film genre
... find a whole different side to it. He also projects this message through people. Dorothy, for example, is a seemingly ordinary and beautiful woman living in a nice apartment; nobody would suspect that she’s involved in an enormous crime or that she’s a psycho masochist who likes to be hit while having sex. Another example is Jeffrey who is also a seemingly sweet boy whose character in the movie discovers a whole different side to himself as a sadomasochist obeying Dorothy’s wishes of being hit. David Lynch also projects this message by playing with our expectations. The first time I watched this movie, I was very surprised at the fact that some of the sequences that were normally supposed to happen in those types of movies never did in Blue Velvet. For example, he uses dark places to fool us into thinking that something must happen there when it never does. When Jeffrey was specifically warned by his aunt about going on Lincoln street, as a viewer, I thought to myself “ oh god, time to close my eyes something’s going to happen on that street” but nothing ever did. And also, whenever there was a crescendo in the music and the place was obscure, again I thought that something was going to happen but it didn’t. I think that’s another way to say don’t be fooled by the appearances. The darkest of the places could be the least dangerous, like Lincoln Street, while the most comforting and inviting could be the most lethal, like Dorothy’s apartment. Also, another thing is the époque. I’ve spoken to many people about this film and most of those who saw it couldn’t figure out in which time the film is set. On one hand we have the old cars, which make us think that the movie is set in the 50’s, but on the other hand, the clothing seems more like the 80’s style. That’s another point on which Mr. Lynch plays to fool us yet again into judging appearances. The director uses a great deal of small details to convey this message of illusions. For example, Dorothy’s hair looks healthy and bea...