Similar Themes in Fargo & Raising Arizona

Two films by the Joel and Ethan Coen that share a similar theme are "Raising Arizona" (1987) and "Fargo" (1997). The action and plot in both of these films resolves around a "kidnapping," though the motive for the kidnapping is distinct in each film. In "Raising Arizona," smalltime ex-con H.I. "Hi" Cunningham and his former booking officer, Edwina "Ed" McDunnough, marry and start a family when Hi gets out of jail for hopefully the last time. The couple, especially Ed, is desperate to have children, but, as Hi tells us, "Biology and the prejudices of others conspired to keep us childless" (Coen 1987). Ed urges Hi to kidnap an infant from among quintuplets delivered to local business tycoon, Nathan Arizona. In "Fargo," Jerry Lundegaard is a financially troubled Minneapolis car salesman who hires two thugs to kidnap his wife, thinking he can pay off the thugs and get out of debt when his wealthy but disagreeable father-in-law pays the ransom. In both films, the kidnappings set off a chain of events that is unforeseen and drives the action and directs the outcome of the main characters. This analysis will compare and contrast each film from thematic and aesthetic perspectives, including a discussion of a number of social issues the films highlight. A conclusion will address which film is better crafted.

Thematically, "Raising Arizona" seems to offer a baby-kidnapping tale as a comment on a number of social issues, from the flaws in the criminal justice s

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he hypocrisy of the system when the parole board insists they do not want Hi to tell them what they want to hear, even though they have asked him to tell the truth. In contrast, one of the themes in "Fargo" is how effective the small-town, simple Marge is in outwitting the criminals. When she assesses the crime scene, she astutely theorizes what happened on the frozen roadside, "OK, so we got a trooper pulls someone over, we got a shooting, these folks drive by, there's a high-speed pursuit, ends here and then this execution-type deal" (Coen 1997). From an aesthetic perspective, there are a number of similarities and differences between the two films. Both films try to capture character through the use of dialogue and dialect. In "Fargo," the small-town, plainspoken accent of those like the pregnant Police Chief assigned the case, Marge Gunderson, helps to convey the conflict between simple, plainspoken folks and the brutal criminality in some people. Marge uses phrases like "you betcha" and, confronted with three homicides, she observes without hesitation, "I doubt he's from Brainerd" (Coen 1997). Complex crime seldom is homegrown in Brainerd. In "Raising Arizona," the Coen brothers attempt to use dialect and dia

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