Narrative Design of Fargo free essay sample

The 1996 film, Fargo was directed and written by Joel and Ethan Coen. Unlike many films, Fargo was not filmed in a linear pattern; instead, Fargo was filmed in an episodic pattern with three sets of characters that gradually flow into one linear path. Fargo also has an unusual set of characters, with the true roles of the protagonist and antagonist being shown and understood towards the middle of the film. The film was set in 1987 and took place mainly in Brainerd, Minnesota. The film focuses on the characters and the details of the plot, rather than the subject and story itself, to allow the audience to perceive the film as a case investigation using an omniscient narration with the camera. The first part of film focuses a lot on the characters and how they relate to one another by case and effect. There are three main characters in the film are: Jerry Lundegaard, Carl Showalter, and Marge Gunderson. We will write a custom essay sample on Narrative Design of Fargo or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Jerry Lundegaard, a car salesmen who is in desperate need of money, he arranges to have his wife kidnapped to get money from his wealthy father-in-law. Carl Showalter and his partner Gaear Grimsrud are the hired kidnappers that gets into trouble and causes three homicides of a police, and two passersby. The murders results to a local police, Marge Gunderson to trace and investigate the event. Other than the three round characters, the film also contains a few flat characters like the two girls at the bar who slept with Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud and was later interviewed by Marge. The girls were minor characters, and their characters were given one dimension. Up until this point, the protagonist and the antagonist of the film are still unclear. We see Jerry Lundegaard as the protagonist and Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud as the antagonist. But as Marge starts the investigation and when she tried to question Jerry Lundegaard, the audience starts to see that Marge is the true protagonist, while Jerry Lundegaard serves as the antagonist who was the cause of the three homicides, the missing car, and his wifes kidnapping. The second part of the film, after Marge interviews the two girls at the bar. The films episodic pattern starts to follow a linear path. After the interview, Marge was able to track down the car Carl Showalter and Gaear  Grimsrud were driving to Jerrys car dealership, where she questions him about the missing car. Jerry Lundegaard denies the missing car at first, but then flees out and tries to escape when Marge convinces Jerry to do an inventory check. This causes Marge to call the police to arrest Jerry Lundegaard. Then on the way back to Brainerd, Marge spots the missing car from Jerrys dealership and finds Gaear Grimsrud getting rid of Carl Showalters body, and arrests him. The film has a first person narration with both an omniscient and restricted view. Through first person narration, we only see and know what the character informs us; therefore allowing the audience to feel like Marge under a case investigation, getting only the information provided by the character and suspect. So far the plot of the film has allowed the audience to understand the basic organization and events of the film. In the beginning, the audience where able to see Jerry Lundegaard asking Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud to kidnap his wife in exchange for money and a car. Then in the rising action, we see Jerry Lundegaards father-in-law finally accepting his proposal of buying a 40-acre land to build a parking lot. Just when the plot seemed to have a positive change, we hit the climax, and we see that Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud has killed three people after kidnapping Jerrys wife, and is asking for more money than the original deal. The n in the falling action, Jerrys father-in-law decides to find Carl Showalter by himself despite what Jerry said of Carl Showalter and Gaear Grimsrud only wanting to deal and speak with him. Jerrys father-in-law meets with Carl and demands him to hand over his daughter first, while Carl demands him to hand him the money first. Upset, Carl shoots Jerrys father-in-law. Jerrys father-in-law shoots back at Carl, which provoked him even more and kills Jerrys father-in-law. In conclusion, Marge arrested Gaear after he killed Carl, and Jerry was found and arrested at a hotel. Though the plot of the film started with Jerry meeting with Carl and Gaear for the first time and ended with the antagonists being arrested and Marge going back home with her husband, the story did not. We see that the storyof the film starting when Jerry Lundegaard first realized that he is in debt and that he is in desperate need for money. The film also allows the audience to perceive their own ending of the films story, for the audience to determine whether or not both Jerry and Gaear are being sent to prison, and whether or not Jerrys wife is alive. Diegetic and non-diegetic elements in the film helps enhance the characters emotions. The sound effects used when gunshots were made by Carl, Gaear, and Wade enhanced the actions made by the character to add a dramatic effect. Background music also plays an important role. The song Big City by Merle Haggard was played when Jerry traveled to Fargo for the first time to meet Carl and Gaear, and the song Lets Find Each Other Tonight was played when Carl and Gaear were escorted by the two girls at the bar (Fargo (film).) The music and titles help perceive the characters feelings and emotions, as well as being about to better describe the situation they are in. The narrative design in the beginning of the film was a bit unusual, with the confusion of the protagonist and antagonist. This twist allows the audience to see a radical change in the characters and to fully understand the characters roles. This way of narrative design also allows the viewers to understand the theme that people are not always what they seem, just as how the character Jerry was not who he seemed to be.