The Use of Quilt Imagery in Fargo’s AdvertisingEmbracing and Subverting a Midwestern Cultural Symbol Catherine Kelly (bio) Over its first three seasons, Noah Hawley’s television series Fargo (FX, 2014–) presents a surreal account of the Midwest. Notably, some of the series’ promotional materials replicate the aesthetics of celebrated folk art practices such as needlework. More specifically, the show’s print and digital advertisements spark audience interest by illustrating violent scenes with, respectively, a knitted sweater aesthetic for season one and quilt design for season two.1 These promotional materials connect to the show’s inspiration, Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1996 film Fargo. One of the original film’s promotional posters employs a cross-stitch design to illustrate a dark turning point in the story.2 The television series’ award-winning poster campaign for its second season is particularly noteworthy as it offers an atypical depiction of quilts that both embraces and subverts needlework’s historical significance in the Midwest (see figure 1).3 In addition, because quiltmaking has traditionally been an outlet for women’s independence, advocacy, and self-expression, the advertisement’s focus on the quilt itself implies the importance of the female characters’ roles and actions in the show. Quiltmaking’s Midwestern History and Significance In order to understand the implications of Fargo’s second-season quilt advertisement, it is important to provide an overview of how and why quilt-making is a noteworthy practice in the Midwest. The art of quilting involves sewing together three layers to form a blanket. The top layer usually includes sewn designs or patchwork (i.e., pieces of material stitched together). The middle layer is composed of batting (e.g., cotton, wool, or synthetic fibers) [End Page 127] that provides insulation and thickness, and the bottom layer is either one solid piece of fabric or patchwork pieces similar to the top layer. This art is practiced across the world, but it holds an especially strong connection to the American Midwest. Historically (especially in the nineteenth century), people migrating from eastern states to the Midwest and beyond used quilts to ease their journey as this form of needlework provided cushioning and warmth. Quilts also served as a remembrance of the families and places left behind and strengthened the relationships among those who quilted during and after their travels.4 More general and contemporary practices include the use of quilts to decorate walls and beds, as well as to commemorate a historical or family milestone. Quilts also strengthen family bonds as relatives often pass them down throughout the generations. Besides facilitating travel and upholding familial ties, quilts are particularly significant in the Midwest because some of the most renowned quiltmaking innovators and businesses originate within this region. For example, in the early twentieth century, Indiana-raised Marie Webster managed—along with family and friends—the Practical Patchwork Company, which was one of the first to mass distribute quilt patterns, tutorials, and samples. In 1915, Webster published the first book in the United States about American quilting practices, entitled Quilts: Their Story and How to Make Them. This book subsequently inspired many other quiltmakers.5 According to E. Duane Elbert and Rachel Kamm Elbert, Webster’s “work was the first serious attempt to study the American quilt, and it remained the only book in the field for many years.”6 Of additional note, in the 1970s, Ernest B. Haight of Nebraska “pioneered machine-piecing methods that eventually revolutionized the use of the sewing machine in the last two decades of the twentieth century,” thus reducing the time to make a quilt by hand.7 The Midwest is also the location for the most prominent quiltmaking businesses and institutions. For instance, Stearns and Foster was established in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the mid-nineteenth century, and it “is one of the oldest and best-known quilt supply companies in the United States.”8 In regard to scholarship, the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska—Lincoln holds the United States’ most extensive compendium of quilts and quiltmaking tools, and the University of Nebraska is a leading institution in quilt studies by offering a graduate-level certificate in this subject.9...
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Mar 12, 2024
Shushant Kumar Kushwaha 
