The Severed Eye: Sight, Sound, and Gender in Blue Velvet

David Lynch's film Blue Velvet (1986) tells the story of Jeffrey Beaumont, who becomes embroiled in a mystery surrounding a tortured nightclub singer. Lynch uses Jeffrey's journey as a lens through which to explore the insidious power of toxic heteropatriarchal masculinity. In this article, I explore Jeffrey's journey toward a new and respectful feminist masculinity. Although scholars have previously considered Jeffrey's evolution and the film's feminist politics, this essay's intervention lies in framing this examination through both sight and sound; in making this intervention, I draw on Lacanian theory to elucidate the film's relationship with desire and fantasy.