Blue Velvet

After watching Blue Velvet I feel that it was truly a mystery thriller with elements of Film Noir splashed throughout the movie. What I am having trouble with is coming to a realization about why this movie pertains to The Cold War. The small town of Lumberton, in which Jeffrey Beaumont calls home, is the picturesque, ideal 1980’s town that we usually associate now days with the incredibly nostalgic Reagan Era. The Car that Jeffrey Drives, Sandy’s high school, and the little Diner that the couple always goes to reminds me of the 1950’s, and something that closely resembles the movie Grease. At first glance no audience would suspect that there is something horribly wrong going on in this town as there is an unknown and sinister criminal underworld that has gone undetected. Jeffrey Beaumont happens to stumble across a random human ear in a field by his house and then he decides to take the ear to the authorities. I myself would have just kept walking and disregarded it totally. David Lynch does an incredible job by taking the plot into territory that no one first watching this movie would have expected. We see Jeffrey infiltrate Dorothy Vallens apartment disguised as an exterminator and he later returns to be caught red handed in his attempts at espionage. He witnesses the psychotic and sadomasochistic character in Frank Booth and realizes that there is something horribly wrong going on in his small town. The movie does a 180 from a beautiful small town with no problems at all into a vicious, immoral underworld that at some points seems invincible through Jeffrey’s eyes. Animal life is a theme that is present throughout the entire movie and symbolizes the defeat of Lumberton’s dark criminal activity. Lynch’s use of insects symbolizes the criminal underbelly of Lumberton. In the beginning of the movie we see the severed human ear covered in ants representing who might have done the crime. Jeffrey, with the help of Sandy disguises himself as an exterminator, symbolizing that he would eventually rid the town of the criminal infestation. Sandy expresses that she had a dream about a bunch of Robins symbolizing Love and peace and that she was comforted by the dream. Sure enough at the end of the film they see a Robin on the windowsill with a bug in its mouth, symbolizing a time of peace, and the death of the antagonist Frank Booth. Everyone then lives happily ever after. The use of insects was an interesting symbol used by Lynch to characterize immoral men in the shadow of a peaceful small town like Lumberton. The plot which disguises itself at first as a modern interpretation of a typical American small town turns into a Post-Modern example of immorality, drug use, and criminal activity. In the article Po-Mo Puritan, the author talks in great length over the Ideologies and motives of David Lynch in his films and his life. The author says that Lynch was influenced by Zoroastrianism and recognizably the struggle between good and evil. His antagonist Frank Booth is a prime example of a Demon, showing not one bit of morality or compassion. The article compares Puritan writer, Cotton Mather, to Lynch’s movies now days. Mather wrote about the influence of the devil hidden among the Puritan settlers in the darkness of the woods. Lynch depicts the influence of devil like characters hidden underground in small town America. Did you like this detective thriller and expect the plot to be anything like it was. Do you believe that the 80’s Reagan Era although similar to the 1950’s could never be like that generation due to the overbearing effect of post modernity? Did you like the connections to insects that I made in this blog?

It's Foxy Cleopatra!

In the beginning of Jennifer Brody’s article “The Return of Cleopatra Jones” there is an interesting quotation by Ossie Davis that says, “What's Past is Prologue; but in black history it's also Precedent.” This statement in my opinion reflects the African American identity being assimilated into popular culture in the 70’s. Prior to these times in history the African American woman had no identity in the media and were left out in the cold. After watching Cleopatra Jones I was instantly reminded of Austin Powers: Goldmember as Beyonce’s character was ‘Foxy Cleopatra” a strong but feminine secret agent who spoke as strongly as she was physically. This goes back to the article’s idea of a 1970’s revival in the 1990’s. Cleopatra Jones may dress outlandishly and her high-flying karate skills may come under scrutiny but in my opinion she is the sole representation of a strong African American female with a power position among her peers and law enforcement. The reading then focuses on the possibility of Cleopatra Jones to be a “queer” character more so in the sequel than in the original film that came out in 1973. Queer not necessarily meaning lesbian in this case as she dressed in a pristine and outrageous manner. She was the epitome of the African American feminist but carried herself in a highly masculine way. She reigned over the law enforcement and other male characters instilling fear and respect among her peers. There were a couple of instanced in which she totally served these guys up. When she was in the airport and foiled the attack by mommy’s stooges she kills a man, flashes her presidential identification and scampers off like nothing even happened. Even further into the film she places a call to the police department over their raid over an African American safe-haven and the one officer states that “it’s Cleo, and she’s hot”. The cowardice of the officers in dealing with Cleopatra Jones is almost laughable as she carries the stick. I would not say this warrants the character of Cleo as a lesbian as the author of the article tries to prove. Brody insists that there were several references of Cleopatra Jones in Lesbian related movies made in the 1990’s. These references according to Brody’s article were based off of the second installment of Cleopatra Jones, which we were unable to see in class. The article said that she was “heterosexualized” in the first movie and made queer in the second. The only homosexuality we saw in Cleopatra Jones was the queer behavior of the antagonist in Shelly Winter’s character, mommy. What can be said for Cleopatra Jones and movies like it in the 70’s was that it was highly revolutionary for both African Americans and Feminists. In class we discussed that African American females were very hesitant to support feminist ideologies as they were still focused on the civil rights movement. What do you think of the article? Do you view Cleopatra Jones as “queer” or even as a lesbian? Do you think the author of the article went and overanalyzed the movie as most of the author’s of the readings do? Do you think I’m wrong? I know Nic probably does.

BlackBoard Jungle.. Daddy-O

The American youth subculture in the 1950’s was quite different from that of the previous generation who were very much involved in the second world war. This new rock and roll generation, that lived in a time of economic prosperity had time on their hands and were exposed to rapidly changing environment here in the states. The expansion of suburbs and the new face of urban cities redefined the appearance of America at the time. Juvenile delinquency, including gang violence, vandalism, and loitering was thought to be a great threat to the older generation of the time as sexuality and rock and roll seemed to be very much on the rise. African American musicians were thought to be fueling the fire with highly explicit and sexual overtones in their music, and this music was considered to be “The devil’s music”. During this time in American history the civil rights movement was well under way and the desegregation of schools was prominent in the headlines.
Blackboard Jungle (1955) illustrates the rise of juvenile delinquency in an inner city school where the teachers describe it as a “garbage can”. This is attributed to the severe behavioral problems of the school’s students and their unwillingness to learn in a classroom situation. Racial themes are prevalent throughout the plot and the relationship between the teacher, Richard Dadier and Sidney Poitier’s character, Greg Miller is one of strong tension and eventually friendship. The in-class article by Beth McCoy “Manager, Buddy, Delinquent: Blackboard Jungle's Desegregating Triangle” focuses on a triangular relationship between the white male protagonist, the black male character, and the white woman. The conflict between Dadier and Miller starts off on a sour note as he meets the African American student at first smoking in a school bathroom instead of being in line with his classmates. After reprimanding the student he realizes that Miller is insubordinate in class, quite intelligent, and a leader amongst the other students. Dadier’s accusations that Miller threw the baseball at him during class and that he went to the principal over Dadier’ racial comments were unfair to the student and show Dadier’s own racial dilemma, singling out the class’s only African American student.
The real triangular relationship to focus on in the movie is the one between Dadier, Miller, and the delinquent white youth in Artie West. West is the villain in this situation due to the fact that he had Dadier mugged in the ally way, he threw the baseball in class, told the principal that Dadier used distasteful racial remarks in the classroom, and even harasses his wife into a deep depression which caused a premature birth. West’s attempts to scare Dadier away from the school are thwarted by the pact of friendship made by the white and black protagonists. Not until the end of the film do we see this “buddy” relationship between the teacher and student. This friendship is symbolic because it shows an interracial relationship springing up during the time of desegregation, signaling an understanding rather than indifference.
I personally enjoyed this movie and it’s always interesting to read some of the crazy stuff that comes out of these articles. What I found to be interesting was the fact that McCoy thought that West’s character showed traces of homosexuality in that he over-obsessed over Dadier, led his peers in a gang, and that he participates in homoerotic banter with his classmates. He witnesses Dadier speaking to women in the movie but his focus is strictly on Dadier.
Do you think that West’s character is a homosexual or that this is just completely over-analyzed by the article‘s author? Do you believe that the social triangles within the film should have West or Miller as the “other” or the negative influence of the film? Does the “buddy” relationship between Miller and Dadier remind you of Lethal weapon?

Atomic Cafe

With the birth of atomic weaponry in the world came times of great fear and responsibility. These devastating weapons had a profound mental effect on civilians during The Cold War and even now.  In Zarlengo’s “Civilian Threat, the Suburban Citadel, and Atomic Age American Women” we see that prior to World War Two there were efforts taken to prevent or limit air attacks on civilians. However as the war progressed accidents occurred and there seemed to be somewhat of a disregard for civilian casualties. Dropping bombs on civilian targets seemed to have a psychological effect on the afflicted hindering morale and disabling war efforts.

The atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki claimed the lives of thousands of civilians, however it was argued that these bombs also saved thousands (even millions) of American lives. The bombs were a crippling blow to Japanese morale and lead to their eventual surrender. The magnitude of these attacks however was insurmountable and weapons of mass destruction were used without full understanding of radiation exposure. With tensions still high after the war, and communist Russia acquiring their own nuclear technology a threat loomed on the horizon.

            Atomic Café (1982) captures American hysteria over The Cold War. With the arms race in full swing the documentary showcases the American response to fear, methods of understanding nuclear technology, methods or preparation in case of a nuclear attack, propaganda film, and the gruesome realities of those affected by the bomb. When the U.S. military had sole possession of the bomb the American people there was a sense of comfort as a world power. However as soon as Russia acquired this same deadly technology, unease and panic ran thick through the air. It’s sort of like going punch for punch with a friend wouldn’t you say? We could dish it out but we didn’t want to take it.

            People all over the country went to great precautionary lengths for survival just in case a bomb was dropped on American soil. People built bomb shelters into their homes and places in their neighborhoods. They moved out to the suburbs away from major cities as these locations were thought to be perfect targets for nuclear strikes. There was a particular clip in Atomic Café where they showed a man dressing his son in lead clothing to prevent radiation poisoning. The government and education institution issued information on what to do in case of a nuclear attack. They implemented the duck and cover technique in the classroom to increase chances of survival. Scientists however would state that a nuclear blast would eradicate everything in a 12 mile radius of a nuclear blast, making these techniques and inventions futile. Although there was a great deal of fear amongst civilians everyone was expected to fight the threat of nuclear war by living their lives as normal as possible. Women were expected to maintain the home (and the bomb shelter) and were often restricted from working jobs as they used to during world war two. Men were expected to carry on in their careers to make the U.S. as great as it possibly could be during dark times. Although nuclear threats remain present today it is incredible how people perceived them decades ago. The atomic bomb defined the period. Our generation today may have a laugh at the irrationality of those involved in the cold war but for those people it was a time of great uncertainty.