Ideology in Blue Velvet By David Lynch - Essay Example

FILM AND IDEOLOGY IN "BLUE VELVET" BY DAVID LYNCH Introduction One of the most controversial yet the most influential film in 1986 was David Lynch's "Blue Velvet" that had obtained numerous criticisms that either favors to the movie and his style in delivering the different ideologies that the movie suggests. This mystery-thriller investigates the peaceful and the cheerful surface of the American suburban area that deals with the different issues confronting the society such as violence, corruption, drug abuse, crime, as well as perversion. (http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dllp=avg&sql=1:6299m, para 1) Because of several erotic scenes in the movie that comes with Lynch's unique representation and delivery of the scenes that are vital in the entirety of the movie, some of its viewers may find the film too complicated and boring. On the other hand, a meticulous observation of the scenes that includes even the minutest details in the movie would aid in identifying the different philosophies that the movie wants to present to its viewers. The characters had at the same time played their parts well such that they were able to deliver the roles they play at par. The actors represented different characters that reveal the deepest secrets in a small suburban town in America. These secrets that were revealed by the film illustrate the fact that even in small towns that look peaceful and serene; a nightmare could lie beneath its surface. Unlike any other movies in the 80s, David Lynch has been successful in creating various symbolisms in the movie "Blue Velvet." From a town that is overwhelmed with bright white fences, blood red fire trucks running along the streets, as well as the pruned roses in the gardens of every household, Lynch was able to transcend meaning through these objects that can be observed during the entire length of the movie. Even the first scenes of the movie where the lead character, Jeffrey Beaumont, had found a severed, ant-infested human ear near a glassy trail had its own significant symbolism in the story. (http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_ review.aspID=56, para 1) Lynch's mise en scene clearly describes the reality and streams of the subconscious throughout the film in this psychosexual drama in 1980. "The many rooms of Blue Velvet are fascinatingly representative of internal moods: the white walls of the virginal Sandy's home; the garish blues and vaginal pinks of Dorothy's kitschy modern apartment; and the cluttered, homely look of the Beaumont home. Jeffrey innocently woes Sandy with an okey-dokey "chicken walk" before the officer's daughter speaks of a dream where darkness fell upon the face of the earth because there were no robins." (http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.aspID=56, para 1) The illustrations above are just examples of the various symbolisms Lynch used to create an association of the philosophies of human characters and attitudes with the scenes in the movie. Ideologies in "Blue Velvet" The complications of life are brought about by one's own acts, chosen freely according to his choice. From the moment Jeffrey Beaumont found the severed ear along a grassy field in his hometown, he had allowed the overwhelming situation after the incident affects his life. He could have decided not to submit himself into the situation but Jeffrey chooses to take part in the investigation. This eventually had led him to a more complicated situation that almost cost him his life. Every action has its own consequence that should be faced with enough strength and knowledge, as well as the wisdom that would lead to the preferred outcome of the involved. Jeffrey's character, who is at that time in his tender college years, is faced with overwhelming circumstances that showed him the reality of a life that is filled with responsibilities and mystery enveloping one's personality. How he'd respond to them relies in himself alone. The events in the movie had emphasized Jeffrey's innocent transformation from a young adult into a man who had explored the mysteries that the society offers him. He was at the same time, able to explore the mysteries of human desires as he entered into a situation that had him confused with the love he felt over two women. Sandy Williams, who is as innocent a young lady as he had been, opens up her heart to him. However, his encounter with Dorothy offered him a different pleasure that excites his manhood sexually. Dorothy was able to please him in a sense that he had been drawn to her that much that he finds it hard to leave the relationship. One's choice of submitting oneself to the power of somebody beyond our will is not as far especially if blackmail is the on the line. Man's capability of submitting into someone else's sexual abuses is brought by circumstances that are beyond our control. This is true to Dorothy's story such that Frank leaves her no choice but to satisfy his sexual needs so as to make sure her husband and son are safe under Frank's hands. She had allowed herself to be exploited sexually, tortured at the same time, just to keep her family alive. On the other hand, Dorothy's singing at the night club is an irony of her emotional and mental state. Moreover, on a superficial basis, Lynch had obviously shown the corrupt ideologies of the government as represented by the police officer Gordon in the story. This situation had created an imagery of man's greed and hunger for power. The police officer's dealing with the drug dealers had delivered the audience the true nature of man whenever money and power talks. Greed and one's hunger for power were at the same time the reasons why Frank Booth had captured Dorothy Vallens' husband and son in order make her weak and submit to his sexual desires. His pervert nature had made Dorothy his sex slave. But things do not always turn out the way we always want them to be. There are circumstances, as well as there are people who tries their best to make things better for everyone. Consequently, Frank's pervert character is a contrast to Jeffrey's sexual naivet. Frank had been brutal to Dorothy while Jeffrey had been too kind to her. However, Frank's perversion had spread that even Dorothy as well as Jeffrey had been influenced by it and adapted it. This fact was shown in the movie when Jeffrey had hit her when she asked him to hurt her. Overcome with pleasure, Jeffrey did hurt her the way she had wanted him to. Blue Velvet and Freud Freud believed that mental life is like an iceberg: only a small part is exposed to view. He called the area of the mind that lies outside of personal awareness the unconscious. According to Freud, our behavior is deeply, influenced by the unconscious thought, desires, and impulses - especially those concerning sex and aggression. Lynch, who acknowledges to be influenced by the Surrealists, practices only what he thought as the depictions of the real nature of human beings. His films are not made to surprise his audience alone, but to expose the reality of man's nature that are only covered with the layers of socialization, acquired experience and learned responses. Man had only mastered how to response to the different situations however, his real nature is far from what he though is his inner personality. What Lynch's Blue Velvet would want us to realize is the reality that "we are not the mild, reasonable, kind-hearted individuals that we believe ourselves to be, but rather we are barely-contained seething bundles of primitive drives and bestial urges of all kinds. That you don't have to dig very deep to get to the ugly black bugs with bloody claws and gaping jaws tearing apart and consuming everything that comes within their grasp" (http://www.davidgardiner.net/BlueVelvet.html, para 8) This reality nevertheless prevents most of the audience who were offended by the film. These people had only tried to reject the fact that what they see on screen are their own personalities and the true representation of human nature. Man had only mastered how to suppress it, therefore he no longer becomes the person that Jeffrey and Frank had played in the movie. (http://www.davidgardiner.net/BlueVelvet.html, para 8) Based from Freud's theory of human's unconscious that lied behind our personality, Lynch established this phase within the film when Jeffrey tried to find himself that had eventually led him into a dark, dangerous, and fertile realm of the unconscious, that is too far away from the safety of his suburban home. (http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/hesperos/Film.htm, para 11) Going back to his simple and peaceful hometown in the suburb due to his father's illness, Jeffrey had encountered a dramatic change from his childhood into a challenging life of manhood or maturity. On the other hand, the shift from his childhood to adulthood had been so sudden as well as it had brought him into a series of several events that made him discover his unconscious through the course of these events. Jeffrey and Sandy's innocence was corrupted as they get themselves involved into the case of a simply human ear that Jeffrey had found in a vacant lot in along the trail going to his house. Both young adults were educated, well-collar and heterosexual. They are both conscious of their individuality. But their coming across Dorothy's personality had changed both of their perspectives as well as their lives. (http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/hesperos/Film.htm, para 12) The characters in the story symbolizes the different unconscious personalities that man had within them ever since. These unconscious states of minds however are not explored such that man feels uncomfortable dealing with such whenever he encounters it. "Dorothy symbolically represents the unconscious, sexuality (including deviance), motherhood, and crime; displacement, in the form of the child's party hat which comes to represent the possible horrors being imposed upon him by his captors; conditions of representability, such as the highly symbolic inserts (the candle in the wind, animal noises, etc); and finally, secondary revision, which imposes a logical, in the case of Blue Velvet, linear narrative." (http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/hesperos/Film.htm, para 14) Conclusion Though the film had been criticized and argued upon by various film critics as well as various organizations, the fact that the film was able to deliver the real nature of human consciousness at the same time his unconscious nature through the different symbolisms presented in the story. The movie is about the coming of age - the "transition from adolescence to adulthood". It may have come as a shock to the audience, yet it created a mark in identifying the deepest secrets of society as well the secrets and the darkness of human nature that is suppressed by one's knowledge in creatively responding to it. (http://www.emanuellevy.com/article.phparticleID=714, para 9) These representations were illustrated through the various symbolisms found on the scenes of the movie. From the severed ear, to the ants that had been feasting the human ear, even up to the velvet robe used by Dorothy in the various scenes in the movie - they had significantly represented every aspect of human ideologies. Informative Presentation of the Paper Aside from its being a controversial film since it is directed by a well-celebrated and the most creative director of his time, David Lynch, Blue Velvet had interested me because I saw Freud in the movie. The characters may seem so typical in the given setting; however, they are representations of the various human behaviours that come in contact with their conscious and unconscious nature. The film had been clear in making each of the characters symbolize the different individual personalities of man. Freud's Oedipal phase is one that is clearly illustrated by the movie regarding a phase that man has to undergo through self-discovery. Lynch's mise en scene, clearly describes the reality and streams of subconscious throughout the film in this psychosexual drama. There were several scenes in the movie that illustrate these realities through the representations of even the minutest detain the too common settings. The initial scenes in the movie had already characterized and symbolized several issues that Lynch had wanted to deliver to his audience. Just as the severed ear represented the deep human experiences that he will soon undergo in the course of the movie, Blue velvet had numerous symbolisms all throughout the film. There were even surprising discoveries as that of corruption in the government and extreme sexual desires that are hidden deeply in his personality. "The film's innovativeness is in its visuals: The images are hallucinatory, with a dreamy quality, but they are also realistic. For example, Lynch shows the sight of blood in close-up, and records the sound of huge cells moving. There are extreme close-ups of termites: Aunt Barbara, an absent-minded woman with thick glasses, pinches a termite and looks at it, then leaves it for Jeffrey to observe." (http://www.emanuellevy.com/article.phparticleID=714, para 10) Works Cited: Blue Velvet. http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dllp=avg&sql=1:6299m. December 13, 2006. Blue Velvet. http://www.emanuellevy.com/article.phparticleID=714. December 13, 2006. Blue Velvet. http://www.davidgardiner.net/BlueVelvet.html. December 13, 2006. Blue Velvet. http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.aspID=56. December 13, 2006. "In Heaven Everything is Fine" http://pages.quicksilver.net.nz/hesperos/Film.htm. December 13, 2006. Read More