Coen Brothers

Paved the way for film makers and the public alike, setting a standard for comedy and its afficionados, and creating good films to watch on a Friday night.
~Benjamin Lange, Robbinsdale, MN

They are easily the most influential Minnesota filmmakers ever. They single-handedly cemented Minnesota in America's consciousness with FARGO.
~Ben Leonard, St. Peter, MN

There are quite a few states and regions that could claim one or more Coen films as culturally significant. Minnesota, however, one-ups any of them with the simple truth that it produced the brothers themselves. That, and their most succesful film, 1996's Fargo, was set here. That film, though somewhat exaggerated, uncharacteristically sordid, and fictional while claiming not to be, helped to paint a rough picture of Minnesotan culture to be broadcast to the rest of the United States. And while not many Minnesotans care to admit it, it captures us pretty darn accurately right down to the accents. Most Minnesotans deny that, too, but it's often truer than we like to think.
~Ole Kirkegaard