The Role of Technology in David Lynch's and Mark Frost's Twin Peaks

Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Bakalářská diplomová práce 2019 Michal Lefner Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Michal Lefner Between Pylons and Portals: The Role of Technology in David Lynch’s and Mark Frost’s Twin Peaks Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: doc. PhDr., Tomáš Pospíšil, Ph. D. 2019 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature Acknowledgement I would like to thank my supervisor doc. PhDr., Tomáš Pospíšil, PhD for guidance and patience and my wife for support and valuable comments. Table of content Introduction ............................................................................................... 6 1. The role of technology in the context of storytelling .......................... 11 2. Soundscape .......................................................................................... 24 2.1. General soundtrack........................................................................... 24 2.2 Diegetic soundtrack ........................................................................... 25 2.3. Non-musical soundscape .................................................................. 27 2.4 Vocal effects ...................................................................................... 30 3. Set design ............................................................................................ 32 3.1 The Tale of Two Lodges ................................................................... 32 3.2 Audrey’s Purgatory ........................................................................... 34 3.3 At the grasp of the paranormal .......................................................... 35 3.4 At the doorstep of paranoia ............................................................... 36 4. Social commentary .............................................................................. 38 4.1 The Nuclear Threat ........................................................................... 38 4.2 The power of disinformation ............................................................. 39 The Conclusion ....................................................................................... 41 Works Cited ............................................................................................ 43 Introduction The 2017 continuation of the television show Twin Peaks after 25 years after the cancellation of the original caught many by surprise. Not only did the new storyline relate to the old one very vaguely, but it also became apparent that Lynch has opted to reimagine some of the elements of the original series in favor of a new style. The main storyline has been moved - for the most part - from Twin Peaks, a seemingly peaceful town in the woods to the suburban part of Las Vegas, the Douglas Firs have been replaced by electric pylons, the magical portals by their futuristic counterparts and the sounds of nature coupled with smooth jazz by the buzzing of electricity. The theme of modern technology is persistent throughout the 2017 Twin Peaks and it begs a question: what was the intention of the creators that has lead to such wide implementation of the imagery of modern technology? This is precisely what this thesis aims to clarify. It will demonstrate that the technology depicted in the 2017 season of Twin Peaks serves as a new alternative representation of the supernatural rather than its replacement and also compare and contrast the approaches to the supernatural and modern technology in Twin Peaks: The Return and its predecessors. The cultural phenomenon of Twin Peaks found its way to the television screens in 1990, and shortly after its premiere garnered a cult status and became the first show with a cult following on the internet. However as it cult status grew, the mainstream following began to wane. Soon it became subjected to analysis and to scrutiny from fans and critics alike. As in the rest of Lynch’s work, the interpretative potential of Twin Peaks is vast due to the fact that its storyline is incoherent because of Lynch’s practice of surrealism and absurdism that is typical for his works of art. But years after the show has ended, the well of ideas for the possible interpretations of the meaning of the show has started to dry out. The most credible theories and analyses had been already 6 established as was the reluctance to accept new ideas as they usually failed to provide a fresh perspective due to the fact that they were often mere alterations of the previous ones. The initial expectations from the ABC network were not high, despite the fact that the Entertainment president of ABC Robert I. Iger was favorable towards the project as the rest of the executives did not share his optimism (Kneale). Even though Lynch has already achieved some success as a director, his artistic style had been deemed unsuitable for mainstream television programming. While this skepticism was understandable, the show has initially managed to surpass all of these negative expectations and the collaboration of David Lynch and Mark Frost (perhaps because of Frost’s experience in writing for the television) has yielded positive results as the show managed to preserve the typical elements that fans of Lynch`s movies expected but it also incorporated a slightly more coherent storyline that made the audience invested in the final product. However as the story of a murder investigation implemented a wider variety of surreal imagery, the audience became disinterested and the show ended up cancelled after only two seasons (Allrath 99). While Frost’s influence on the world of Twin Peaks is undeniable (with the exception of the movie Fire Walk With Me), this thesis will deal with the show in the context of Lynch’s work and directing style, the show will therefore be henceforth referred to as Lynch’s work for all intents and purposes. As Lynch’s status in the world of cinematography grew, the term ‘Lynchian’ has come into usage among the movie fans and academics alike .While there are many debates as to what does Lynchian mean, perhaps the shortest yet the most revealing description of the phenomenon comes from the late writer David Foster Wallace. He defined Lynchian as “a particular kind of irony where the very macabre and the very mundane combine in such a way as to reveal the former's perpetual containment within the latter”(D.F.Wallace). This dualism definitely seems to be one of the defining qualities of a cinematographic work of David Lynch as they often contain characters that come very close to a stereotype of a white middle-class American (in Twin Peaks represented by the pie and coffee loving Agent Cooper and the ruthless capitalist Benjamin Horne) as well as characters that seem very out of place and often supernatural (as the log lady, Nadine Hurley and many others). Of course, similarly to what Wallace suggests, many seemingly ordinary Lynchian characters possess some supernatural characteristics and vice versa. The connection of the prosaic and the supernatural can be seen not only in Lynch’s characters but also in the settings he chooses for his movies. In Lynch’s work, it is customary to see white picket fenced houses, diners evocative of the 1950’s aesthetics, lounges filled with jazzy tunes, just as much as surreal spaces existing in either a dream state or an alternate reality. Aside from said dualism, Lynch’s movies are also specific in their storytelling. While some surrealist movies abandon any attempts on delivering a coherent storyline, Lynch’s approach is quite different. Usually the beginning the story is very concrete, seemingly banal and it progressively grows more surreal (Kneale). This creates an impression of a mismatched puzzle waiting to be put together and it insists on some internal logic even though none is supposedly present. This style of storytelling is both praised and despised and remains a popular talking point amongst Lynch’s critics. Lynch’s usage of motifs may seem rather formulaic. As mentioned previously, his movies often deal with the paranormal. Although the paranormal instances differ in some aspects, there is still a remarkable consistency, a unifying thread in all of them. It is clear they are governed by some internal laws, which are clearly known in their entirety only by Lynch himself. These are usually dream-like states represented by a specific soundscape, usage of camera, and unnatural movement of the characters. They also regularly include audible distortion of speech and inclusion of absurd yet at the same time prolific statements of the characters. These states are often employed to advance the plot and to connect the mundane characters with the supernatural world. Another recurring motif in Lynch’s work is a deformity of the human body. This is more prominent in frequent depiction of dwarfism, amputations and facial deformities such as the titular character in Elephant Man. Interestingly the characters marked by these conditions are frequently tied to the paranormal and appear as prophets, aiming to steer the main character in either the right or wrong direction in their respective pursuits. Lynch himself has previously talked about his fondness for American culture and imagery, specifically for the 1950s which is apparent from the interview in the book Lynch on Lynch where he states the following: "I like certain

Load more