Task 2 Research Into Existing Products- Blue Velvet Analysis

An analysis of the opening scene of Blue Velvet directed by David Lynch. 

Blue Velvet is a 1986 American style Mystery directed by David Lynch. The storyline focuses on young man who takes on an investigation after finding a severed ear in a field. Lynch ironically presents this mystery through presenting the horrors of the film within an idealistic American neighbourhood, this is effective because everything is portrayed as safe and fine but as the story develops you find the darker side of this perfect neighborhood.

During the opening scene the director has used a blue velvet curtain background, to me this suggests an opening of a play. Typical 1950’s music using the lyrics “Blue Velvet” are suggestive that the film will be set in such time.

The representation of the “perfect neighbourhood” is formed through the mise-en-scene of the film. The establishing shot opens with a shot of red rose’s in-front of a white picket fence, the top of the shot shows a blue sky. This to me is suggestive of the neighbourhood the film is set in. The colours being white, red and blue are suggestive of the American Flag; this is used to show that the setting is the patriotic typical American environment. The roses symbolise love; this foreshadows the motif of the film. However as the roses are red, which is strongly associated with blood, it links/forebodes the shots displayed just minutes later of the death of the protagonist.

 Secondly the scene of the 1950’s style fire engine is used to elaborate and enforce the setting and time period. The way of which the fireman is riding the vehicle on the side and is waving to the on going members of the public suggests this is a community fireman whom knows the neighbourhood well enough to wave to people as well as showing he is in no rush or emergency, contradicting to the view of present day being a fire engine typically rushing to an emergency. The fire engine is used to show that in this neighbour hood things are typical to how they are usually, I think this is suggestive of the fact that the setting is typically “utopian”. He rids the vehicle with a Dalmatian by his side; I think this is an example of the dog being used as a prop in order to show that the setting is stereotypical. In my opinion the fireman with “man’s best friend” the dog by his side is very stereotypical of the American neighbourhood David Lynch is aiming to create.







 Moreover the medium long shot of the children crossing the road is used also to convey the typically American neighbourhood ideology, the mise-en-scène of the “lollipop” lady being present and escorting the children across is to show that during in this time the children were looked after, the fact that the children walk along to road alone without assistance from a parent shows that the neighbourhood is that trusted and safe that the children are free to walk to school themselves.







The use of the T.V. as a prop demonstrates that crime, of which is being shown on the T.V. through an aiming gun, is something only found on T.V. This utopian neighbourhood is supposedly safe from conspiracy and crime however this point contradicted with the mysterious and unexplained death of the male gardener. Therefore within Act 1 a hook is created of which leaves a sense of what dangers underlie within this so-called perfectly safe town. 

The use of the P.O.V/worm shot towards the end of the scene demonstrates an almost snake like slither beneath the ground, this is symbolically used to create the mysterious hook of what is underlying /what is hiding in this town.