern less with a film’s explicit statements than with its connotations: the complex set of ideas, beliefs, and associations that are represented in it but that are never openly stated” (handout 20). I felt that this quote was accurate and it brought me back to thinking about how complex Fargo actually is. The film has a lot going on, and while it may just seem like this dark and humorous comedic twist on a crime movie, it deals with complex situations that can actually happen. Fargo grounds us by introducing people that are more relatable to who we are as individuals and who we see in the world. The entire story is centered around money and death. Talk about bringing something to the table. Are the Coen brothers trying to bring light to some of the grim truths about life, what we usually take for granted and what is important? 

Furthermore, the expert also explains, “the fact that a film’s connotations may not immediately be evident from a casual viewing does not means that they are not there” (handout 20). This is very true to me with The Big Lebowski. Like I said in class, I always try to learn to appreciate the film and what it has done in the world despite my initial reaction to it. I may not have liked The Big Lebowski all that much the first time I saw it, but maybe if I give it another chance and watch it again I will not only like it more having done more research to understand the vision behind the film, but I may also make new revelations that may not have come into my mind during the first viewing. The experience will be like reading a poem or a book more than once and making new discoveries every single time. Overall, Fargo is a great film and it really shifted my perspective and how I thought about the Coen brothers an their work. Even with its own chaotic plot and storylines, I was able to somehow slip into my own thoughts and that is what I liked about it… it made me think but kept me focused on its presence. 



film golf fargo 1996 cohen brothers





1) ( x ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.
2) ( x ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.
3) ( x ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text.
4) ( x ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper.
5) ( x ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.
6) ( x ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography.
7) ( x ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality.
8) ( x ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.


1 comment:

  1. Great report! I like how you discovered the Deakins connection! 10/10

    ReplyDelete