Thoughts on the Movie Fargo as a Commentary on Minnesotan Culture (Burnsville: school districts, live in)

[golfgal]

Is it just me but I thought Fargo was in North Dakota

[snofarmer]

Good point.

Ya thoes, guys, in nort Dacoata sur souund funney eh

Originally Posted by golfgal

Is it just me but I thought Fargo was in North Dakota

[xandrex]

I had heard the Coens named it "Fargo" because they believed it made for a better name than "Brainerd" for a movie title.

[Drewcifer]

Our worldviews are usually formed in our youth. The Coen brothers grew up in SLP in the 60s. I think their portrayal of Minnesota is more a reflection of how it was then than how it is now.

[AGuyFromCleveland18]

Originally Posted by Drewcifer

Our worldviews are usually formed in our youth. The Coen brothers grew up in SLP in the 60s. I think their portrayal of Minnesota is more a reflection of how it was then than how it is now.

I think that is probably true. In one of their interviews they described Minnesota as "Siberia with family restaurants." I don't think it's like that so much anymore, the Twin Cities metro is probably more sophisticated than it was then. However I can see how the small towns still have that aura.

[Voyageur]

Originally Posted by AGuyFromCleveland18

I really don't get why Minnesotans are so sensitive about this. Again, you're comparing apples to oranges with the Fast Times at Ridgemont High thing. That movie did not win academy awards or universal critical acclaim. Fargo is known as one of the most influential movies in history. Additionally, that movie was about teenagers, and is probably pretty accurate in its portrayal of the teenage years, but Fargo is not, it's about adults living in Minnesota, and it's actually pretty accurate in it's portrayal, even if it caricatures them a bit. The Coen Bros. really captured some of the nuances of Minnesota culture, probably because of their close connection to it.

Awards have nothing to do with accuracy. Not. A. Thing.

Gladiator won Best Picture. So did Titanic. Seriously. Whether or not a film wins an award or not is utterly irrelevant to its real-life accuracy.

It's embarrassing that you actually need this explained to you.

[AGuyFromCleveland18]

Originally Posted by Voyageur

Awards have nothing to do with accuracy. Not. A. Thing.

Gladiator won Best Picture. So did Titanic. Seriously. Whether or not a film wins an award or not is utterly irrelevant to its real-life accuracy.

It's embarrassing that you actually need this explained to you.

Okay, your point that awards do not have anything to do with accuracy is well taken. However, it's not so much the awards that gives it credentials in terms of accuracy, but the fact that it's by the Coen brothers who are known to be more avant garde and produce the types of movies that are more likely to reflect some element of real life. Gladiator may have won for its action, special effects, and acting, but Coen brothers movies almost always win because of their writing, and it's hard to have good writing that doesn't in some way tell the truth.

[northstar22]

Originally Posted by AGuyFromCleveland18

I think that is probably true. In one of their interviews they described Minnesota as "Siberia with family restaurants." I don't think it's like that so much anymore, the Twin Cities metro is probably more sophisticated than it was then. However I can see how the small towns still have that aura.

Siberia is very culturally different than Minnesota. It's heavily Slavic, with some East Asian, Indigenous, and Turkic influences. Rural Minnesota is more like 20th-century Scandinavia with family restaurants. The Twin Cities are Anytown, USA.

[AGuyFromCleveland18]

Originally Posted by northstar22

Siberia is very culturally different than Minnesota. It's heavily Slavic, with some East Asian, Indigenous, and Turkic influences. Rural Minnesota is more like 20th-century Scandinavia with family restaurants. The Twin Cities are Anytown, USA.

I think they were referring to the weather and landscape with that comment, rather than the culture or people...

[golfgal]

satire [sat-ahyuhr]


sat·ire   [sat-ahyuhr]

noun
1.
the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2.
a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
3.
a literary genre comprising such compositions.