Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Fargo Questions for the Panel


  1. The people portrayed in the movie were overly nice to almost anyone they met. They were constantly head nodding to emphasize their agreement or approval or endorsement of something and said,“yah” and “you betcha,” it seemed every time they spoke using a sing-song manner. Well... almost everyone except Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud that is! I know the Coen brothers grew up near the Twin Cities. Was their portrayal of the local citizens even close to reality?
  2. The chief of the Brainerd police, Marge Gunderson, was an extremely complex character. At first blush she seems a little plain and well suited to a sleepy Minnesota town. However, once she visits the crime scene she quickly and correctly works out the triple murder sequence of events and realizes the one clue about the car indicating that the license plate was from a dealer’s car. Do you think Gunderson was a little out of place in a town like Brainerd?

12 comments:

  1. 1.) The American Film Institute has a listing from the past 100 years of the greatest heroes and Villains, which Frances McDormand is ranked #33. In the movie Fargo, how or what do you see that would portray her as a hero or villain?

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  2. This is an interesting question above. I would say that she was a hero because she was the one to catch the bad men--obvious answer. She was a 'normal' person at heart and was only different because she happened to be a great policewoman and detective. However, she shows that gender does not matter in these circumstances; if a person is good at their job, man or woman no matter the position, they should be respected and rewarded for their good works.

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    1. I think it can also be said that no matter what gender a person is, if they are OK at their job, they will look like a genius if the others around them are horrible!!! (such as in this film...)

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  3. I guess, I don't really see this character as a traditional hero. She was doing her job. As far as figuring out the crime sequence at the accident sight, I thought it was little quick. There were many possibilities to these events - maybe they weren't even related - but she hits on the right one right away. Nothing heroic there. I also don't see her fitting the category of Hollywood Leading Lady. I know I wouldn't have been able to name the lady who played the sheriff in Fargo if it wasn't for this class and I can't even tell you what else I've seen her play in.
    I think there is more to being a leading lady then just starring in a movie.

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    1. I believe she fits into the category of a Hollywood Leading Lady very well. Fargo was nominated for 7 Oscars and won 2. Frances McDormand has been nominated for 4 Oscars, and won an Oscar for best actress in a leading role in the movie Fargo. She was a woman hero who stopped a killer single-handedly while being pregnant. Although "she was doing her job", I still think what she did in the movie was very heroic.

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  4. I think McDormand's place in the course is to show her wit and career-oriented personality (traits typically exuded by men) in addition to her nurturing demeanor. Bree was not able to have both a relationship AND her independence in Klute. She struggled throughout the film between the two, but she was not able to have her cake and eat it too. Frances, however, is able to hold her own with the wood-chipper guy (while pregnant) and firmly put her admirer in his place and still make her husband feel like a million bucks for his 3 cent stamp accomplishment. She proves that a woman does not have to completely forsake her femininity in the pursuit of a career, respect, or independence.

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    1. Pretty much sums it up nicely! I love the fact that our character was several months (was it like eight?) pregnant, too, which is clearly a feminine role. The assumption with many people regarding independent women are terrible stereotypes, but she retained the traditional female 'shape' while challenging the traditional norm, which I thought was brilliant.

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  5. That is a great point about women not having to give up there femininity for a masculine type job. A pregnant woman is able to shoot a gun, be in such stressful situations, and complete her job. In other films, the pregnant woman may have acted more like the woman who was kidnapped. A pregnant woman is said to/seen taking off of work for long periods of time, are frail, and wimpy. The main character even has morning sickness but allows it to pass so she can keep investigating--funny and revealing!

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  6. Casey, I just read your post about Bree and Marge. I wrote something similar on the final exam. I totally agree with you regarding Bree and her struggle between having independence and exposing her vulnerabilities. Bree has not yet realized that she can become more when she opens up and lets go. Marge, on the other hand, has a wonderful foundation (built from love, respect, admiration, etc.) from which to be independent. The independence enables her to concentrate and catch the murderers. I don't think that Marge would have tolerated working while seven months pregnant at such a stressful job, done it so well, and made it look so easy if she were not part of a solid and thriving team. The security she garnered from her relationship gave her independence. I don’t think Bree would believe that if she was drawn a picture!

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  7. In response to The second question Peach asked: Do you think Gunderson was a little out of place in a town like Brainerd?
    I think with her insightful nature, and having multiple layers of understanding surrounding a crime scene leads me to believe she was educated elsewhere. It seems like the majority of other officers were pushed up through the ranks and accustomed to what they have learned in their little town. With such fast thinking thoughts from Marge, even thought she had a script, she appeared to be the most intelligent of the entire bunch. I believe she had resided there her entire life due to her accent, yet went away for her education and maybe even met her husband as his accent didn't appear as strong to me.

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  8. I think in little ways, Jackie Brown and Marge are similar. Even though being a flight attendant is Jackie's job which is very feminine, she also has dealings with Ordell and smuggles his money into the States. Being able to associate with Ordell would mean that she is very strong and doesn't get pushed around. It's these qualities that Marge shares with her. Although Marge is obviously more polite when contradicting her fellow officers, she does make it clear to them when they are wrong and she states her own thoughts on the matter. Also, while Marge is not only female, she's also about 7 months pregnant at the time of the murders, but she is still able to be taken very seriously and even takes down the wood-chipper guy. She solves the entire case and even tries to understand what would lead a man to murder.

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