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I am writing an essay about the film Fargo. I am analysing three film techniques that show the theme of greed. These techniques are low angle, dialogue and mid shot-one shot. I chose to do these techniques because they capture the idea of greed the best.
“Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” – Erich Fromm. Fargo, a film directed by the Coen Brothers, presents the theme of greed consistently and it is highlighted by the film techniques of Low Angles, Dialogue and mid shot-one shot. This essay will analyse how these film techniques display the idea of greed in Fargo by proving that the greedy characters will forever be unsatisfied with what they have and life is more than having money.
Low Angles are applied on the characters of greed in Fargo, which reveals truth about aspects of their nature. The film Fargo is surrounded by the idea of greed as most of the characters want something they do not have which causes them to make destruction to attempt success. A low angle is used to assert dominance and power, making the subject seem more important as the camera is looking up towards it. This type of camera angle is used numerous times as many of Fargo’s characters have a greedy personality and are shown in this way. They crave money and power, and therefore attempt to assert importance over other characters in the film. Greed tends to eat away at someone and they are forced to do anything possible to achieve their goals. The low angle helps to demonstrate their greed by proving that the characters desire something and will go through everything to acquire it, but in reality they are out of their depth. Fargo is a film with many ideas, Greed is a very evident theme because the characters all want something that they do not have, and therefore make grave mistakes in their attempts to win. While some characters such as Marge and Norm are satisfied with their life, other characters such as Jerry, Gaear and Carl, are all trying to find wealth and ruin their lives while trying to get there. A representation of greed using a low angle in Fargo is shown in the opening scene where Jerry meets Carl and Gaear at the bar. He stands above the men to display authority while orchestrating the deal because he has something they want. The low angle is used in this scene as Jerry believes he is the most important and is trying to intimidate Carl and Gaear. He is a greedy man who wants money and is using crime to try and get it, although he seems to have not been in the situation before he wants to be powerful and brave. The idea of greed in the scene with use of the low angle displays that this was the beginning of a chaotic situation that Jerry creates by wanting what he cannot have. The Coen brothers used low angles in Fargo to support the idea of greed as it is revealing that the characters are not what they seem on the surface. They are selfish and doing everything they can to gain power and money. Greed, a want of something more than what is needed or deserved, Fargo presents that it is an unhealthy idea and low angles are shown to assist the overall intention.
The Coen brothers display the idea of greed by using characters dialogue throughout the film to demonstrate that being greedy does not help in having a fulfilled life. Dialogue helps the viewer to understand the plot and intention of characters, the people of greed in Fargo show how dreadful they are through their dialogue. Many times throughout the film, dialogue is used to show how certain characters such as Carl, Gaear and Jerry are greedy and unkind, as well as how the other characters notice their actions and use dialogue to convey this. This film technique helps to enhance the viewers experience because they can understand what is happening in the film and therefore grasp the true ideas that are being portrayed. Characters full with greed and hatred use dialogue to demonstrate that their intense desire for wealth and power is guiding them through destructive decisions. Although the statements, comments and questions said in Fargo all mean different things, greed is a continuous theme that can be seen in the lines. It is riddled through the dialogue, as a negative obsession of the characters as they hunt to acquire money. A representation of greed shown through dialogue in the film is when Marge finally catches Gaear and discovers the people he killed. In shock, she comments “And for what? For a little bit of money. There’s more to life than a little money, you know.” Marge is in disbelief at the fact that someone could be so greedy that they become a murderer and uses her dialogue to tell Gaear that money isn’t everything. She then carries on to say “Don’t you know that? And here ya are, and it’s a beautiful day. Well, I just don’t understand it.” Marge believes that there are so many more important things than money and she is confused as to why it had to be done, because it is a beautiful day and she wonders why he is not content. Greed is an unfavourable aspect that some people believe in and in this scene Marge shows through her dialogue that it is not necessary in having a happy life. Dialogue is one of the most important film techniques and it supports the idea of greed and the traits of greedy characters through Fargo. This connects to the purpose of the film as it shows that greed will not make you happy in life and the different aspects of characters support this. Fargo is a film that shows many ideas and the uselessness of greed is shown greatly in the ending of the film as there is more to life than having wealth.
The film technique of a mid shot-one shot establishes the isolation of greedy characters in Fargo. The characters in this film that are obsessed with wealth are filled with greed and are therefore alone and secluded from the rest of the characters in the film. The mid shot-one shows this by putting many of the greedy characters in scenes by themselves and it is an expression of who they are. A mid shot-one shot shows a person seen from the waist up, alone in the scene, it can show where someone is as well as giving certain detail to their body. The greed of people can cause them to remove themselves from the world as they have an intense need to gain something they do not have. While characters in the film are shown regularly in a mid shot, the ones filled with greed are constantly shown in one shots as they have no one but themselves. Greed can cause someone to live a private life as they want to obtain something and have it all to themselves, the mid shot-one shot shows this by giving the view that the greedy people can only rely on themselves. The greedy character of jerry, may have believed he was helping others, but lost everything as he tried to retrieve the money he needed. The need to always want something more can tear people away from others and the mid shot-one shot supports the presentation that the characters of greed will always be isolated and abandoned. This can be viewed in the scene where Carl returns to Gaear with the money. He stands alone in a mid shot-one shot as he believes the job is done and he can finally be free to separate from his coworker. He has resorted to killing people and can now detach from the situation as the job is done. Carl angrily tells Gaear he is taking the car and then attempts to leave the cabin and go off alone. Gaear and Carl are both shown alone in mid shot-one shots during this scene as they are no longer teammates and have finished what they arrived to do. Through the use of the mid shot-one shot the Coen brothers have shown that greed can lead to being alone and divided from others. This film technique proves that the greedy characters of Fargo are isolated from others and will never be satisfied with their life because of that. People need people, this technique and theme of greed show that if you believe you don’t need others and do things only for yourself, life will not be the best it can be.
Greed is defined as a selfish and excessive desire for more of something, it can be an unhealthy obsession that leads to wealth and power. Through the film Fargo, the Coen brothers present the idea of greed and prove that it is corrupt and harmful to others. This essay used film techniques to analyse how the idea of greed is shown in the film and the purpose of it. It showed through the use of low angles, dialogue and the mid shot-one shot, that greed will leave people empty. The greedy characters in the film may be intimidating, but were defeated in the end.
The concept of justice in “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie was explored by the characters of Ethel Rogers, Vera Claythorne and Justice Wargrave. These characters all represent the accuracy of Justice in the novel in different ways and if it was correctly served. This essay will analyze how Mrs. Rogers was undeserving of her death, How Vera Claythorne’s justice was given correctly and how Justice Wargrave did not get justice because he chose his own path before he could be punished. Justice is explored in different ways by the characters throughout the book and this essay will show the analysis on Justice given to each person.
The concept of Justice was shown in “and then there were none” by Agatha Christie through Mrs. Rogers because it was not accurately served and she did not deserve her punishment. Ethel Rogers witnessed the death of Miss Brady after he husband did not take the right care of her, and therefore was brought to Soldier Island to be murdered. Mrs. Rogers died in her sleep after an overdose on Chloral given to her and was the first to die on the island. “What a white bloodless ghost of a woman!…She looks frightened of her own shadow.” Mrs. Rogers was a very wary woman and who was terrified of the world around her, including her husband. Justice Wargrave killed her first because he believed she was the least guilty of all the guests. Mrs. Rogers explored the concept of justice inaccurately because she did not deserve what came to her. The death of Ethel was unnecessary, her husband committed a crime which she did not speak up about and therefore spent the rest of her life in fear. She was brought to Soldier Island by Justice Wargrave and all of the guests easily noticed that she was frail and cautious with every move, she took on all of the guilt of a crime she did not commit and the “justice” that was brought to her was not justice at all, but an unfair murder. Justice Wargrave gave her the least pain and suffering but still believed she was to be punished by death, all of the other guests were also murdered, but Mrs. Rogers did not commit a murder or heinous crime and was therefore not fitting for death. Mrs. Rogers represents the inaccuracy of Justice because it is seen to be a fair punishment of a deserving crime, in this case the punishment was unjust, and although it was a serving of Justice, it was wrong and brutal.
Vera Claythorne, a secretary, a games mistress, and a murderer. When Vera became a governess of a small child named Cyril, she fell easily in love with his uncle, Hugo Hamilton. Vera thought that Cyril was in the way and for Hugo to be happy with his fortune and Vera, Cyril needed to die. Justice was given accurately to Vera in “and then there were none” because she did one of the worst crimes imaginable and therefore she paid the price by having to live through the horror of every single guest dying before she finally was driven to hang herself. “He was forbidden to swim out far, One day when my attention was distracted, he started off. I swam after him I couldn’t get there in time…” As she tells the story of Cyril’s death after being accused by the gramophone message, she lies about what truly happened and convinces the guests to pity her. Justice Wargrave saw through Vera’s lie and he created the appropriate punishment to what she did. Justice is the correct behaviour or treatment, and when Vera killed the small child, she immediately became a criminal punishable by death. Justice Wargrave created a deserving end for her by ranking the guests crimes in order of guilt. Vera committed the murder of a child, and as it is the most severe and deadly offenses on the island, she was the last true guest to die on the island after watching everyone around her perish, and living in fear of the end. The equality of her killing a small child, meaning Justice Wargrave would make sure she died was a fair use of justice. The character of Vera Claythorne helped to explore the concept of justice accurately because was a horrible murderer and was the character who most deserved the end she received.
Justice Wargrave orchestrated the entire parade on Soldier Island, killing off each guest one by one before finally ending his own life. Wargrave did not receive any form of justice because he chose his own path and got the ending he wanted, not the one he truly deserved. This horrible man committed the worst crime out of every single person on the island, slowly eliminating the 9 people on soldier island as well as Isaac Morris, he caused himself to be the guiltiest and most deserving of Justice. However, he did not receive fair justice because instead of getting a punishment or fair treatment for his crimes, he killed himself and took away the chance for justice to be served. “Those whose guilt was the lightest should, I decided, pass out first, and not suffer the prolonged mental strain and fear that the more cold-blooded offenders were to suffer.” Wargrave decided the order of death declining in how guilty each guest was, the guiltiest guests had to survive the pain and suffering of seeing other die and have the weight of knowing their own death is not far away. Justice Wargrave watched every guest perish until, he had peace of mind that he would soon die, because he was terminally ill and his life would soon be over. Justice Wargrave received no Justice for his crimes and left behind only an unsolvable problem on Soldier Island. Justice was served differently for each and every character, whether they deserved it or not, but for Wargrave everything was his decision and he had no remorse. He will never be punished for his crimes and he did not suffer through fear or pain, Justice was not correctly served, or seen at all in Wargraves end and his last act worked perfectly and to plan.
All three of the characters in the novel “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie have shown how justice is presented differently in each case. Mrs. Rogers, Vera Claythorne and Justice Wargrave have all shown the concept of Justice in different ways by giving intel on accuracy and inaccuracy of punishments for each crime. This essay has explored how the character deserved their punishments or lack there of.