Thursday, January 20, 2011

Veludo Azul













Fifty years ago today as an Eagle Scout, David Lynch was on hand for JFK's stirring first inaugural address. That day was also Lynch's fifteenth birthday. Today, it's his sixty-fifth.  This year will be the twenty-fifth anniversary of Blue Velvet. Time is strange. Life is stranger. Because. It. Incorporates. Time. And. Space. Dreams. And. Imagination. It Follows the Rules; It Breaks the Rules.  

David Lynch's life has been full of odds and ends. As a boy, he lived in Durham, North Carolina, for a stint; his parents had met at Duke University. Lynch later enjoyed his years learning the trade in Philadelphia, though it must have been a raucous time.

In língua portuguesa, Blue Velvet becomes Veludo Azul.   Translating the Portuguese title into French will get you Velours Bleus, but in 1987, Blue Velvet was released in France as Blue Velvet. Regardless of the language, David Lynch remains the credited director. That's the way the Earth rolls.

Besides it being David Lynch's birthday and the fiftieth anniversary of JFK's big day in DC, January 20th notches the date for Reagan's inauguration in 1981 and Barack Obama's just two years ago, in 2009. JFK was the youngest elected and the first Catholic president going in, Reagan the oldest and Obama the first African American (and fifth to youngest) president. So much for today's cultural colligations. What's the last David Lynch production you might have seen? "Call me -- I'm already there."

Today's Rune: Initiation.

4 comments:

JR's Thumbprints said...

I've always found it interesting how "Blue Velvet" doesn't quite fit any time period with its small town atmosphere, the clothing styles, and the vehicles.

Johnny Yen said...

That's fascinating about Lynch. It's interesting the arc people's lives take.

jodi said...

Erik, Blue Velvet freaked me out at the time. Just too fast forward fo me then. I'd like to see it again tho, to see what I missed.

Erik Donald France said...

Thanks all for the comments! JR, very true. Lumberton is a real town in NC, but in the movie it is also like a NW town. Lumbee Indians are among the inhabitants in real life. The studios were in nearby Wilmington. Jodi, it took me a couple times to get into the swing of it.