Response to: "Blue Velvet a Dream?"

I mentioned this on Twitter, and I'll mention it again here.

The argument that you put forth is an extremely valid one, obnoxiously valid.

I guess I say "obnoxious" because in most instances, writing a story off as a dream seems to be the only logical way to explain all of it's occurrences in a way that society is comfortable with. 

Yes, dreams are a very powerful motif in Blue Velvet, but I believe that their underlying meaning is not that the movie itself was all a dream, but that if we get too caught up in fantasy worlds, we can use their dream-like nature to justify wrong doings. 

Let me try to explain this in the least rambling way possible:

Sandy's father is a detective. He is used to dealing with the dark issues, the underworld, the happenings behind the curtain. He makes this statement concerning his line of work: as Jeffery seems to be swooning over the greatness of mystery, Sandy's father agrees, but he makes a point to say that "it's terrible too," and proceeds to warn Jeffery not to get involved. 

I believe that the point Sandy's father is trying to subtly make is that one must be detached when dealing with this particular type of work. 

I believe a very strong example of the detective's aloofness is his reaction to Jeffery's very first discovery: "Yep, that's a human ear alright." I think any regular citizen, especially one from such a quaint town, would be a bit more disturbed with this finding. The detective takes things at face value, and certainly does not try to distort their meaning so as to gain some kind of comfort. 

Frank, in my opinion, serves to juxtapose this view. He seems to treat his life and all that he does as some sort of game or performance. He disillusions himself in just about every way possible in order to separate himself from reality and his victims, because it gives him justification for his actions. There are scores of examples for this assertion: His alcoholism and drug usage, his inability to look his victims in the eyes, and perhaps most powerfully, the fact that when he shoots, he drapes blue velvet over his gun. He even choreographs his fist fights to wistful songs. Frank is living in a dream world. This is a dangerous state to be in, as the detective subtly noted. Violence and selfish desires now seem less personal. 

In short, I do believe that the movie concerns fantasy vs. reality, but not in a literal sense. I believe that all of the occurrences actually, well, occurred.