Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Hello, this is the management.  For your first post, I am going to ask you to consider how mise-en-scène is used to create meaning in the Cohn Brothers 1996 film Fargo.  Choose an element of Fargo's mise-en-scène (costuming, setting, staging, color, or any other elements that Phillips discusses in Chapter 1 of our textbook) and discuss how it contributes to the meaning of the film as a whole.  What is the film's message (or what is a message in the film) and how does mise-en-scène convey this idea?  Please respond by using the comment button to reply to this post.

Brendan.

27 comments:

  1. Element:costumes

    The costumes in the movie Fargo are rather different than what you normally see in movies. There aren't flashy clothes or expensive wardrobe materials. Rather, the Cohen brothers use a oversize wardrobe.

    The oversize wardrobe contributes to making the movie unique and out of the ordinary especially by being from Minnesota. Every character, good or bad, including Marge wears oversize clothing. This contributes to Minnesota as a whole and relates back to the goofy plot about someone who wants his wife kidnapped. Combine the costumes, plot, and setting with Minnesota and people's perception are that Minnesota is a goofy state and this would only happen in Minnesota. Furthermore, the costumes contribute to the overall message of the film about everything being so out of the ordinary. For example, the baggy jackets relate to everything being different than other states. Most people don't order to have their wives kidnapped. Most husbands aren't painters whom there wives work for the police. And most people don't put people in a wood chipper.

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  2. COSTUMES

    In the film Fargo, costumes play an important role in illustrating who the characters are. This creates a sense of place and underlying meaning of the film. When you observe the costumes, it creates a sense of whom the characters are which allows you to connect with their personality and understand their motives. The motives and characteristics of the characters create the meaning behind the film.

    The costumes that Marge wears, such as the maternity clothes and police uniform, portrays her as a mother as well as a police officer. When one thinks of a mother, they think of someone who is caring. Marge reflects that with her politeness. When you think of a police officer, you think of someone looking for truth and justice. Marge also demonstrates that through the film by continuing to investigate the crime to the end and find truth.

    The costumes that the characters Carl, Gaear, Jerry, and Wade wear illustrate their wealth and morality. Carl and Gaear wear darker, dirtier, more worn clothes than either Jerry or Wade. These gives the sense that Carl and Gaear are not as wealthy as Jerry or wade and partake in darker actions such as capturing Jerry's wife, shooting Wade, and murdering three others. Jerry wears plain, clean clothes, which show that he is wealthier than Carl and Geaer. This also reflects Jerry's plain and dull personality and is not as morally guilty by indirectly partaking in capturing his wife. Wade wears brighter and more luxurious clothes, which illustrates that he is wealthier then either three. Even though wade isn't the nicest guy ever, he still doesn't take as immoral actions as the other three.

    All of these aspects of the costumes portraying the sense of the characters qualities allows the audience to feel a sense of Minnesota and portrays the meaning and motives of the film's characters. The messages of the film that the costumes reveal are that people in Minnesota are simple and kind (Marge) and that there is diversity among financial status and morality (Carl, Geaer, Jerry, and Wade).

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  3. I am going to focus on the setting for the movie. Based in Minnesota the film is of course set in winter. Minnesota is known for the cold and snowy winters. I think that the film plays off that often throughout. From the opening scene where it is snowing so much you can barely see down a country road. This fits into costume some too but you can feel the cold when the big jackets everyone is wearing are shown.

    My favorite scene to talk about setting is when Steve Buscemi is at the airport stealing the license plate. The top of the parking ramp has three feet of snow covering it. As if they never plow snow or clear the parking lot. It all plays into the winter wonderland effect that the film portrays.

    The setting goes with the plot too when you think about it. The plot is in a way dark and sad. The setting is depressing at times and in my mind mirrors the plot. Now how the weather has been the last few weeks around here the film is accurate, but really Minnesota winters don’t look like the film settings all the time.

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  4. Setting:

    I think the Coen brothers did an interesting job of intertwining the ordinary with the extraordinary. North Dakota and Minnesota aren't necessarily cities that come to people's minds right away, much less when dealing with dangerous criminals and kidnappings.
    For Jerry Lundegarden, I think the setting comments on how trapped he is, both physically and emotionally, in his ordinary life. After talking with his father-in-law, the symmetry of the parking lot along with the stuffiness of his car makes the viewer empathize with his confined outburst in the following scene. The streetlights seem to almost fence his car, and the snowed-over parking lot does not seem to offer much of an escape. It also foreshadows how impossible mending the situation to come will be.
    Towards the end of the movie, the cabin scene really displays the extraordinary within the ordinary. The cabin is bland, with an old T.V. that barely works, simple wood paneling and few pieces of furniture. When Gaear kills his partner, he attempts to cover it up with something so simple as an old wood-chipper. It seems strange that a wood-chipper has the ability to create that much discomfort for the viewer. Even during the scene where Marge catches Gaear is eerily simple. He is on a frozen over lake, and the background is mostly white and does not contain very much detail. I think that the simplicity of the setting creates a stronger sense of eeriness and surpise, rather than being shot somewhere polished like an urban setting.

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  5. The scene I will focus on is when Carl shoots Wade on top of the parking ramp. The scene starts with Wade's car pulling onto the roof. As both characters step out of their vehicles the first thing I notice is that the costumes of their characters match their vehicles. Carl is wearing a lot of brown that matches the brown of his vehicle and Wade is wearing a heavy green jacket that matches the dark shade of his vehicle. This clearly and quickly lays out the two sides without the audience even realizing it. The brown and green are dark earth tones that are littered all over the movie that convey a very bland and innocent feeling despite the extreme situation.

    The film plays on the conventions of black representing evil and white representing good. And in this scene the convention is flipped again as Carl stands under the bright light of the parking ramp with his vehicle and Wade's vehicle is hidden in the shadows. Although Wade is trying to get back his daughter, he is the stern and intimidating figure in the shadows. And Carl is the kidnapper but he is the scared figure in the light.

    The look on Carl's face as he initially gets out of the car conveys everything the audience needs to know about the situation before Carl even says anything. From one shot of his face the audience knows he clearly has no idea who this guy is and is extremely unstable about the situation.

    The camera movements are very interesting in this scene. Wade has the same emotion throughout the scene and so the camera maintains the same shot on him, a close up that shows him from the waist up. The camera on Carl however, starts further away and gradually goes into a close up as Carl gets more upset. This is an extremely effective way to show that Carl is getting that feeling that the walls are closing in and is starting to panic.

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  6. The Cohn brothers do an impressive job representing Minnesota through their use of color and setting in their movie, Fargo. The entire movie is filled with very dull colors. The lack of vibrance creates this dull, isolated, and desolate mood. The only noticeable color truly to note in the film is the use of red. This color contrasts against the whites, grays, and earth tones of brown. In the parking lot after Jerry's business proposition has been turned down, the entire parking lot is empty and white. The parking lot is covered with snow and while Jerry sits in his car, his breath is visible because the weather is so frigid. This represents what Minnesota is known for. People know Minnesota as a cold, snowy state which is emphasized through the weather in this movie. The colors also help to contribute to the meaning of the film because the lack of colors parallel the emotions of the characters. The white abyss signifies this desolation and almost sadness that parallels with how Jerry's character feels. He is so alone, desperate, and has isolated himself from his family just like the isolation of the snow suggests. Also, the red helps to contribute to the meaning of the film because whenever red is shown it is usually either a warning or showing this sense of struggle and danger. Red is generally shown with police lights or blood. This blood signifies struggle and danger that this plot is going array. The colors and weather parallel the plot and contribute to the overall meaning of the film because they both evoke the same emotions.

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  7. The Cohen Brothers really hit hard the convention that money does not bring happiness to a person. This idea is conveyed and brought to light by the bleak setting used behind the selfish characters and the juxtaposition between those settings with the brighter ones of the self-less characters.
    All throughout the movie, the screen is either a desolate white, a dull brown or grey, or a desolate black when the focus is that of the antagonists. William Macy first meets Steve Buscemi and his accomplice in a bar to make an arrangement which is criminal. The car that Macy brought to bargain with was dredged through an endless white snowstorm, only to be brought to a lone dark bar in the middle of nowhere, only to sit and deal in a ploy to make more money. All scenes involving the mention of money or the selfish acts behind a characters desire for money were conveyed with bleak and morbid backgrounds.
    Conversely, comprising the few scenes involving Frances McDormand and her relationship with her husband or her work as the sheriff, the colors were more bright and the setting less desolate. This idea that she has found happiness in both her personal life and her work were shown in the change in mood based on the setting. Even when she was examining the three dead bodies that Buscemi and Stormare left on the side of the highway, the snow was still white and endless but you were actually able to see a wider assortment of colors found in the cars near her. She may not have the most luxurious life, but the colors involved in her scenes are brighter and more involved than that of Macy or Buscemi.
    Overall, the mood conveyed by the setting in the movie shows that an obsession with money is dark and less rewarding than finding happiness in the life you are simply living.

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  8. The setting in Fargo truly exemplifies "mise-en-scene". By having the outdoors scenes take place in a setting covered by snow, the Cohen Brothers are able to create a feeling of what the Minnesota area and characters are like and also create a greater contrast to the plot and characters. The large amount of snow indicates the coldness of Minnesotan winters, following the well established stereotype about the area. It also creates a feeling of desperation which reflects upon the characters in the film like Jerry, a man who is so desperate for money he is willing to hire someone to kidnap his wife for ransom.

    The snow also establishes a blank canvas so that the characters stand out in contrast. This can be seen with the scene where Marge investigates the first murders on the side of the road. Amidst all the white snow Marge becomes a focal point with her brown coat. The Cohen Brothers utilize this contrast to further focus the audience's attention to the characters and their various traits.

    The snow also contrasts with all of the violence and the actual plot lines. The continuous blanket of white allows the red to stand out increasing the danger or violence in the scene. Any of the various murders seen in Fargo have the drama increase just because of how much the blood stands out against the white snow. Snow can either be interpreted as something dull, covering everything with a blanket of white, or as something pure and simple, the untouched snow much like the seemingly simple characters of Brainerd and Minnesota. Both views are stark contrast to the violent and gruesome actions that actually occur in these snow covered scenes.

    Altogether, the Cohen Brothers utilize the snow covered scenery in order to create an understanding of the characters and their state of mind along with their setting of Minnesota. The snow also establishes a contrast to the dark acts that the characters carry out and discuss. The "mise-en-scene" within Fargo illustrates the message that even though things may seem dull and simple in life, they actually may be very dark and complicated.

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  9. In Fargo, "mise-en-scene" was used well in the setting and basic props to portray a message. The use of the barren, white landscape really accentuated the fact that the main characters, mainly Jerry, were all alone. Jerry seemed to have no chance in getting out of his mess, and it matched quite well with the scenery. The opening sequence is a perfect example of just how empty the setting was. The first shot is of a completely white screen, and it takes quite a while until the audience can decipher what is actually happening with Jerry towing the Sierra. This empty screen gives off an ominous vibe, which is interesting because white is usually used to show happiness or purity. However in this film, the immense whiteness becomes a reoccurring theme in that whenever there is a barren white landscape, it usually means something bad is going to happen or just happened.

    Also, the use of the basic, middle-class sedans showed how down-to-earth the people of the story really were. The characters made a basic tan Sierra seem like a luxury vehicle, which really showed where they were as far as economic class.

    One thing purveyed in this film through mise-en-cine was the down-to-earth, middle-class lifestyle of Minnesotans, or at least a majority of them. Though stereotypical, the intended message was pretty clear.

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  10. I am going to focus on the aspect of color. I think color was very important in conveying the mood, and also the sitting of this movie. The colors were earth tones such as browns and greens, with white consisting of most of the color. Red was also used to stand out drastically against everything else and to portray the aspect of sudden violence in this film.
    The earth tones were used to portray the simplicity of the culture and setting this film was supposed to take place in. The simplicity of middle-class Minnesota and North Dakota were shown through the basic colors. It almost conveyed a sense of boredom and over-simplicity.
    The white was used very frequently. It was consistent with most people's view of the upper midwest as snowy and bleak, but it had a bigger influence in setting the mood of this film. It portrayed the isolation, desperateness, and emptiness of Jerry's life situation in this film. He was so desperate that he had to have his own wife kidnapped, and then the white conveyed his sense of loneliness and isolation because he had to shoulder that burden all by himself. It had the same function for most of the characters in this movie. There were few warm moments in this film.
    Red was also used to set the violent tone of Fargo. Blood in the snow was a common sight.The sight of red in the perfect white snow is a very stark distinction. This showed how out of place all this violence is to the communities it took place in.

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  11. In the film "Fargo", the Coen brothers often use composition, an aspect of "mise-en-scène", to convey several themes throughout the film.
    First, the opening shot of a completely white screen leaves us in "limbo" - the audience remains unsure of what is going on. As the time progresses and more elements appear, such as the headlights of the car and the telephone poles that create a sense of depth, the audience is able to infer that the car is driving through a hilly area through snow. Later in the shot, the Coen brothers depict the car driving off into the vanishing point to convey the sense of unknown or a journey.
    The concept of empty space was used frequently as well: once, when Jerry came home to find Jean had already been kidnapped to show disorder; and again when Jerry was in the parking lot of Wade's office walking to his car, to convey isolation and emptiness. This theme reoccurs throughout the film intertwining with the feel of desperation to give a complex, hopeless emotion.
    One of the outstanding uses of composition also took place in the beginning of the film where Jerry meets with Carl and Gaear to settle the deal. Throughout the scene, Jerry remains standing while Carl and Gaear are comfortably seated. During the conversation, the Coen brothers shot Carl's lines with Jerry obscuring the left half of the screen and Carl and Gaear in the background. This difference in posture and in placement of the characters onscreen shows the distinct difference in character and role between Jerry and the two criminals. Additionally, in-between the characters on the table lie several empty beer bottles that Carl and Gaear have finished while waiting for Jerry. As mentioned in class, empty beer bottles are also sometimes called "fallen soldiers". Here, the use of composition and hidden meaning here foreshadow the the rest of the story and the fallout of this deal between Jerry, Carl, and Gaear.

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  12. Throughout the movie, the Coen brothers’ use of color is extremely effective at conveying the themes of isolation and desperation. The majority of the movie has a very similar color scheme of dull whites, grays, browns, and greens. While this is useful for creating the setting of Minnesota during the winter, it also reflects Jerry’s state of mind and emotions. The dull whites and grays of the Minnesota landscape is directly correlated with the isolation that Jerry feels. He feels as if there is no one that can help him and nothing he can do to rectify his situation. The other interesting aspect of color in the movie is the use of red. In comparison to the dullness of the whites, grays, etc, red is extremely bold and often is associated with danger, blood, and death which lends to the idea that when it is present, extremely significant events are occurring. One such scene occurs when Buscemi and Stormare are driving away, they get pulled over by a police car. This is shown by the sirens and the mass of red light that floods the car from behind. He then shoots the police man, and consequently the white snow is splattered with red. This is the first murder committed, setting up further violence and desperation in the movie. As a whole, the Coen brothers’ use of color not only create an extremely convincing setting but also aids in the development of the major themes of the film.

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  13. Color:
    Only a few colors stand out during the viewing of Fargo: white, brown, and red. The use of color gives the audience a new level of understanding when it comes to the emotions conveyed throughout the story. White overwhelms the backdrops of many scenes, and allows important features to stand out. In the opening scene, a car emerges from the blank, white canvas. White often represents innocence, isolation, and despair, so the car could foreshadow Jerry’s loss of innocence, and his attempt to break through his isolation and despair. Brown is seen most often on the costumes of the character and the wood covering a majority of the settings. The color conveys a sense of normality and dullness, telling the viewers where each character is in their life. The color brown may also be how the characters attempt to blend into the threatening, white background. This is where the color red stands out the most: against the white. Red is a color of warning and danger. Jerry’s father-in-law is often wearing subtle tones of red to show that he is a threat to Jerry. The reoccurring image of Paul Bunyan (wearing red flannel) appears menacing as if to warn the characters of the inevitable danger. These three reoccurring colors give the viewers a better understanding of the despair, loss of innocence, and tragedy apparent in the film.

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  14. Throughout the film Fargo, the setting and the costumes help portray many different characters and aspects of the film. The beginning scene where it is so snowy that you cannot see anything is the shot that best portrays what is to come in the following scenes. The viewer gets the sense that everything around is bland and ordinary compared to other places. This scene also helps portray the mood of the film, which is very somber and ominous.
    Going along with the setting, the way the Coen brothers use color in landscape as well as the objects in the scenes and the costumes portray a specific type of culture. Although Minnesota and North Dakota are not depicted truly for what they are, the use of color gives them a common and quite boring lifestyle that the viewer does not necessarily expect with the kind of plot this film has. There are only a few objects that have a color other than the earth tones like whites, browns, grays, and blacks, which make them stand out to the viewer.
    In my opinion, the message of this film is that no matter how bland and uninteresting a place may seem at first, there could be an underlying aspect to it that you have to dig deeper to find.
    Another thing I noticed in the scene with the beer bottles that I thought was interesting was the number of beer bottles matched the number of people who were killed during the movie. This is another example of mise-en-scene because it foreshadowed how many deaths are going to occur.

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  15. Throughout the film, the Coen brothers established "mis-en-scene" beautifully through the usage of setting and stereotypes. They understood that the majority of viewers of this movie would have little idea of what Minnesota is like, and they incorporated every stereotype possible to create the movie.

    From the beginning of the movie, they made it clear that Minnesota is white-there's little to look at. They made scenes with very few people in each one, creating a feeling that it is almost like an arctic desert. It made you think that nothing is going on.

    With stereotypes, they made sure that the actors were overly Minnesotan. They brought in a very heavy version of the Minnesota accent, and were able to create the "Minnesota nice" attribute (other than the killers).

    Another thing that I found interesting was how the background played a subtle, but noticeable part in the movie. For example, whenever a television was on, it almost seemed as if it were showing the character's inner thoughts.

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  16. The element of Fargo's mise-en-scène that stood out to me is the costumes. The Coen brothers used the costumes to show the feelings of the characters in the film which turn out to be the overall meaning of the film. Contrasting the two main characters, we can see the difference in the mindset of each one.
    Jerry would often be in different costumes and colors. He was the one most often in the film in a change of clothing. He would be at work with a different shirt and tie color in every scene which could be to convey is discontentment with his life. Even though Jerry had everything in his life, he still always wanted more. He had enough money for a two story house, a nice car, and a wife that loves him. Not to mention a father in law that would help out if something was needed. Even with all of this physical stuff, he didn’t feel satisfied. This turns out to be the complete opposite for Marge.
    Marge, for a large part in the movie, is in the same coat and hat. The one of the only times she is in a change of a clothes is in the dinner scene. The dinner scene shows a development in her character because she starts to question the validity of people. After the scene she goes back to Jerry and he flops. For the rest of the movie, she is in her puffy coat and hat. This shows her contentment in life. She doesn’t care much for change and she likes how things are. She needs a jumper cable to get her car started, her average husband didn’t win the 29 cent stamp, and she lives in a small apartment. The physical possessions in her life are enough to her.
    The money turns out to be the negative motivator in this movie. I thought how Marge lived her life and the things she valued were the themes to take away from the movie.

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  17. I think the setting of the film helps portray several different aspects of the film. With the snowy outdoor settings, it helps show how isolated Jerry is from everyone else and helps show how desperate he was for money. And indeed every time there is a scene outside, the only things visible besides the snow are the cars, bodies and blood that contrast quite a bit against the white of the snow. However this white bleakness contrasts with almost every indoor setting that is brown. Jerry's house is painted almost entirely brown on the inside, the sheriff's house in brown, or wood like, and every bar in the film is brown. While it is different to the outside of the film, it does the opposite thing. Since most of the characters are wearing brown shaded clothing, that sort of camouflages each character with their surrounding environment, perhaps a sort of message as to how humans hide behind the walls of their homes.
    One of the things I found very interesting is the portrayal of Marge. When she first comes up on the triple homicide, she is acting very much like it is just another day. SHe seems very unbothered by the entire thing. And nothing ever seems to bother her until she arrests the only surviving member of the kidnapping. Thats when it almost seems like she could break down to tears. And I don't know if it is relevant at all, other than it may be critique on the emotional state of northern Minnesotans.

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  18. An element of mise-en-scène that I thought helped contribute to the meaning of Fargo was the use of color. The movie begins with a blank white screen and then changes to show phone lines and approaching car headlights, giving the picture depth. There are no bright colors in this scene, mostly just white from the snow and sky and a few dark, dull colors. When Jerry enters the bar at the beginning of the movie, I noticed all the dull colors again. The flannel shirts the old men were wearing were brown earth tones, the walls were dark wood, and the lightening was dimed. As the movie went on I realized that the only bright colors were the police car lights and red (Marge’s sweater and blood). Since these were the only vibrant colors throughout the whole movie, I think it really contributed to the meaning of the film.
    The message I got out of this mise-en-scène element of coloring was that Marge was a smart and kind character and she was the only one that was shown wearing bright colors. At the end of the movie Marge says that she just didn’t understand how people can get so caught up and obsessed with money that they go around killing people. I also think that the red blood signifies danger.

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  19. In Fargo, many of the character's costumes subliminally hint at how they fit into the film and what kind of personality they have. In the opening bar scene, Jerry is instantly recognized as being out of place. The bar contains a lot of dark brown colors, and the people are wearing similar clothes. Jerry's light brown coat clashes with this environment. This hints that Jerry does not belong here.
    In one of Jean's scenes, she is wearing a knitted sweater, while she is knitting a sweater. From this, you can infer that the Cohn brothers are trying portray Jean as a typical stay at home mom that just does housework.
    Jerry and Jean's house is a mix of light browns and whites, which matches what Jerry usually wears throughout the rest of the film. This confers that Jerry belongs in a middle-class suburban lifestyle and home. However, when Wade is visiting, he is wearing a grey suite. This shows how out of place Wade is; he is a rich business man, not an average middle class working man.

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  20. From the very beginning of the film, the Cohen brothers use Mise en Scène to further their ideas in the movie Fargo. The opening credits are very simple: plain black text on a white background. Slowly, as the credits progress, the white background begins to reveal telephone poles, a hint of grey road, and in the very back, a subtle silhouette of a car. The silhouette gets closer and the headlights get more prominent. Before long, the car takes center stage before quickly passing through, leaving an essentially white background for the final part of the credits: the title. This opening begins to reveal one of the main ideas of the film—that not everything is as it appears to be on the outside. The barren, empty, nondescript setting of this film sets off the concept of loss.

    The themes of loss and looking beneath the surface are further exemplified in the scene when Jerry returns home from his meeting with Wade. He returns with groceries, in the same way he did in the beginning. The repetition of this shot leads to the idea that this is a regular occurrence. However, each time this shot is used in the film, there's something else going on besides Jerry returning home with the groceries. The first time, he just returned from planning his wife's kidnapping, the second time he returned home, his wife was kidnapped. The kidnapping is revealed through the depiction of empty space. Empty space is used to signify loss, in many cases. Jerry returns home to see the shower curtain gone, the television area bare, except for shattered glass. The television itself helps further the theme of loss—it's not showing a picture. The static on the tv helps contribute to the feeling of loss as well as the concept of looking beneath the surface—it's chaotic and must be static because one of the kidnappers (who was hired by the husband of the kidnapped woman) disrupted the signal.

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  21. I believe the Coen Brothers used the setting of Minnesota as a cold and desolate location as a major role for the film. They shot great scenes by illustrating Minnesota as a snow covered land which never sees the light of day as well as the cold frigid temperatures which Minnesota experiences. I have to laugh at the scene when one of the cops pulls up to the old guy shoveling his driveway to tell the cop about what Steve Buscemi's character said in the bar. In that scene, the cop bundles up as much as he can to illustrate that the temperature is unbearable on the skin but there is water running down the side of the street which tells us that it is above freezing and from a Minnesota resident looking at it, is not cold at all.

    A couple of the scenes that were shot from different parking lots or parking ramps gave the impression that a minimal amount of people live in the area. I say this since the lots were not plowed after a recent snow fall and the only tracks that were in the scenes were from the vehicles of that scene. This imaging plays back on how desolate Minnesota is made in the movie.

    There are many other scenes which the film was shot that really make the setting stand out for the movie. I think the Coen Brothers did an outstanding job with this and that it played a very important role in the film.

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  22. I think one of the major contributors to the feel of the film was its use of setting. Having set the film in the great Midwest, the Coen brothers go about showcasing the emptiness of the land. The best example of this is the opening credits, and any and all shots on the road. These open expanses of white expanding indefinitely from either side of the road point out to the audience just how epic the amounts of land are. Then there is a sliver of road parting them, and along that sliver a car slowly driving through the snow. This setting leads the audience to feel just how dangerous and scary it is to be in such an empty environment with murders on the loose. But than at the same time, it also hints the audience into the fact that these characters lead very mundane lives. To think that a setting is so bland and colorless(white) that it can blend into a dissolve with the sky perfectly is very telling. The settings are left boring, spacious, and spartan so that the audience assumes the characters are the same way. Only to be surprised to find out that they're ranks include; murders, conniving husbands, brilliant police officers, and skilled painters.

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  23. The colors in Fargo contribute to the staging of the film. I was most captured by the use of red in Fargo. Red is such an attention grabbing color, and it is even more powerful when set against the plain browns and whites that were prevalent in the film. There were many major sections of the plot that used red as a symbol. Blood. The blood in the backdrop of snow was so vivid. Red was also used in the police lights. To me, it seemed as if red was symbolic of the difference between Minnesota and the outside world, or even the outsiders (the two criminals). Minnesota was represented by the plain white snow, and the brown clothes they wore. The red was out of place, the red was the uncommon blood shed. It was the uncommon use of police lights in such a small community. The ice scraper used to mark the case of cash in the middle of a white snow field was red. It is the red that doesn't belong, so it is Noticeable. Just as bloodshed and police action in Brainerd, Minnesota is Noticeable.

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  24. The Coen brothers use the mise-en-scène element of color to contribute to the meaning of the film Fargo. The movie begins with what you think is a completely white space, but suddenly shapes start to form in the bleakness and you see objects, such as a car, telephone pole, and a road. This white background is used throughout the film, and definitely sets the characters apart from their setting while shown outside. Of course the film is set primarily in Minnesota, which I feel like most people think is just like what the Coen brothers make it appear (at least during the winter), as a cold, white, snow-covered state. This sort of bland color scheme throughout the film helps represent the equally bland lives that these Minnesotans are living, in their quiet home and car dealership, where it seems relatively little excitement takes place. That is one thing that makes this story so unbelievable and interesting to watch. In such a place as this, something so exciting and horrible is taking place.

    There is also the use of red, primarily for blood. This red color, usually seen with the white snowy background, sticks out so much from the ordinary, dull colors seen throughout the film. The first blood shown, when the Gaear shoots the police officer, is really the turning point in the film. This fake kidnapping should have been quite a simple thing to do, but once blood is shed, the story turns much darker and more complicated for all characters involved. The other red shown in the movie is from the police lights. Police play a big part in the movie as well, as they are investigating the crimes committed by Gaear and Carl and how they are intertwined with Jerry’s plan.

    Another color found throughout the film is brown. The bar in Fargo, North Dakota, where Carl, Gaear, and Jerry meet to finalize the details of the kidnapping, comprises mostly of shades of brown. This again shows the kind of boring, ordinary lives these people live. The car driven by Carl and Gaear is also tan, and is a focal point of the movie. The police are continuously looking for the tan Sierra that they know is the vehicle driven by the criminals they are chasing. Tan is such a common color that it makes finding this vehicle even more difficult, especially next to the white, snowy backdrop.

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  25. The Coen Brother's control of color is very advanced in their 1996 crime film Fargo. As touched upon in class, the three most common dominant colors in the film were white, black, and red. For the most part, it was white and black. Starting with white, this color, generally the symbol of good in a standard dichotomy, was used more to show off the bleak and empty canvass of snow that Fargo took place in. This was used masterfully in the film's opening to blend the opening credit titles with the entrance of Jerry Lundegaard, the film's primary character. This white sheet of both snow and title background set up from the beginning a feeling of not knowing what's to come. In contrast to the white was naturally the black. This was used a lot more simply, with Geaer being dressed in darker clothing, the more malicious characters being in darker rooms, and the such. My favorite color of the film was the red. This mostly came from the blood. The bleakness of the white and the despair and ominousness of the black is starkly contracted by very real and vivid reds. The first time Steve Buscemi's Carl Showalter realizes how twisted and psychotic his partner truly is, is when he caps a police officer, spraying a bright red pattern across Buscemi's face. One of my favorite shots of the film was when two young adults from Brainerd drive past the scene of the officer's murder and they're simply terrified, but Buscemi is also, the headlights making his bloodied face even more prominent. The red shows up later as a ice scraper that Buscemi uses to mark the location of a stashed brief case containing $960,000. For me, I suppose that the red represented large plot points. The bloodied kidnappers led to the introduction of Marge Gunderson, arguably the film's protagonist.

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  26. The element that I have chosen to talk about is the setting. I believe the setting was crucial to conveying the movie's message. Within the setting I think the most important aspect would be the season. The vastness and emptiness of winter completely set the mood of the whole movie. Also, so many other elements of the movie are built on the season, like the clothing for example. And the fact that it was set in winter further played on the stereotypes of Minnesota, which is another crucial aspect of the movie. When people think of Minnesota they immediately think of winter, extreme cold, accents, classic suburban household and family. The whole movie consisted of Minnesotan stereotypes that added to the plot, a typical family in a typical place with very not typical things happening to them. It’s almost saying, yeah we look boring but little do you know. Had the movie been filmed in any other season, the message would not have been conveyed, the audience wouldn’t have understood. It would have jus been another kidnapping-murder movie.

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  27. For the discussion of Fargo’s mise-en-scène I will focus on the use of colors in the landscapes and costumes.

    First and foremost, the Coen Brothers emphasize this sense of vast whiteness through landscape shots and scenes of white snow. These shots provide the viewer with a sense of emptiness and openness. Thus, these shots may also evoke some feelings of misunderstanding or fear. The white serves as a great backdrop to contrast other colors, such as the red blood or tan/earthy colored jackets. In contrast, darkness is utilized for scenes that are “dark” in nature. Gaear and Carl take kill their first two people in the dead of night in the middle of nowhere. With the lights shining on the auto accident and eventual murder victim, we see a contrast of dark night sky, white fluffy snow, and dark red jacket and blood.

    The light tan/earthy colors are also utilized throughout the film. We often see these colors being worn by authoritative figures, such as Jerry and Marge (plus other police officers). These colors are consistently shown through the costumes of the characters, but also show up in the cars they drive and the rooms they frequent. The colors also provide a sense of warmth in contrast to the cold, desolate snowy landscape around the characters. This warmth can sometimes be emphasized through the “Minnesota Nice” behavior associated with Marge and Norm. In contrast, Gaear and Carl wear dark-earthy tones throughout the movie. This tactic helps emphasize how horrible their deeds and behaviors are.

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