Friday 20 January 2012

Week 4: Arkansas

"You can tell your ma
 I moved to Arkansas;
 You can tell your dog to bite my leg..."
 - 'Achy Breaky Heart',
 Billy Ray Cyrus

Arkansas - some how to British eyes it has become the butt of a million jokes, the most backwoods of a whole host of backwoods states. Other than its weird pronunciation - that we only ever got right once Billy Ray hit the charts - what is it famous for? 


Well, Bill Clinton was state Governor before he became President... And a friend of mine once broke a road-trip in Little Rock and was really impressed by the college-y bar scene there, an endorsement that ever since has made me think that there was somehow more to plain ol' Arkansas that met the eye. Maybe it is really one of America's hidden gems...?




Hoping to find out, here are Week 4's three Arkansanian (?) films:
  • True Grit (1969)
  • Sling Blade (1996)
  • Rosalie Goes Shopping (1990)


I was originally going to watch the 2010 Coen Brothers version of True Grit alongside the 1969 original, but a) I watched it less than six months ago, b) I've already got plenty of Coen Brothers movies lined up, and c) it was pointed out to me that half the film occurs in what is today Oklahoma. And so in comes Rosalie Goes Shopping, a film of which I have never before heard, to replace it.

No comments:

Post a Comment