# So I just saw Fargo... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 16, 2004, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508 "2004-07-16T23:39:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/61 "2004-07-19T06:49:23Z")
> [@xvxdarkknightxvx](#): > > You didn’t know that Atlantis is the 51st state? When did we annex that? Did I miss a war or something? ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/62 "2004-07-19T09:54:11Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > I’m curious what you thought of _The Full Monty_. I’ve certainly never met an English person who actually talks like that, but I was willing to believe that people from that area _do_ speak that way. If they had all spoken the Queen’s English, it wouldn’t have been the same movie. I liked _The Full Monty_, although with the same caveat that I found it nowhere near as good as the hype had led me to believe beforehand, similar to _Fargo_. Accentwise, TFM didn’t bother me at all. It’s a Yorkshire accent IIRC, which is (to me) quite pleasant to hear. Then again, my exposure to various British accents has been greater than to American ones, so that’s a difference right there. I’m not sure how people from Sheffield (where it took place) judge TFM in terms of accuracy of the accent, but to this non-native speaker, it sounded pretty well done. ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/63 "2004-07-19T09:59:15Z")
There was a hype to ‘Fargo’? Nobody tells me anything. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/64 "2004-07-19T10:16:08Z")
Well, it just seemed like one of those films all movie critics loved to death. Back in the day, you couldn’t swing a dead cat around without hitting a film critic climaxing on _Fargo_ in some review or another. Now, usually, this means I’ll like the movie too, or at least I’ll understand why _they_ liked it, even if I don’t. This case? Total confusion. Whoosh. Lost on me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bbe5ce/32.png) [@gum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gum)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/65 "2004-07-19T10:25:32Z")
hehehehe. I don’t believe it. Maybe you ought to see it again? I _know_ there was - is - a hype about ‘The Big Lebowski’ and I’m usually allergic to hypes, but I liked that one too. Fargo is my all time favorite, though. I fricking _dream_ of it. \* [yeah, I know: You never know what kind of creeps post on this board, huh. And a fellow dutchie too.] \* 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/66 "2004-07-19T10:34:42Z")
> [@Antonius Block](#): > > Correction to my above post: she actually died in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, after making enquiries in North Dakota. A documentary was made about her a couple of years ago that, based on interviews with her family and others, indicates that the Fargo connection was just a misunderstanding that came about during the conversation she had with the local sherrif (tried to have, anyway. He spoke no Japanese and she spoke almost no English). The real story, according to the documentary at least, is that she’d had an affair with a married American who’d dumped her and returned to the States. She went to America to try and get back with him, but when that failed she decided to go out to North Dakota specifically to commit suicide by walking out into the snow and freezing to death. I haven’t seen the documentary yet, but I’d really like to. > **[Last night's TV](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/jul/05/tvandradio.television)** > > Alt-TV: This Is a True Story ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/67 "2004-07-19T10:35:50Z")
Or rather, she went out to _Minnesota_ to commit suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/68 "2004-07-19T12:50:08Z")
Being from Northern Europe, Coldie, I’m surprised you found the accent annoying. Its the remains of our German/Scandinavian grandfather’s speech from the “old country.” I work with a guy in the office who is Dutch, and his accent when he speaks English sounds a lot like my grandfather, who sounded a lot like some of the character in Fargo - albeit, not nearly so exaggerated. But I know what you mean, Blue Velvet is another one of those movies. The critics all thought it was incredible. I guess I can get past my repulsion enough to see why, but it isn’t easy. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/69 "2004-07-19T14:09:25Z")
Actually, I liked _Blue Velvet_. 🙂 You make an interesting point, though. I _hate_ the stereotypical “Dutch” accent heard when a lot of my countrymen speak English. And I like to think I don’t have it. Perhaps what annoys me about the _Fargo_ accent is that it reminds me of badly spoken Dunglish too much? _strokes chin_ Hmmmm… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![lno](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@lno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lno)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/70 "2004-07-19T15:08:19Z")
Oh, you betcha, that movie was great there, you know. So you complainers can just go and, uh, have not too good a day then, okay? ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2004, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/71 "2004-07-19T15:47:59Z")
When _Fargo_ was first released, I saw plenty of spots on TV where people from Minnesota/North Dakota alternately panned or praised the accuracy of the accents. One person would say something like “oh, you betcha, my cousins talk exactly like that!” And then the next person would say “I’ve lived in this part of the country my whole life and never met ANYONE who talks like that…it’s so insulting!” Reminds me of my girlfriend from Kansas City, KA, who vehemently denied that she had ever heard **anyone** pronounce Missouri as “mi-ZER-uh”. Ten minutes later I heard her father say it that way quite distinctly. Just goes to show that you can’t even trust locals to be infallible judges of their own regional accents. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/72 "2004-07-20T00:46:07Z")
> [@Green Bean](#): > > I thought you lived on the UP! Doesn’t your famous date take place up there somewhere? > > Well, I drink for false accu, in any case. Huh? The UP? I don’t even know what that is. I had a famous date? When? With who? Why am I always the last person to know these things? I think you might have me confused with someone else. 😉 > [@Coldfire](#): > > Perhaps what annoys me about the Fargo accent is that it reminds me of badly spoken Dunglish too much? I don’t blame you. One of the scariest stories I ever read was H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Dunglish Horror.” Terrifying stuff. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/73 "2004-07-20T01:37:58Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Huh? The UP? I don’t even know what that is. _Aw, what the Christ?!_ I guess I shouldn’t be too suprised, the Can You Pass Third Grade? geography test makers couldn’t even get Michigan right and Ben Stein actually pronounced Mackinac as “Mack-u-Nack.” Well, for the OP’s edification, the accent comes from the Finnish, um, endodus (why not? Exogenous/endogenous, exothermic/endothermic, exodus/???) into the area. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan has a lot of Finnish heritage as well. In the UP you’ll find towns with names like Heinola, Wainola, Suomi, Toivola, Topelius, Lonrot, Runeberg, and Snellman\*. IIRC, there is also a strong Swedish influence up there as well. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/74 "2004-07-20T01:45:53Z")
> [@js\_africanus](#): > > _Aw, what the Christ?!_ I guess I shouldn’t be too suprised, the Can You Pass Third Grade? geography test makers couldn’t even get Michigan right and Ben Stein actually pronounced Mackinac as “Mack-u-Nack.” I’d kinda suspected it meant “Upper Peninsula,” but that was just a guess. Cut me a little slack, though: even if I’d never heard the term, at least I know that Michigan _has_ an upper peninsula. Not many other Americans know that much about Canada, after all. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/75 "2004-07-20T03:14:42Z")
Count me among those who though _Fargo_ was nothing special (and who likes most of the other Cohen movies), although it was nice for our state to get a little attention. But I can tell you that only a few people here in the Twin Cities speak with more than a slight “Fargo” accent. Likewise the Iron Range–in Northeastern Minnesota–which has an ethnically diverse background. In North_western_ MN–more uniformly Scandanavian–the accent type thing is fairly thick, der. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/76 "2004-07-20T03:40:22Z")
:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/77 "2004-07-20T05:57:00Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > Count me among those who though _Fargo_ was nothing special (and who likes most of the other Cohen movies) That’s funny, ‘cuz Fargo is pretty much the only Cohen brothers (is it Cohen or Coen?) movie I _did_ like. I’ll tell ya’, I just didn’t get _O Brother Where Art Thou_ at _all_. Bored the crap out of me. Just goes to show you…uh…something, I dunno… ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/78 "2004-07-20T06:04:54Z")
Well hell. I firmly believe that I haven’t an obvious “Minnesota accent”. I’ve been said to draw out my Os (don’t, won’t, soda, etc.), but I don’t say “you betcha” or anything. I hope I didn’t offend your delicate ears too much, **Coldfire**. I had no idea I was being “annoying”. 😛 Fargo was okay, but I’m here to tell you that Marge was no where near Moose Lake. It’s more than just trees and dirt roads. They even have a **Subway** there, now! 😉 Silver Fire, resident of Moose Lake, MN for more than a decade. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/79 "2004-07-20T12:57:13Z")
Well, _you_ didn’t sound annoying to me when I met you, SF. Or at least not because of your accent. 😃 I guess that goes to show the accent in _Fargo_ was exaggerated, then. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508/80 "2004-07-20T13:40:19Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Huh? The UP? I don’t even know what that is. I had a famous date? When? With who? Why am I always the last person to know these things? :smack: Yeah. I had you confused with **Muffin**. Sorry about that. I was posting in the middle of the night–had insomnia. I posted a bunch of stupid things that night… FWIW, I named my first kayak Marge. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-saw-fargo/255508.md?page=5)