MovieChat Forums > Nebraska (2014) Discussion > Is this really America?

Is this really America?

posted 11 years ago by marcheurfr
127 replies | jump to latest

Loved the movie, and although the setting may have been exaggerated for comedic effect, I couldn't help wondering "is this really small town America?" due to its setting being dreary and somewhat outdated. I understand the US is still coming out of a recession and times are still tough but the film felt like it could've been set in 1989 with minimal differences. This isn't meant to be prejudiced or offensive in any way, genuinely interested if this is how Nebraska or small towns in USA look like.
Thanks

[–] FaithNoBungle 11 years ago

I find it hilarious, NOT being rude at all, that you ask if this is how small towns in USA look like. I have to ask where u grew up and live? Watching this movie made me think they shot it where I live (50 miles west of Chicago). Looks the exact same.

Yeah, the way the towns in this film look, and the people in it seem dreary and all, you should know (atleast here in Illinois) that there's towns that look just like that, but with people of all ages, hoppin night life, bars with us young people etc. I'm 50 miles west of the city, and here you have everything, great towns, any store you can name, great looking places. But if you travel another 5+ miles west it looks just like the setting of "Nebraska", farmland, corn fields, one farm house every couple miles.

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[–] kenny-164 11 years ago

It should have been obvious to the OP that his question should have been is this really PART of America, or perhaps representative of parts of America. It's not Florida, or California or the Northeast. It's not even like parts of rural America that look substantially different, such as the mountainous areas, or that for one reason or another do not have agriculture.

But terrain aside you can find generally similar areas in a large majority of states, like Western New York and large parts of Pennsylvania all the ways west and south.

One of the things that makes for the dreary feel in this film is the sequence visiting the old homestead, long since abandoned and continuing to deteriorate. There's obviously a very different economic dynamic involved in an area where that sort of thing occurs, whether rural, suburban or urban, compared to areas where such structures are maintained or replaced due to demand. It certainly tells you something, and I think most people reflexively react to the presence of such structures. It is unavoidably depressing. The filmmakers here I think it is obvious included this in the film not merely to tell us something about the past of Woody's family, where they came from and how that is reflected in who they are. It also evokes tht reflexive response, and this addresses the more general themes of the film.

[–] js5905 11 years ago

I live in Florida; and there are indeed towns, like Groveland, that lived off of the citrus industry until the real estate became to expensive, and it became to costly to cultivate. A lot of the older people in Orlando, think Disney was the worst thing that ever happened to them. They stopped milling timber in central Florida; and we're now a state of Walmarts, knew surgery, and cataract removal, and these rinky dink towns and motels still exist.

[–] sailinalong1 11 years ago

Well, it is NOT all of America, but certainly, Hawthorne is one reflection of American small towns & people. I know, I grew up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and know what rural, small towns are all about, especially when you get into a farming area or the town revolves around 1 occupation.
The scenes of everyone sitting in the living room were especially telling. All watching a football game, with little interest, between 2 teams (Chicago & Detroit) which are 3 states away. There is simply not a whole lot else to do in Hawthorne, but wait for their beloved Cornhuskers next season to begin. It reflects how small town people can become entrenched with so little else to do. Also, so much social life revolves around the small town bar, it always has & always will be...the place to hang out, young or old. Very good depiction of life in a small town.

[–] Hiphophippie23 11 years ago

Have you seen Groveland lately? It's quickly becoming another part of the "greater Orlando area". This state is overcrowded.

[–] rusb 11 years ago

I have the same doubts when watching it. The suburban US shown here is different from those in any other American films. Actually the people and their relationship just reminds me of my mother's hometown in a small village in China. I think Alexander Payne and the writer Bob Nelson have grasped some essence of life in small town（village）.

[–] kenny-164 11 years ago

Rusb,

A small town in a rural area is not what is considered to be a suburb. A suburb is generally associated with a larger urban area.

There are certainly small towns that have housing stock and density similar to suburbs. But the isolation compared to a suburb, with the small town essentially surrounded by very low density rural areas not only gives a different feel than a suburb. It is also likely to literally feel different to its inhabitants.

[–] Thought_Criminal_J62377 11 years ago

The setting in this movie has nothing to do with a recession. I'm 36 and I've seen towns like this my whole life. Nebraska is totally accurate to those sparsely populated rural areas.

[–] drivenkick43 10 years ago

Agree. Also, Nebraska was one of the states affected the least but he recession.

[–] dharma0268 11 years ago

It isn't just small towns. I worked in a medium sized city in central Illinois about 8 years ago. It wasn't too far off from what was shown here--albeit, you could drive a few miles and the adjoining town had a lot more going on. But that could be true of any of scenery depicted in the movie. We only got to see a small swath of the landscape--the downtown area and a some houses a few miles out of town.

[–] askennedy87 11 years ago

Small world...I grew up in central Illinois. Where did you work? Peoria? I would definitely say this movie depicted middle America pretty well.

[–] dharma0268 10 years ago

Yup, it was Peoria.

[–] taxvictim 11 years ago

Not every lower middle class American person keeps the television running 24/7, and people do find things to talk about besides sports and their declining health. Some small town folk even read a book now and then, or play music, or have some interesting hobbies or crafts.

[–] anondragon2012 11 years ago

Except for some small differences, there is nothing different between the people & Scenery with rural Europe.

Go to central Europe...Germany...Austria...In the plain areas....
Thats what life is like for agricultural people...Its simple and not easy.

[–] lolarites-894-174248 11 years ago

Yep, they absolutely do. I, fortunately, don't live there, but I've driven across the country so many times, these small towns are just a blur. Where do you live?

[–] Airman87 11 years ago

Yep.

I have both lived in, and traveled to, several small towns in America that are pretty accurately representative of the film.

Another thing worth noting is lots of small towns have had a population decrease of modern day compared to what they had several decades ago - industrialized farming & manufacturing, and both career & educational opportunities in larger cities/populations, have drawn a lot of residents away. So although the movie portrays the city as somewhat of a ghost-town, it very well could have been much more populated when Woody & Kate's characters were younger.

[–] kenny-164 11 years ago

It's not just for small towns, but kids used to play outside much more often than today. Video games, the internet, kids eating too much and getting fat and hiding indoors. Even kids who do go outside to play sports will more likely be in the school athletic fields.

It's a different world.