Final Blog: American Culture and the Coen Brothers

In each of the Coen brothers' films I watched ("Fargo," "Raising Arizona," "No Country For Old Men," and "O Brother, Where Art Thou?") a different steriotype of American culture is distinctly portrayed, both by the characters and miscellaneous peices of the story. Each film seems to embrace the lifestyles of different regions of the country, and make a point of portraying all their differences, even if that means exaggerating.
Minnesotans in particular relate to "Fargo," as it takes place mostly in Brainerd and the Twin Cities area. Every actor speaks with a distinctly minnesotan accent, (locals think they go to far), and it takes place in the season we're most famous for: winter. The leading female character, police officer Marge Gunderson, leads a quiet life in Brainerd with her husband, fitting for the cold, vast northern Minnesota landscape. The Coens even go over the top with the character names, including "Wade Gustafson" and "Jerry Lundegaard."
"Raising Arizona" is comedically representative of the southwest, starring Nicolas Cage as a southern hick who robs convenience stores for a living. He and his police officer wife have rediculous southern accents and mannerisms and live in a small home in the middle of nowhere. "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" is another comedy set in the south, but in Mississippi. Again, the characters have obvious accents and, steriotypically, aren't too bright. Even the soundtrack adds to the southern feel with all bluegrass and folk music. With "No Country For Old Men," the Coens mostly abandoned humor, instead representing the dismal side of the southwest. It is a violent story that shows the impact of drug smuggling, and greed in general, on America. Set in Texas, the characters again adopt accents, and the antagonist lives with his wife in a trailer.
The Coens' exaggerations of American culture is close to being too steriotypical, but establish settings and characters very well. Not only that, but they're often good for a laugh, even if that means laughing at ourselves.