Mike Yamagita (Steve Park)

Where deal is made to kidnap wife to get money from father in law

How many murders are there?
7

Are they horrific? Why or why not?

State trooper (barely see face – no identification with victim
Couple in car (also unknown) Wade (rather stupid – played for small laugh – surprised look not really shock. Carl rants and raves) Man at toll both (barely see him) Jean (not on screen). Kidnapping with funny lines “I need unguent” and her running around in shower curtain Carl (very sudden – and then in wood chopper with foot sticking out) How do they find killers?:
Competent law enforcement work. Even in no where, people are competent and together

Character Analysis

Marge, although holding a job typically held by a man is pregrant suffers from Morning Sickness etc,
She is very supportive
Relations with husband supportive gets night crawlers
He brings her lunch
Eat together (share food)

Carl and Gaear fight about food (where to eat)

Jerry Jean Scotty and Wade

Jerry not interested in wife

Forgets about how this impacts Scotty (Stan Grossman has to ask and Jery says – Gee Scotty)

Wade against son in law

Mike Yamagita: Desparate for family – makes up wife and her death

Carl Park heavily criticized for playing a “negative” Asian in film. Is he negative?

Why Asian? Everyone of all kinds is effected in Middle America

Language use

Repetitive Lots of “Ja”, trivial almost banal dialog. Unexpented use of words “unguent”

Discussion of talk between Carl and Gaear (talk important but not to Gaear)

Talk between people important in real life proper situations

Proper language (don’t use that language Scotty is warned)

“Go bears”

“Kind a funny looking”

On the one hand all are symbols of society and order (p.o. married couple, father in law (successful business man) toll both guy (first one at airport is used for deliberate statement about authority, uniform limitiations of your life not mine

Money - greed

Problem about ransom
Problem about loan
Problems about “finder’s fee”
Problems about $4.00 fee at airport
Lund and “undercoat problem” wants the extra money lies
Married couple upset about being lied to, not money.
Problems about stealing the $1,000,000 over even split of car.

Norman on 3 cent stamp, not larger one. OK with Marge

Photography Framing
Wide open spaces. Isolation in space. People in this area not isolated from one another. Relatioships between people are seen as good.

Shots often from great distance show isolation – car coming to Brainerd with Gaear and Carl

Gaear running on ice when he gets shot

Norman at table, Marge going out (househusband role reversal)

Whiteness – what does it mean: cold “frigid” lacking warmth and personality; cold isolated

Gaear gets whiter and whiter – in long johns, finally very white hair on ice with snow.

Bad things usually happen in snow

High angle shots: lack of control things from on high dominate.
Jerry in parking lot

Information

Why do we hear Scotty when he talks to his father in the last sequences with him?

Music:
Norwegian violin (8 string, oddly tuned by other western violin standards
Accordion (another Norwegian instrument)

Legend

Paul Bunyon and babe the Blue Ox.
Organizes much of American West
Represents working middle class America in film
Sometimes photographed to look gruesome as story progresses but later middle America is back to normal.

Irony

Jerry makes deal
Looks like he won’t need to kidnap Jean after all Tries to call it off
Turns out he is wrong about Wade’s offer
Comes home kidnapping has happened

What is the films political point of view?

Liberal: