Adrian Fuoco March 17, 1999 N. Tausky DAVID LYNCH AND

Adrian Fuoco
March 17, 1999
N. Tausky
DAVID LYNCH AND AMERICANA: FILM ART POPULARIZED IN BLUE VELVET
Th roughout the history of cin ema, ach ieving ar tistic and commer cial success h as always been a
pr oblem for filmmaker s. Major studios, wh o in vest vast sums of money in th eir films, are usually more
concer ned with tur ning a profit th an allowing dir ector s to expr ess themselves ar tistically. This situation
has created somewhat of an enigma, in that, as film in cr easingly becomes appr eciated as an ar t for m, its
gr eatest inn ovator s are h inder ed by factors outside their control. David Lynch is on e filmmaker wh o has
been able to overcome th ese obstacles.1 Th roughout his car eer, he h as been pr aised by critics wh ile filling
his films with ar tistic abstr action, experimen tation an d inn ovation. On the oth er hand, Lynch has been
commercially successful for n early two decades, allowin g him to contin ue with h is wor k.
Th e question of how David Lyn ch h as been able to achieve this difficult task is r ooted in a
common motif found thr ough out his films; th e desir e to un cover th at which is hidden below what is
pr esented.2 Lynch himself has said that; "I like th e idea th at ever ythin g has a sur face which hides much
more under neath", and this is clearly manifest in his films.3 Th e surface that Lynch h as chosen in man y of
his films, n otably Blue Velvet, is that of 'Lyn ch town '.4 'Lynchtown' can be seen as a "cute, typically
American , small town in th e midst of an ocean of forest", wh er e white picket fen ces litter th e landscape,
an d everybody knows each other.5 In groun ding h is films in such in nocen t, familiar settin gs, Lynch is able
to best satisfy his desir e to fin d someth in g dark, something sin ister in th e most unlikely of places. At th e
same time, these settin gs allow th e viewer to en ter Lynch's wor ld th rough settings they can relate to an d
un derstan d, makin g his films appealin g with large audiences.
David Lynch was born in Missoula, Mon tana in 1946, and seems to h ave lived the life of th e allAmerican boy. He gr ew up in th e Pacific Nor th west, joined the Boy Scouts, ran for h igh sch ool treasur er ,
1
Alexander , Joh n. The Films of David Lyn ch , 11.
ibid., 20.
3
ibid., 20.
4
Chion , Mich ael. David Lynch, 83.
ibid., 83.
2
an d was an usher at John F. Kenn edy's inaugur ation.6 Fr om an ear ly age, however , Lyn ch r ecalls of
having dark fan tasies and being fascin ated with the unknown.7 This, 'pr omiscuous curiosity', that is, th e
idea of a naive per son, in a in nocent sur r oundings, looking to fin d that wh ich is hidden , is prevalent
thr oughout Lynch's best work.8 In college, Lynch decided to pursue a career as an ar tist and immediately
became interested in th e wor k of art th eorist Robert Hen ry.9 Henr y's teach ings on the dual intentions of an
ar tist, wh ich are both to "evoke pleasure an d abhorr en ce" in th eir wor k, fascin ated Lyn ch .10
Lynch's taste's soon tur ned to film, and it was thr ough this medium th at h e decided to express
himself.11 To Lynch, the idea of creating something th at the audien ce could en joy, an d yet be repelled by
at the same time, was fascinatin g. This con cept would also h elp Lynch succeed in dr awin g audiences and
thus making h is films commercially viable. The attr active surface of 'Lynchtown ', litter ed with attr active
char acter s and beautiful settings, contr asted with what Lynch saw as lur king under neath, pr oved
fascinatin g to both the 'ar t house' an d main stream crowd. Blue Velvet, considered by man y to be Lyn ch 's
master piece is a clear example of th e Dir ector at his artistic best wh ile appealing to a vast audience.12
Blue Velvet takes place in Lumbertown, an imaginary small town in the Pacific Northwest. The
film's protagonist, Jeffr ey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) arr ives home from college to visit his fath er , wh o
has r ecen tly suffer ed a stroke. On his way home from th e hospital, Jeffr ey discover s a sever ed ear in a
field. He is in trigued by his discover y an d, alon g with his neighbour, Sandy (Laura Der n), begin s to
un cover a mystery. Jeffrey soon finds out that the ear may belong to the missin g husban d of a nigh t-club
sin ger, Dor othy Vallen s (Isabella Rossellin i).13 He decides to seek evidence in her apar tmen t, but is for ced
to hide in h er closet when she unexpectedly r etur ns home.14 Jeffr ey is soon discovered by Dor oth y, who
for ces him to caress her un til sh e hear s a knock on the door. Dor othy hides Jeffr ey in th e closet, an d
allows Fr an k Booth (Den nis Hopper ) into her apartment. It soon becomes clear that Fr ank h as kidnapped
6
Kaleta, Kenn eth C.. David Lyn ch , 1.
ibid., 2.
8
ibid., 2.
9
ibid., 3.
10
ibid., 3.
11
Alexander , 2.
12
Katz, Eph raim. Th e Film Encyclopedia, 856.
13
Alexander , 91.
14
ibid.
7
Doroth y's h usband and son , and is for cin g her to satiate his sexual desir es in r eturn for th eir lives.15
Fr an k's beh aviour is terr ifying, he "for ces her to engage in fr an tic inter course punctuated by insults and
punches as he speaks successively in the voices of a baby and a daddy."16
After this scene, the film becomes a visual depiction of the h idden sickn ess that lies below the
sur face of Lumber town . Jeffr ey discover s a dr ug r in g r un by Fr an k an d his coh or ts, most of whom ar e
excessively violent psych opaths. Jeffrey also becomes Dor oth y's lover , while h e attempts to pur sue a
r elation sh ip with Sandy. In th e en d, Jeffr ey, along with the police, ar e able to do away with Fr an k an d his
gang, Dorothy is r eunited with her son (her h usband, however , is killed) and Jeffrey an d Sandy fall in
love.
Blue Velvet h as been descr ibed by some cr itics as a 'demented matinee'.17 To many it evokes
feelings of old Hollywood films with out being their clon e. Some have looked to Kyle MacLachlan an d
Laur a Dern 's performances as "someh ow r ooted in the leaden ten star s of an other era" and yet apart from
them. They evoke memor ies of 1950's teen idols such as Tr oy Don ah ue and San dr a Dee in th eir
manner isms and dress.19 These pr econ ceptions, h owever , will soon be tor n down by Lynch, as th e
char acter s under go a ser ies of changes. By th e en d of the film they become unique, 'Lyn chian' amalgams,
combin in g elemen ts of in nocen ce fr om a previous era an d mor e sin ister char acteristics fr om the pr esen t.20
Jeffr ey, in par ticular , changes as h e becomes aware of th at which lurks beneath the pristine
veneer of Lumber town . The viewer is, fr om the beginning of th e film, made aware th at th er e clear ly is
someth in g hidden below th is in nocent setting. Th e film open s with a musical montage, in which a series
of sh ots, accompanied by Bobby Vin ton's son g, 'Blue Velvet' in tr oduce us to Lumber town .21 A fire engine
passes by while th e fir eman smiles and waves, wh ite picket fen ces ar e in abundance, an d Mr. Beaumon t
water s th e lawn. As the son g fades, however , Mr . Beaumont has a str oke, an d as he falls to th e ground,
the scene ch anges dr amatically. We now see a close up shot of th e gr ass Mr . Beaumont was water ing,
15
Chion, 85.
ibid.
17
Kaleta, 91.
18
ibid., 90.
19
ibid., 91.
20
ibid., 91.
21
Alexander , 93.
16
wh ich appear s to be swar min g with beetles. Th ey ar e tearing each oth er apart.22 Th us, from th e initial
scene in the film we see Lynch's sin ister motif weavin g it's way thr ough out the n ar rative.
When Jeffr ey discover s the ear we are on ce again remin ded of Lynch's concept of something
hidden , something to be discovered. Accor ding to Lyn ch , "It had to be an ear because it's an opening .... It
goes somewhere vast."23 Th e ear will thus become "a symbol for what is beyon d un derstanding and for th e
pursued secret."24 It is because of his discovery of th e ear that Jeffrey will discover th at which is hidden ,
not only in Lumbertown, but in himself.
In demon str atin g Jeffr ey's discovery of h is in nermost though ts an d desir es, Lynch asks th e viewer
to do th e same. Th us, in the scene at Dor othy's apar tment wher e Jeffr ey begins the pr ocess of losin g his
inn ocence, we are on ly allowed to see what is h appening thr ough the eyes of a voyeur . 25 In th is way, the
viewer 's cur iosity in seeing what transpir es in the apar tment, mir rors Jeffr ey's own .26 The first par t of the
scene involves Jeffrey watching Dor othy undress an d speak to her kidnapped son on the telephone. Her e,
the viewer obser ves Doroth y thr ough Jeffrey's eyes. After he is discover ed by Dor othy, however, on ly the
audience is left in th e closet obser ving both Dor othy and Jeffrey together.27 Th e viewer is now th e sole
voyeur , Jeffrey's cur iosities ar e now our own. We watch Dor oth y un dr ess Jeffr ey as she ar ouses and
humiliates him at th e same time. Upon Frank's ar rival, Jeffr ey is forced back into the closet, where once
again the audien ce join s him in observin g Doroth y, an d now, Frank.28
Th is scen e, on e of th e most r epulsive in the film, disturbs an d yet fascin ates Jeffr ey. Th e same is
true of th e audience's r eaction to the film.29 Clear ly, the image of a psychotic man abusing and
humiliating an inn ocent woman is n ot appealin g to most people. What makes it en during, h owever, is th e
context in wh ich this scene is placed (innocent Lumbertown), an d the mann er in which it is filmed. Lynch
thus en cour ages th e audien ce to r elate to Jeffrey by watching th e scen e thr ough h is per spective.
ibid.
ibid., 94.
24
Kaleta., 95.
25
ibid., 105.
26
ibid., 105.
27
ibid., 103.
28
Noch imson, Mar th a P. The Passion of David Lynch, 108.
29
Kaleta, 108.
Jeffr ey, terr ified by Frank, an d yet aroused by Dor othy, cann ot help but delve fur th er in to th e
myster ies of Lumber town 's secr et wor ld. He becomes increasin gly fascinated with Doroth y's plight and h e
does so, begin s to learn more about himself. He becomes Dor othy's lover, yet soon fin ds h imself hitting
her in a fit of passion. When Jeffr ey is eventually kidn apped by Frank and h is gang, his inn ocen ce is
fin ally lost completely. He is taken to Fr an k's fr iend, Ben's h ome, wher e h e sees Lumbertown's true
un derbelly.30 Th e house is filled with gr otesque prostitutes, drug use, an d Ben (Dean Stockwell) singin g a
per verted ver sion of Roy Orbison's "In Dreams".31 After wards, Fr ank covers Jeffrey's face with r ed
lipstick, kisses h im, th en beats him with in an inch of his life. Th e n ext mor nin g, Jeffrey awakes in a ditch,
an d r etur ns to th e in nocent beauty of h is home in Lumber town . Wh en h is Aun t inquires about h is br uises,
Jeffr ey quips, "Aunt Bar bar a, I Love you, but your going to get it."32 Th e suggestion of violence has now
made it's way even into the pr istin e image of Jeffr ey's home.
Th e film, like most of Lynch's featur es, ends on a h appy n ote. Doroth y is r econciled with her son,
wh ile Jeffrey an d Sandy fall in love. Once again, all appears to be well in Lumbertown. Blue Velvet thus
gives the audien ce a glimpse in to th e dar ker side of reality, n o matter how pristine it may appear to be on
the sur face. In the film, Lynch was able to delve into his own psych e, gr ounded in a fascination for both
the inn ocen t and the gr otesque. As such, Blue Velvet is both repulsive and beautiful at the same time. It is
a h ighly un conven tional an d gr oundbr eaking film that appeals to many because of it's ability to pr esen t
an unknown, highly abstract wor ld in familiar settings.
30
Kaleta, 123.
ibid., 124.
32
ibid., 125.
31