230118 Where a yellow light still means slow down, not speed up - the small town in film and television (S) (SoSe 2012)

Agent Cooper is so enamoured with the charm of the small town and the serenity of nature that he plans to retire to rural Washington State. Nicholas Angel, on the other hand, is bored to tears by the monotony of the English countryside, thinking of his transfer from London as punishment. Both realize that their conceptions could not be further from the dismal reality hiding behind douglas firs and picket fences. Meanwhile, an unnamed man finds the village does not permit him to leave, while another nameless drifter finds it in the grips of a vicious feud that engulfs him and everyone unlucky enough to be in town. Only Sheriff Carter seems to have found happiness in his small community, even though he has to deal with the occasional world-threatening industrial accident.
Taking a look at series like Twin Peaks and The Prisoner, and at movies from Hot Fuzz to A Fistful of Dollars, we will examine how the small town or village is used in film and television to enable or support stories across genres.