Two of the most famous movies set in Iowa are State Fair and Music Man. Both of these musicals do not correctly portray Iowa. In State Fair all of the glamourous costumes and bright lights do not show a true Iowan town. In Music Man people living in Iowa are not fairly represented they are depicted as rude, gullible, and unintelligent. These movies similarly fail to show the audience true Iowa with their unrealistic adaptations of Iowa, and leads the audience to believe Iowa is something it is not.
The setting of State Fair is set in Iowa, but Hollywood takes away the natural beauty that is Iowa, and replaces it with a faux California version of Iowa. The costumes used in the movie is over the top for, a simple state fair. This is seen during …show more content…
In Music Man the characters playing the town people are characterized as being rude. The idea is illustrated in the beginning of the movie when main character Henry Hill first comes to River City, Iowa. As he comes off the train he tries to talk to a man, but he immediately walks away. When asking for simple directions people are blunt and unhelping. This poorly portrays the kind of people that live in Iowa. The “heartland” is Iowa’s nickname for a reason it’s a very accepting place. Iowa is comprised of close knit communities that provide a safe place for children to grow up. Since these communities are close people are kind to one another even new people to town. The movie shows the people of Iowa as rude and stubborn people which is the complete opposite of how real people living in Iowa are. In addition, the characters in Music Man are seen as gullible for believing such brainless things. “Ya Got Trouble” helps exemplify the gullibility. In this song Hill convinces the town people that a new pool table will corrupt their children, and the only way for them to keep their boys out of trouble is to make an all-boys band. No one in their right mind would think a pool table would be the cause of corruption. In small towns children were sheltered more than other places, but this still would not account for people believing a pool table will turn their children into criminals. Having the people believe this story shows the audience that people in Iowa will believe anything. People in small towns of Iowa are very innocent that they will believe anything. This is not true of course, just because someone is from Iowa that does not mean they are gullible. Music Man shows only the stereotypes of people living in Iowa not their true
The setting of State Fair is set in Iowa, but Hollywood takes away the natural beauty that is Iowa, and replaces it with a faux California version of Iowa. The costumes used in the movie is over the top for, a simple state fair. This is seen during …show more content…
In Music Man the characters playing the town people are characterized as being rude. The idea is illustrated in the beginning of the movie when main character Henry Hill first comes to River City, Iowa. As he comes off the train he tries to talk to a man, but he immediately walks away. When asking for simple directions people are blunt and unhelping. This poorly portrays the kind of people that live in Iowa. The “heartland” is Iowa’s nickname for a reason it’s a very accepting place. Iowa is comprised of close knit communities that provide a safe place for children to grow up. Since these communities are close people are kind to one another even new people to town. The movie shows the people of Iowa as rude and stubborn people which is the complete opposite of how real people living in Iowa are. In addition, the characters in Music Man are seen as gullible for believing such brainless things. “Ya Got Trouble” helps exemplify the gullibility. In this song Hill convinces the town people that a new pool table will corrupt their children, and the only way for them to keep their boys out of trouble is to make an all-boys band. No one in their right mind would think a pool table would be the cause of corruption. In small towns children were sheltered more than other places, but this still would not account for people believing a pool table will turn their children into criminals. Having the people believe this story shows the audience that people in Iowa will believe anything. People in small towns of Iowa are very innocent that they will believe anything. This is not true of course, just because someone is from Iowa that does not mean they are gullible. Music Man shows only the stereotypes of people living in Iowa not their true