Major Paper: Psychoanalytic Analysis
Write a 3page, double-spaced essay using MLA formatting that provides a psychological analysis of the film Blue Velvet.
Use only one aspect of Freudian or Jungian theory to inform your analysis (e.g. the Oedipus Complex; the tripartite psyche: Id, Ego and Superego; Literary Archetypes; Archetypes of the self: Shadow, Anima, Persona.
Be sure that your essay has a title.
This essay requires two outside sources. Use the college databases MLA or JSTOR to find peer-reviewed, scholarly articles on the film. You may use one of the two articles we discuss this week and next for one of your sources.
Be sure that the essay has a Works Cited page.
Below are two introductory templates and a suggested outline for structuring the essay which you may work from…or, if you prefer, you may develop your own. (This is also meant as a model, something that you might tinker with to devise introductions in future upper-division courses.)
I. First, choose an introduction template that best applies to your individual sense of Blue Velvet:
Introduction template if I hated the movie…
Even if you hate David Lynch’s 1987 Blue Velvet, which I did for its [insert what you found objectionable here], this film is remarkable for its near textbook illustration of [insert psychological theorist’s name and the component of the theorist’s name you are going to focus on here]. On the surface the film dramatizes [give a one or two sentence plot summary]. But below the surface, Lynch attempts to illustrate the human unconscious through dramatic film. X [theorist’s name] theorized that [give a brief description of the theory here. ]. In Blue Velvet, Lynch employs [1) name of character[s], 2) pattern of images, or 3) thematic/plot element that you will be discussing] to demonstrate how [a statement about how these characters, images, or thematic/plot elements serve to illustrate the theory you are using to analyze the film].
Introduction template if I loved the film:
While David Lynch’s Blue Velvet is [insert what you found entertaining or praiseworthy about the film apart from its psychological implications here], it also is a film that any student of [name of theorist] should not miss. It presents a near textbook illustration of [insert psychological theorist’s name and the component of the theorist’s name you are going to focus on here]. On the surface the film dramatizes [give a one or two sentence plot summary]. But below the surface, Lynch is attempting to illustrate the vast region of the human mind that we call the unconscious. X, of course, theorizes that [give a brief description of the theory here]. In Blue Velvet, Lynch employs [name of character[s], pattern of images, or thematic/plot element that you will be discussing] to demonstrate how [a statement about how these characters, images, or thematic/plot elements serve to illustrate the theory you are using to analyze the film].
II. Then, here are some suggestions on how to compose the body and conclusion of your essay:
FIRST BODY PARAGRAPH (optional)
Justify the psychological reading of Blue Velvet by providing bits of dialog, images, plot/thematic elements that Lynch inserts in the movie which support such a reading of the film. Be sure to remember topic sentences.
NEXT THREE BODY PARAGRAPHS
Analyze the film with specific scenes, images or dialog which demonstrate the concept that you are discussing in your essay. Be sure to remember topic and clincher sentences.
CONCLUSION
Reiterate the main points made in the essay with a summary conclusion and end with a sentence or two that creates a sense of closure. Be careful not to introduce any new evidence in the conclusion.
When you write about film, it is more productive to discuss scenes in detail than to get bogged down by excessive plot summary. Just like when writing about literature, assume your reader is familiar with the work you are discussing. Things to observe in the film-scene analysis include the set, the lighting, camera placement, and, of course, the words the characters speak. This week’s discussion contains the script from a pivotal scene from Blue Velvet when Frank sexually abuses Dorothy. It should provide good practice for writing your Psychological analysis of the film.
