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Stereotypes In The Film Fargo

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Fargo’s success as a film is largely due to its play on stereotypes; specifically, those associated with the film noir, documentary, and comedy genres.
Film noir, literally meaning ‘black film’, refers to 1940s style detective thriller films that are typically dark in both themes and visual style (Luhr 2004, pp. 93). Although Fargo explores gruesome crimes inspired by the “grim theme of desperation”, the film’s visual palette is oppressively white, both in terms of its bleak snow-covered landscape and its predominantly White-Christian, suburban Upper Midwestern setting (Luhr 2004, pp. 93). Moreover, Fargo challenges film noir conventions in its revelation of the crime’s culprits at the very beginning of a linear and straightforward plot (Bordwell …show more content…

Upon watching the film, however, the characters do not appear contrived or exaggerated. Instead, they are highly engaging, coming across as both genuine and relatable. Thus, there is a binary opposition between the “melodrama” of the film’s storyline and the integrity of its characters. In this way, All About My Mother successfully encourages the audience to reconsider the boundaries of genre, and prompts them to question why they conceptualise the film as a melodrama in the first place (Allinson 2009).
Upon reflection, the film’s plot is not actually that far-fetched: numerous members of society share the experiences of being female, transgender, same-gender attracted, and/or HIV positive. A significant proportion of people have also been sex-workers, grieving parents, organ donors, drug addicts, or patients with Alzheimer’s. The only difference is that the aforementioned social groups have been misrepresented or entirely underrepresented in the media (especially during 1999 in Catholic Spain) (Allinson 2009). Consequently, Almodovar’s story is sometimes interpreted to be “unrealistic” because it “brings characters from the fringes of society to centre stage”. (Bruining …show more content…

Firstly, the film’s lack of dialogue is a profound metaphor for Indigenous Australians’ “wasted voices”: since White settlement, Aboriginal Australians have been systematically abused, exploited, and silenced (Collins-Gearing 2010, para. 2).
With the film’s lack of dialogue, Thornton successfully communicates the frustration and pain of Indigenous Australians. The scene of Delilah’s kidnapping is especially shocking: when White men attack and rape her, Delilah is unable to speak or call out for help. Consequently, Samson walks away, unaware of the violence occurring only a few metres behind him. This division of information makes the scene terribly upsetting and frustrating to watch, and ultimately enables non-Indigenous audiences to better understand the pain their Indigenous counterparts feel when White Australians continuously silence their voices and ignore their abuse.
In contrast, the music in Samson & Delilah is often enchanting and uplifting. Diegetic and non-diegetic music is blurred, and songs from diverse cultural backgrounds are played together (for example, a Latin ballad is played alongside house music). Thus, the film poignantly reveals the conflict between Samson and Delilah’s personalities, and illustrates how Australia has become a melting-pot of cultures (Davis

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