Blue Velvet

1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

David Lynch shows his dark side once again in the mystery, crime thriller “Blue Velvet”. The use of dark imagery really sets Lynch’s style apart from most other directors, and that feeling is definitely prevalent here in “Blue Velvet”. It appeared that many of the scenes used a lot of natural light in combination with some small additional light sources to give the film a very dark and surreal feeling. Also the use of violent imagery is definitely present throughout the movie. Because of Lynch’s style, he was never really afraid of going too far in the film when it comes to violence. His use of violence, specifically domestic abuse, really help to drive along the story.

2) Find a related article (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress, artistic content, etc.) and summarize the content. You may use the library or the internet.

The article from the New York Times, titled, “David Lynch, Still Disturbing After 20 Years”, discusses David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” and how dark and surreal it was compared to many other mystery movies that were made around the same time. Terrence Rafferty, the writer of the article mentions how the violence that takes place in the film is not something that is entirely new to audiences, but the way that Lynch goes about telling his story is a little more twisted and surreal than most. Lynch does a very good job of transitioning between a light hearted teen drama, and a dark twisted mystery which is definitely apparent when scenes transition between daytime and nighttime. The writer also points out that what is so interesting about “Blue Velvet” is the reaction from audiences in 1986 as well as today. Even though movies have changed a lot since 1986, things that are weird or strange have proven to stay weird or strange throughout time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/movies/26raff.html?_r=0

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

Overall, I agree with what the author had to say about the film. Saying that the film is still disturbing even after being out for over twenty years is definitely true, and an excellent point made by the writer. “Blue Velvet” uses themes that are common in even today’s movies which is why the film can still be appealing to movie watchers today. The article definitely supported my opinion on David Lynch, and actually made me more curious about his work. Knowing now the reputation that Lynch has with making movies, I’m curious to see what some of his more bizarre work contains.  One thing I was really happy about was that the article mentioned how the film goes back and forth between the feeling of a teen drama and a dark crime thriller. This is the exact feeling that I had during the movie. Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern’s characters each give the film a very 80’s vibe without much a feeling of darkness.  However the parts with Dennis Hopper's character are much more dark and give a much more uncomfortable feeling to the audience. Overall this article from the New York Times summarized and described “Blue Velvet” very well.

4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article.

“Blue Velvet” is an 80’s movie but not your typical one.  The film is a straight up mystery thriller that has a very different tone than what many people assimilate with other 80’s movies. In one of the opening scenes, the character Jeffrey finds a severed ear out in an open field, leading him to start asking questions to the local police. This scene does a great job of setting the tone in the movie, and Lynch builds off that tone throughout the movie, while also increasing suspense. Also, fairly early on in the movie we see Dorothy Vallens getting abused in her apartment through the point of view of Jeffrey. This scene also sets up some other potential events that happen throughout the movie but in my opinion it increases dramatic tension and suspense. Pulling off scenes like this is what I think gives Lynch a style of his own. Some of the takes in scenes where there was abuse appeared to be very long, making them almost uncomfortable to watch,
but in a good way. And being that “Blue Velvet” is a mystery, Lynch does a good job of making sure the audience is aware of everything that the main character is aware of. Overall “Blue Velvet” is a great mystery thriller and I would recommend it to anyone who likes dark and mysterious stories.

CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM 1) ( ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class. 2) ( ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other classes, I clearly explain that in the paper. 3) ( ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those words, or used indentation and citation within the text. 4) () I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in the bibliography in the text of the paper. 5) ( ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read. 6) ( ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the bibliography. 7) ( ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks interpretation or originality. 8) ( ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: _Joe Katulak_________________ Date: __2/17/15________