The Similarities of Frank Booth & Franco Barbi: A Character Analysis
cw: mentions of rape, assault
Notes: I originally watched the film Blue Velvet for the first time last year, but it's stuck with me ever since that the antagonist Frank Booth feels like he had to have been some of the inspiration behind Franco Barbi, and it's so fascinating to me primarily because I went into the movie without knowing that! Definitely give the film a watch if you haven't already, especially if you're a fan of Franco Barbi and can also handle dark subject matter.
Both Franco and Frank Booth's characters have a desire to intimidate and dominate others through physical violence/language, but what makes it interesting is that they simultaneously humiliate themselves in the process of doing so. They're both violent and aggressive gangsters that are quick to threaten others just to mask their own inadequacy and feelings of inferiority.
In Franco, this sort of self-imposed humiliation can be seen in the way he refers to himself as "Baby", carries around a pacifier, drinks from baby bottles, fake cries, and also becomes aroused by the idea of a mother figure dominating him (To Mother Gooseberry: "Mother, mother, mother... Baby needs discipline")
With Frank Booth, there is also this shared trait of referring to himself as "Baby" during his assault of Dorothy, but he also notably chooses to emasculate himself in his attempt to humiliate the main character when he puts lipstick on himself and kisses the unwilling Jeffrey.
Both Frank and Franco are incredibly insecure men who fear judgment from others, even if they would never admit it aloud. The following lines are incredibly similar to one another and showcase the fact that while they like being in control, there is this sense of shame in themselves that they are unable to mask completely.
This insecurity can also be seen in the way that they both crave male validation. For Franco, he seeks the love and approval of his father. Respectively, for Frank, he looks up to his friend, Ben, who is the one person he is seen genuinely praising (multiple times, in fact!) in the entire movie and trying to impress ("See, Ben? I can make [Jeffrey] do anything I please.")
Despite their obvious insecurities, they both try to uphold this masculine, powerful image by clinging onto violence whether through cruel actions, objects like their guns, or harsh language (Both characters also have an obsession with using the word "fuck" and seemingly the very idea of fucking itself.)
Another key aspect is that, in both men, their frustration towards the female sex and the idea of motherhood is evident and affects the way they regard the women in their lives.
With Franco, this is illustrated by climbing inside women's wombs, cutting off their nipples to use for bottles, caging them, "milking them," or breastfeeding from corpses.
Meanwhile, with Frank, this is shown in him kidnapping/torturing a mother's husband in order to exhibit control/sense of ownership over her and prevent her from leaving him, referring to Dorothy as "tits" rather than using her name, assaulting her, and salivating over her exposed breasts before hurting her (while saying "Baby wants to pinch them").
This isn't even mentioning that both men force the role of "Mommy" onto their female victims.
Both Frank and Franco associate the concepts of sex/love with violence. This is why when Franco assumes Gooseberry has a boyfriend, he immediately resorts to violent thoughts and imagines killing this supposed boyfriend in order to prove himself and stake his claim on her. Not so dissimilar from Frank Booth in the way that he kidnapped/tortured and then later shot Dorothy's husband, as well as beat and threatened Jeffrey for also getting involved with her, all for the sake of keeping her isolated and maintaining sole possession/control over her.
(Side note: Serious character analysis aside, it also amuses me greatly that the names "Frank Booth" and "Franco Barbi" are so similar, on top of their personalities. At this point, I'm more convinced that Frank is Franco's father than Salvatore.)
