Media Assignment: Blue Velvet

Media Assignment: Blue Velvet Analysis

The opening scene to Blue Velvet has no diegetic dialogue throughout the two minutes that it spans. Instead a non-diegetic song named “Blue Velvet” just like the film is played over the sequence as it shows several scenarios surrounded in urban happiness and bliss.

The first scene is a downwards tilt from the perfectly blue sky towards a white picket fence and a bed of red roses at a worms eye view. This shot connotes safety and happiness to the viewer due to the summer sky and the connection to nature. The white picket fence is reminiscent of those seen in early 50s generic advertisements where a dream American house would be depicted surrounded by a white picket fence. This connotes that the scene is in 50s America and is in a safe, ideal neighbourhood where nothing could go wrong. The bed of roses also connotes the idea of love and happiness due to their role as a flower to promote passion. These three things complementing each other give the scene a very pleasant and blissful aura and connotes to the viewer that the setting is calm and inviting. The scene then fades into a wide shot of a man waving with a Dalmatian dog on a very old fashioned looking fire truck, which appears to be a model used in the 50s, similar to the generic idea of a white picket fenced in America. This solidifies the idea that the opening sequence is supposed to represent a safe ideal America. The fire truck slowly drives past a white house in the background which is surrounded by the white picket fence seen in the previous shot. The house also seems reminiscent of the dream American home from the 50s. The fire truck passes by in slow motion so that the viewer can officially take in everything that is happening in the scene. The slow motion of the scene also connotes some form of eeriness as the movements are quite unnatural. The man is hanging on the side of the fire truck waving to the viewer in a docile manner, with a very relaxed Dalmatian dog sitting by his feet on the truck. Firemen have some status of authority and are thought to protect civilians and are often portrayed in very intense scenarios due to their role as firemen. To see a person riding so relaxed on the side of a fire truck connotes a large amount of safety in the area, as even the firemen seem to be under absolutely no pressure and are enjoying the sunny weather. The sequence continues to portray the town that they’re in as a very relaxed and safe place, filled with bliss where the firemen are carefree and the houses are all reminiscent of the American dream. The fireman seems to have direct eye contact with the viewer as he waves, which almost breaks the fourth wall as he stares towards you. This connotes that the fireman isn’t looking towards the camera but is more so looking directly at the viewer which gives off a very eerie atmosphere. This is further emphasised by the soft music in the background which aims to make the sequence seem calm but does an even better job at making it seem quite creepy.

The next scene is again of the white picket fence from the first shot, however this time with yellow tulips rather than red roses. This further connotes the idea of safety due to the traditional idea of a safe America through the ideal white picket fence presented in the scene. All of the shots appear to be fading into one another, which seems like a very unnatural transition in a movie. This connotes the idea that perhaps the entire sequence of the movie is unnatural. The shot then fades into a wide shot of a lollipop woman with a stop sign in the middle of a road, escorting several children across the road. This provides an atmosphere of safety and connotes to the viewer that everything is safe, the same premise which the opening sequence has been reinforcing thus far. Despite this there is still a seed of doubt placed in the viewer’s mind due to the unrealistic nature of a perfect town. The song in the background of the sequence further reinforces the idea of a creepy, eerie and unrealistic idea for a perfect town. The scene once again fades to another shot, this time of what seems to be an establishing shot of a white painted house with a white picket fence and an array of greenery. This connotes the idea of an ideal house; these kinds of houses are also always seen in generic teenage horror films or thrillers, often set in suburban American towns. The scene fades to a full body shot of what seems to be a generic old family man watering the flowers on his garden. This connotes an atmosphere of calmness and serenity, where absolutely nothing could go wrong. The shot once again fades through a transition, this time to what is assumed to be the interior of the fantasy house portrayed in the last scene. A middle shot of an elderly woman drinking tea while watching television. The atmosphere connotes a docile tone and safety, however it is soon contrasted by what is scene on the image of the television opposite of the woman. A gun is scene on the television, presumably from some form of television drama. The gun connotes immediate danger to the audience despite being only on the television, and adds a contrast to the perfect fantasy town which has been slowly built up thus far. This promotes a sense of impending danger for the audience. There is an evident contrast between the gun on the television and the town they’re living in, as the gun connotes to an impending threat however the town they’re in has been structured throughout the sequence to connote a blissful atmosphere. This implies that the town may not be what it seems on the surface layer, and the true underbelly of the town is being shown through the television to the audience temporarily. This is also quite strange because ordinarily the television is what displays a fantasy setting of perfection and unobtainable bliss while reality displays the cruel mortality of the world, however it seems switched in this sequence possibly to suggest that the town is hiding something as nothing could be this perfect. The opening shot to the entire Blue Velvet sequence may also support this idea, as the shot was a worms eye shot and could connote that it is from the perspective of a worm or somebody close to the ground, which could link to the shady underbelly of the town. As if the ugly reality of the town is looking up from below towards the blissful scenario.

The scene once again transitions through a fade back outside to the family man watering the garden with a carefree demeanour. The eerie music still playing over the music through non-diegetic sound. Gradually the music is slowly drowned out by the irritating screams of the hose faucet the man is using to water his flowers. The shot repeatedly looks towards the screaming faucet as well as a knot in the hose, causing a shortage of water to the hose. The loud noises of the hose which frequently interrupt the music or drown it out connote some form of impending danger since the sounds are rather loud, unexpected and threatening. The repetition of the screaming faucet also only builds up the idea of impending danger due to the fact that the threatening noise is not letting up and is only repeating, as if getting closer. Despite the impending danger that the hose connotes there ends up being no immediate scare, instead the man watering the flowers squeaks and frantically grabs his neck before dropping to the ground in pain. This unexpected turn connotes confusion and danger to the audience right after the build-up of the screaming hose. It is unclear why the man has fell to the floor however his actions could connote some internal injury rather than something physically hurting him which the build-up of danger had lead the audience to believe. As the man drops to the floor there is a full body shot of him lying in pain with the hose still spraying upwards, and a family dog playfully biting at the water as if it were a toy. This connotes an eerie vibe from the scene, as the non-diegetic music continues to play over the scene, still disconcerting and unusual, the dog seems to be playing right on top of the mans injured body as if nothing is wrong. The idea that the dog sees nothing wrong connotes the idea of the dog being oblivious, which may link to the entire town being completely oblivious of the dark underbelly of its own town’s happenings. The shot also zooms in on the dog attacking the hose and plays it in slow-motion, similar to the fire truck earlier in the sequence however with the added zoom on the dog. This slow down allows the audience to take in precisely what is happening without missing anything and the unusual movements of the dog in collaboration with the eerie music connotes an inhuman atmosphere.

After this the camera starts to gradually zoom towards the soil beside the man and the blue velvet music is gradually drowned out by the sound of a strange rumbling noise. The eerie rumbling connotes an impending danger, as the music that had once assured the audience that everything was safe in spite of its eerie connotations had now started to fade, and the gradual zoom in on the soil with the loud noise makes the viewer uncertain of what is going to happen, and therefore scared. As the camera continues to zoom in the scene changes to accommodate a better visual of the soil, the music completely gone and the rumbling noise slowly transitioning into what appears to be the crawling of bugs. What was once the dark soil was now the dark squirming bodies of repulsive insect’s right before the viewer. This definitely connotes an uneasy atmosphere to the viewer, connoting fear and danger due to the identity of the insects. The insects themselves represent the dark underbelly of the town, they are placed right below the family man and his blissful house to Imply that the shady dark side of the town is everywhere, it’s just right beneath them all the time, always prevalent. They are also placed there due to the fact that insects are not commonly difficult to find, similar to the dark scenario beneath the town. The blissful ignorance set up by the sequence so far implies that the townspeople themselves consciously ignore the goings on right under their noses however they turn a blind eye, enjoying their lives ignorantly.