EXPLORING WOMEN’S PORTRAYAL AND NARRATIVE ENTANGLEMENT IN DAVID LYNCH’S ‘BLUE VELVET’ (1986): POSTMODERN CINEMATIC ANALYSIS

Zakiyah Dania Billah

Abstract


This study conducted a concise postmodern cinematic analysis of ‘Blue Velvet’ (1986), directed by David Lynch, focusing on the portrayal of women and their narrative roles. ‘Blue Velvet’ exemplifies postmodern cinema through its subversion of conventional storytelling and exploration of dark undercurrents in suburban America. The analysis delved into the multifaceted depiction of women, examining how Lynch employs the “male gaze” through camera work and narrative structure, reinforcing patriarchal power dynamics. By scrutinizing key scenes, we revealed women often depicted for male viewer gratification. This study provided a new viewpoint on ‘Blue Velvet,’ shedding light on its challenge to cinematic norms and highlighting the interplay of gender, power, and narrative in a postmodern context.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Bodin, G., Poulsen, I., 1998. Blue velvet by David Lynch: A fairy tale about the developmental conflicts of growing from boyhood to manhood. Psychoanal Inq 18, 238–250.

Burke, M., 2016. Behind the white picket fence: power and privilege in a multiethnic neighborhood. Ethn Racial Stud 39, 494–496. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2015.1095310

Corrigan, T., White, P., 2012. The film experience: An introduction. Macmillan.

Cunningham, S., Macrae, C., 2011. The colour of gender stereotyping. Br J Psychol 102, 598–614. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.2011.02023.x

Joseph, R., 2017. ‘I Looked for You in My Closet Tonight’: Staging the Violence of the Real through ‘Candy-Colored’Suburban Dreamscapes, in: Filmurbia: Screening the Suburbs. Springer, pp. 255–274.

Knafo, D., 2012. At the Limits of the Primal Scene: Revisiting Blue Velvet 1, in: Dancing with the Unconscious. Routledge, pp. 157–172.

Layton, L., 1994. Blue Velvet: A parable of male development. SCREEN-LONDON- 35, 374.

Lipkin, E., 2009. Girls’ Studies: Seal Studies, Seal Studies. Basic Books.

Lynch, D., 1986. Blue Velvet. De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, United States.

Martin, R., 2013. Neighbourhoods or nothing? Social relations in David Lynch’s Blue Velvet. European Journal of American Culture 32, 235–247.

Martinicorena, S., 2021. “Are You a Bad Boy?”: Variations of the American Adam in David Lynch’s. Gender Studies 20, 92–109.

Mayhew, J., 2015. Pantomimes of Death within Suburbia: Abject Boredom in Yates’ Revolutionary Road, Lynch’s Blue Velvet, and Bowen’s “Attractive Modern Homes.” Interdisciplinary Literary Studies 17, 617–634.

Mulvey, L., 2013. Visual pleasure and narrative cinema, in: Feminism and Film Theory. Routledge, pp. 57–68.

Mulvey, L., 1989. Visual pleasure and narrative cinema, in: Visual and Other Pleasures. Springer, pp. 14–26.

Norman, S.Ç., 2011. POSTMODERNIST FILM: A CINEMATIC GENRE. sinecine: Sinema Araştırmaları Dergisi 2, 65–79.

Prihantono, K. D. (2018). ANALISIS STILISTIKA SENO GUMIRA AJIDARMA DALAM CERPEN REMBULAN DALAM CAPUCINO: KAJIAN POSTMODERNISME JEAN FRANCOIS LYOTARD [Seno Gumira Ajidarma’s Literary Stylistics In “A Short Story Rembulan Dalam Capucino”: A Study Of Jean Francois Lyotard Postmodernism]. TOTOBUANG, 6(1).

Ruers, J., Marianski, S., 2022. Freud/Lynch : Behind the Curtain. Phoenix Publishing House, pp. 1–196.

Sari, H., Natalia, S. P., & Nurhayati, A. (2021). Nilai Budaya dalam Novel Ulid Karya Mahmud Ikhwan Suatu Tinjauan Postmodernisme Jean Francois Lyotard. Jurnal Onoma: Pendidikan, Bahasa, dan Sastra, 7(1), 1-14.

Tembo, K.D., 2020. “I’m Seeing Something That Was Always Hidden”: Innocence and Coming into Knowledge Through the Gaze in Blue Velvet and Malèna. Cross Generational Relationships and Cinema 187–212.

Tyson, L., 2014. Critical theory today: A user-friendly guide. Routledge.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17977/um006v8i12024p46-58

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


ISLLAC indexed by:

CROSSREF SINTA GARUDA GOOGLE SCHOLAR RESEARCH BIB BASE SEARCH PKP INDEX OPENARCHIVES WORLDCAT ONESEARCH

ISLLAC : Journal of Intensive Studies on Language, Literature, Art, and Culture
Jurusan Sastra Indonesia, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia (Department of Indonesian Literature, Faculty of Letters, State University of Malang, Indonesia)

ISSN : 2597-7385 (media online) - SK no. 0005.25977385/JI.3.1/SK.ISSN/2017.09 - 19 September 2017

Lisensi Creative Commons

ISLLAC : Journal of Intensive Studies on Language, Literature, Art, and Culture is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

View My Stats