Title: GOP candidate was so horrified by the movie 'Fargo' that he tried to get a local Blockbuster to take it off its shelves Source:
Business Insider URL Source:http://www.businessinsider.com/john-kasich-fargo-blockbuster-2015-7 Published:Jun 22, 2015 Author:Matthew Speiser Post Date:2016-04-04 10:37:33 by Deckard Keywords:None Views:1262 Comments:6
As the newest (and possibly last) major presidential candidate to declare his bid for the presidency, Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) will share his views with the American public on a slew of topics in the coming weeks and months.
But one topic on which Kasich has already established a firm stance is the 1996 Oscar-winning Coen brothers film "Fargo."
Here's an excerpt, courtesy of Vox (spoiler alert for those who haven't seen Fargo):
"I was in my local video store looking for a movie to watch with my wife, Karen, during one of our few quiet evenings together at home. The clerk in the store recommended Fargo, a perversely dark crime story that had played to generally enthusiastic reviews. The movie even earned a Best Actress Oscar for Frances McDormand for her role as a pregnant Midwestern sheriff, and the guy behind the counter at Blockbuster assured me it was a great movie and that I should probably rent it."
"So I did. Walked right over to that shelf where they had their general titles, grabbed a copy and took it home, and when Karen and I got to the part where they chop up a guy in a grinder we looked at each other and thought, What the heck are we watching here? It was billed as a comedy, but it wasn’t funny. It was graphic, and brutal, and completely unnecessary, and it rubbed us in so many wrong ways we had to shut the thing off right there in the middle... Next morning, I got on the phone to Blockbuster and demanded that they take the movie off their shelves."
Blockbuster told the eventual Ohio governor that they would do a better job labeling movies with graphic content, but Kasich remained vigilant. Another excerpt of his book, via Vox:
"I couldn’t say firsthand whether the situation had gotten any better, because I had taken my business elsewhere, but from all accounts not much had changed, so I called the store again to remind them of our deal, and it got to where Karen had to tell me to back off because I was driving everyone crazy. I’d made my point, she said, and it was time to move on, so I did, but not before the columnist George Will picked up on the story."
In retrospect, Kasich admitted that he probably got a little carried away in his campaign against Blockbuster:
"Usually, I speak out against the status quo on behalf of the little guy, but sometimes I get a little crazy and go off about something like this Fargo business, with no real expectation but to let off some steam. I can’t imagine it’s all that much fun to be on the receiving end of one of my tirades, but I’m here to tell you it isn’t much fun to be making the delivery either."
