Opening sequence

In the opening scene of blue velvet it shows the happy, suburban America in around the time of the 1960s.  At the start of the scene there is a white fence with red roses and a blue sky, which is the typical red, blue and white American flag.  The roses shown in this shot could represent love, which could represent what could happen later on in the film.  However it could also represent loss of love as it is a mysterious scene and doesn’t give away much for what could happen next.  The yellow lilies represent death which could also link to what happens later on the film. The lilies contradict the scene as everyone seems happy and the jolly music shows the positive atmosphere. This mise-en-scene is used to represent how America was stereotyped as at this time.

Everyone seems happy which shows this is a safe place and everyone is friendly which shows the ideal, peaceful America at this time. This is used to hide the other side of America as this is the typical stereotype of what America was like. Other sides of America are not portrayed as they don’t want America to be viewed like that.  Even when the fire engine passes the house the firemen wave at people and he has his dog on there with him, which shows there is never any danger and there is no rush to get around. However the scene does show it patrolling around so it therefore forebodes that there is danger around. The fire engine is also shown driving past the house which shows that it might be needed later on in the film to help. It is an old fashioned fire engine, which give the audience a feel for what time period this is set in.

It then shows a normal male who seems like he is a late adult doing the gardening peacefully and nicely. However he gets the hose pipe tangled in the bush and the atmosphere seems to change. This is because as soon as this happens the happy music seems to get quieter and the tone of music seems to change.

When the camera goes through the house it shows a gun on the TV which could show what might happen later on in the film as the music seems to stop for a second when it shows the gun.

When the camera goes back out of the house it focuses on the hose to make it seem like that is boing to cause danger for the man but it becomes irrelevant it shows the man fall to the floor instead. The director keeps it mysterious as to what happened to him so it makes the audience want to watch on to see what happened. After he has fell, the dog jumps on him and starts drinking the water aggressively in slow motion which could also link to the fact that they don’t have to keep an eye on their dogs as they know nothing will happen to them. As it focuses on the dog it could also show the lack of importance the man has in the film.

After the man has fallen the camera starts to go through the grass and then tense music starts to play but before you get to the end, the scene ends so it puts the audience at ease to carry on watching it.