"Blue Velvet"

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes the David Lynch film, "Blue Velvet", and attempts to answer critical questions about its origins and its meaning. It looks at how the film itself is considered a controversial expansion upon the dichotomous 'good versus bad' nature of people as a whole and how it was seen by some as pornography hiding behind art and by others as pure art through the eyes of confused humanity. It begins with a short synopsis of the film and then discusses the setting, its position as a auteur film, its expression of culture, and the controversies the film engendered. The next section breaks down the most controversial scene, the primal scene between Frank, Dorothy, and Jeffrey, and analyzes the "gaze" and how it is captured within the film, as well as its meaning. The final section places "Blue Velvet" within the context of postmodern art, discussing the responsibility of the artist for the depiction of humanity in a candid yet fair way.

From the Paper:

"Within the original screen-play, Lynch develops the righteous character of Jeffrey, as he intervenes, at college between a cooed and his girlfriend, in a rape scene. Just before he receives the disappointing news that he must quit college and return home, because he is needed to both run the family business and save the money being spent on his tuition, to pay for the treatment of his father. Also at college he has a wholesome relationship, already being challenged by his curious nature and desire to see and experience the undercurrent of his world. (Lynch, 1986) Though there is much removed from the film, as compared to the original Lynch screen-play the feelings of the challenges of the awareness of the hidden undercurrent of life and Jeffrey's reluctant awareness of it are depicted well by Lynch in the film."

More papers on "Blue Velvet":

• Film Review # 49808 : "Blue Velvet" and Cinematography"
• Term Paper # 100478 : "Blue Velvet" Motifs"
• Analytical Essay # 259 : "Aurally Alarming: Use of Sound in the Film "Blue Velvet"

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