Imagining a Better Future by Re-imagining the Past

Saturday, October 24, 2020

Fargo Does Dieselpunk

“This is a true story.”

As horrible as the year 2020 has been there is one positive thing about it. There have been a lot of great small screen Dieselpunk. The most recent addition is season four of the award winning series Fargo.

For those unfamiliar with the television series, Wikipedia describes Fargo as an American crime drama-black comedy anthology television series created and primarily written by Noah Hawley with the Coen brothers as executive producers. Named after the Coen brothers 1996 film by the same name, the television series follows an anthology format, with each season set in a different era, location, story, characters and cast. In addition, each episode begins with text, “This is a true story. The events depicted took place in [location] in [year]. At the request of the survivors, the names have been changed. Out of respect for the dead, the rest has been told exactly as it occurred,” which is a nod to the original motion picture. However, like the movie, the stories aren't true. 


Seasons four of Fargo is set in 1950. The series distinctive dark comedy with bizarre characters and, without giving away any spoilers, there are some scenes that clearly makes it Dieselpunk.


 

Fargo season four has a great cast. Chris Rock plays Loy Cannon, the mob boss for the African-American mob. Jason Schwartzman plays Josto Fadda, the mob boss for the rival Italian-American mob. Jessie Buckley plays the bizarre nurse Oraetta Mayflower.  E'myri Crutchfield plays Ethelrida Pearl Smutny, the 16 year old daughter of a funeral home owner and the show’s narrator. Timothy Olyphant plays U.S. Marshal Dick 'Deaf' Wickware, who is usually on the hunt for escaped criminals and is trying to bring down the Kansas City underworld.

I cannot praise this season of Fargo enough. I highly recommend it. It’s currently showing on FX and Hulu.

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