Analysis of a scene from Eraserhead- David Lynch- Avant Garde

Although David Lynch did not specialise in short films, and had directed the likes of Twin Peaks; which in itself could be considered as a very abstract drama, he also directed Eraserhead in 1977, which was a black and white movie that can be considered as very Avant Garde.

The scene in which I looked at was where a dead cooked chicken started moving on a charcters plate. The legs started moving in the air and eventually blood and various other things started spilling out of it. It had elements of horror to it and the reactions form the other characters were very strange. It could be considered very artistic and weird to have such a thing happen in a movie. I believe that the purpose of this scene was to trigger an emotion and to make the audience feel uncomfortable and disgusted.

The black and white colouring of the film sets no tone or mood to the scene however the lighting and the props used makes it look sinister anyway. This adds to the horrific elements of what David Lynch uses in this film to contribute to triggering a reaction from his audience. The Avant Garde elements could be considered similar to other films such as The Big Shave as it is unconventionaland is using blood and gore linked to something that is either an every day action (shaving) or something that is considered as normal (a cooked chicken).