In Dreams: A Freudian Analysis of David Lynch’s Mulholland Dr. and Lost Highway Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Ethan Finley, B.A. Graduate Program in Comparative Studies The Ohio State University 2013 Thesis Committee Eugene Holland, Advisor Dana Renga Sean O’Sullivan Copyright by Ethan Andrew Finley 2013 Abstract The film art of David Lynch is undoubtedly some of the most bizarre, mysterious, and difficult being made by an American filmmaker. As such numerous interpretations and theoretical lenses can and have been applied to Lynch’s work in an effort to decode, unlock, or make clear and sensible what is otherwise an enigmatic body of work. The project of this essay then, is to bring bear upon Lynch’s work, a theoretical lens and concomitant reading that is both fruitful and largely ignored in scholarship on Lynch’s films. The theoretical lens in mind is that of Freud’s psychoanalysis, in particular his theory of dreams, and to lesser extent, his theory of mourning and melancholia. The objects of study will be two films of David Lynch that lend themselves to interpretation as film representations of dreams. The films in question are Mulholland Dr. (2001) and Lost Highway (1997). ii Vita 2001……………………………………….........................Margaretta High School 2008………………………………………….......................B.A. Philosophy, The Ohio State University 2012 to 2013…...................................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department Comparative Studies, The Ohio State University Fields of Study Major Field: Comparative Studies iii List of Figures Figure 1. Story Timeline ................................................................................................................. 58 Figure 2. Story Timeline ................................................................................................................. 59 Figure 3. Plot Timeline ................................................................................................................. 112 Figure 4. Story Timeline ............................................................................................................... 113 iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ ii Vita .................................................................................................................................................. iii List of Figures .................................................................................................................................. iv Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Section A - Outline of Freudian theory .......................................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Section A – Mulholland Dr. – Intro to dream analysis ................................................ 54 Chapter 3: Section A – Lost Highway – Introduction Dream analysis ......................................... 108 Chapter 4: Thesis Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 150 References ................................................................................................................................... 160 v Introduction The film art of David Lynch is undoubtedly some of the most bizarre, mysterious, and difficult being made by an American filmmaker. As such numerous interpretations and theoretical lenses can and have been applied to Lynch’s work in an effort to decode, unlock, or make clear and sensible what is otherwise an enigmatic body of work. The project of this essay then, is to bring bear upon Lynch’s work, a theoretical lens and concomitant reading that is both fruitful and largely ignored in scholarship on Lynch’s films1. The theoretical lens in mind is that of Freud’s psychoanalysis, in particular his theory of dreams, and to lesser extent, his theory of mourning and melancholia. The objects of study will be two films of David Lynch that lend themselves to interpretation as film representations of dreams. The films in question are Mulholland Dr. (2001) and Lost Highway (1997). 1 When it comes to psychoanalytic approaches to interpreting Lynch’s films, Freud and Dreams have largely passed over for Lacan and fantasy. However, when Freud and his dream theory are invoked for understanding Lynch, such as with Graham Fuller’s “Babes in Babylon” and Calvin Thomas’ “It’s No Longer Your Film”, they are only used superficially. Even the one other reading to really focus on Freud’s dream theory, Jay Lentzner and Donald Ross’ “The Dreams that Blister Sleep” only appeals to Interpretation of Dreams and ignores the rest of Freud and his numerous later essays on or involving dreams. 1 Before diving into a Freudian (dream) analysis of these films it will first be necessary to provide an overview of the Freudian theory that I’ll be relying upon. To that end I’ll begin with an outline of Freud’s models of the human psyche or mind and the drives which motivate it. Next, I’ll outline Freud’s theory of dreams and their mechanics. Following this I’ll turn to an outline of Freud’s understanding of the uncanny and mourning and melancholia; meanwhile taking care to address how and why these aspects of psychic life would appear in dreams. Having laid out all the Freudian theoretical tools for my analysis, the following chapters will be devoted to the analysis of the films. With one film to a chapter, I will analyze the film from the perspective that it is a film representing a dream(s). The analysis chapters will then provide arguments for why it makes sense to understand the films as dreams and then show how the Freudian mechanics of dreams, along with the appearance and mechanics of mourning and melancholia, allow much of the bizarre and mysterious aspects of the films to be rendered clear and understandable. 2 Chapter 1: Section A - Outline of Freudian theory To begin with then, we will outline the Freud’s models of the human mind or psyche. The major components of Freudian theory that I’ll be using to analyze Lynch’s films are Freud’s theory dreams, the uncanny and mourning and melancholia. Freud’s major works on dreams, The Interpretation of Dreams (1899) and On Dreams (1901) inaugurate his first complete theory of mind. Freud’s Mourning and Melancholia (1917) comes a few years before his second and final theory of mind elaborated primarily in Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1921) and The Ego and the Id (1923). Given the positions of these theoretical components in the progression of Freud’s thought one might expect difficulties resolving Freud’s theories of mind and their relations to his works on dreams and mourning and melancholia. However, and thankfully, Freud never abandons his earlier models but instead chooses to merge his models and to view each as extensions of the others, with their varying strengths and weaknesses as explanations of the mind (Freud, Ego and Id, 115). As such, while different works were written using different terms and models of the mind, none of these works are inconsistent or contradictory, in any major way, with Freud’s final and most refined model of the mind. However, whenever I come to a point of change in Freud’s thought I will utilize Freud’s latest revisions to explain the matter in question. 3 Freud’s first theory of the mind was developed while working out his theory of dreams. With this first theory Freud developed two complementary and ultimately incomplete models of the mind, a topographical model and a dynamic model (Freud, Interpretation, 605). The topographical model aims to convey the shape or structure of the mind and the dynamic model aims to convey what motivates the activity of the mind and how that activity works. Freud’s second and final theory of mind encompasses revisions both to the dynamics of the mind and to the structure of the mind. For the sake of convenience then, in the following sections I will cover Freud’s theory of mind in two steps: first are structural models of the mind, the earlier topographical model and then the later structural model. Second, will be the dynamics or motivating forces of the mind and how its structures relate to these forces, the early dynamic model and drives and the revised drives and their relation to the later structural model. First then is Freud’s topographical model of the mind. This model consists of three systems, the perceptual conscious system (Pcpt-Cs), the pre-conscious system (Pcs) and the unconscious system (Ucs) (Freud, Ego and Id, 107,110,111). This model is based on the fundamental premise of psychoanalysis, that is, “The division of the psychic realm into the conscious and the unconscious” systems (Freud, Ego and Id, 105). The theoretical division between conscious and unconscious is the result of the observation that there exists psychic material, word-notions, memories, desires, etc., of which the subject is not aware, that is, conscious (Freud, Ego and Id, 106/7). Also, by 4 conscious, Freud simply means consciousness in the normal sense “of everyday opinion” (Freud, Outline, 28). The unconscious system then is defined largely by its relationship to the conscious system (Cs) or consciousness, that is, by not being conscious. However, Freud goes on to elaborate