Negotiating Fargo: Janteloven, How Fargo of You, and Lived Reality

Abstract

Drawing on cultural studies methodology, both questioning popular perceptions and revealing a more nuanced description of Fargo’s culture, this essay examines layers of social, local, and individual perceptions of the culture of Fargo. Drawing connections and highlighting conflicts among the many texts, recorded words, and individual experiences shared in conversation, I explore a new vision of Fargo’s culture and account for my role as a researcher in cultural studies methodology. Through interviews, casual conversation, email correspondence, and observation, I gathered a small sample of the individual experience of Fargo’s culture. While much of the individual experience of Fargo aligns with social and local themes in established texts, my work suggests that deviations from the themes certainly exist.