Philosophy of David Lynch the Philosophy of Popular Culture
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Th e Philosophy of David Lynch The Philosophy of Popular Culture Th e books published in the Philosophy of Popular Culture series will illuminate and explore philosophical themes and ideas that occur in popular culture. Th e goal of this series is to demonstrate how philosophical inquiry has been reinvigorated by increased scholarly interest in the intersection of popular culture and philosophy, as well as to explore through philosophical analysis beloved modes of entertainment, such as movies, TV shows, and music. Philosophical concepts will be made accessible to the general reader through examples in popular culture. Th is series seeks to publish both established and emerging scholars who will engage a major area of popular culture for philosophical interpretation and examine the philosophical underpinnings of its themes. Eschewing ephemeral trends of philosophical and cultural theory, authors will establish and elaborate on connections between traditional philosophical ideas from important thinkers and the ever-expanding world of popular culture. Series Editor Mark T. Conard, Marymount Manhattan College, N.Y. Books in the Series Th e Philosophy of Stanley Kubrick, edited by Jerold J. Abrams Football and Philosophy, edited by Michael W. Austin Tennis and Philosophy, edited by David Baggett Th e Philosophy of the Coen Brothers, edited by Mark T. Conard Th e Philosophy of Film Noir, edited by Mark T. Conard Th e Philosophy of Martin Scorsese, edited by Mark T. Conard Th e Philosophy of Neo-Noir, edited by Mark T. Conard Th e Philosophy of Spike Lee, edited by Mark T. Conard Th e Philosophy of Horror, edited by Th omas Fahy Th e Philosophy of Th e X-Files, edited by Dean A. Kowalski Steven Spielberg and Philosophy, edited by Dean A. Kowalski Th e Philosophy of Charlie Kaufman, edited by David LaRocca Th e Philosophy of the Western, edited by Jennifer L. McMahon and B. Steve Csaki Th e Philosophy of Steven Soderbergh, edited by R. Barton Palmer and Steven M. Sanders Th e Philosophy of Science Fiction Film, edited by Steven M. Sanders Th e Philosophy of TV Noir, edited by Steven M. Sanders and Aeon J. Skoble Basketball and Philosophy, edited by Jerry L. Walls and Gregory Bassham Golf and Philosophy, edited by Andy Wible THE PHILOSOPHY OF DAVID LYNCH Edited by William J. Devlin and Shai Biderman THE UNIVERSITY PRESS OF KENTUCKY Copyright © 2011 by Th e University Press of Kentucky Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, Th e Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University. All rights reserved. Editorial and Sales Offi ces: Th e University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 40508-4008 www.kentuckypress.com 15 14 13 12 11 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Th e philosophy of David Lynch / edited by William J. Devlin and Shai Biderman. p. cm. — (Th e philosophy of popular culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8131-2991-4 (alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-8131-3396-6 (ebook) 1. Lynch, David, 1946—Criticism and interpretation. I. Devlin, William J. II. Biderman, Shai. PN1998.3.L96P66 2011 791.4302’33092—dc22 2010047403 Th is book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence in Paper for Printed Library Materials. Manufactured in the United States of America. Member of the Association of American University Presses CONTENTS Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 William J. Devlin and Shai Biderman Part 1. Th e World of David Lynch “Th e Owls Are Not What Th ey Seem”: Th e Logic of Lynch’s World 7 Robert Arp and Patricia Brace Intuition and Investigation into Another Place: Th e Epistemological Role of Dreaming in Twin Peaks and Beyond 25 Simon Riches Th e Horrors of Life’s Hidden Mysteries: Blue Velvet 45 Sander H. Lee Th e Th ing about David Lynch: Enjoying the Lynchian World 61 Russell Manning Th e World as Illusion: Rediscovering Mulholland Dr. and Lost Highway through Indian Philosophy 77 Ronie Parciack Part 2. Selfh ood and Subjectivity: Th e Existential Drive toward Self-Understanding All Roads Lead to the Self: Zen Buddhism and David Lynch’s Lost Highway 95 Mark Walling City of Dreams: Bad Faith in Mulholland Dr. 113 Jennifer McMahon Constellations of the Flesh: Th e Embodied Self in Th e Straight Story and Th e Elephant Man 127 Tal Correm David Lynch’s Road Films: Individuality and Personal Freedom? 143 Richard Gaughran Lynch’s Zarathustra: Th e Straight Story 159 Shai Frogel Part 3. Th e Self Confronts the World: Issues in Ethics, Society, and Religion “Th ere’s a Sort of Evil Out Th ere”: Emersonian Transcendentalism in Twin Peaks 175 Scott Hamilton Suter “In Heaven Everything Is Fine”: Erasing Traditional Morality 189 Jason Southworth Th e Monster Within: Alienation and Social Conformity in Th e Elephant Man 207 Shai Biderman and Assaf Tabeka Prophesies, Experience, and Proof: Philosophy of Religion in Dune 225 William J. Devlin Contributors 239 Index 243 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We’d like to fi rst thank the contributors to this work, whose diligence and insight helped to create this excellent volume on David Lynch. We would also like to thank everyone at the University Press of Kentucky—especially Mark Conard, Anne Dean Watkins, and Stephen Wrinn—who provided us with assistance throughout the process of developing this book. We are also grateful to Ila McEntire and Susan Murray for their work in the editing process. Furthermore, we’d like to thank Aeon Skoble and Steven Sanders for their wonderful advice and suggestions throughout the creation of this volume. Finally, we would both like to thank our families and friends, whose undying support of our passion for philosophy have helped to make all of our work possible. Shai would like to thank his family for their loving sup- port, especially his parents, Shlomo and Israela, his wife, Yael, his daughter Tal, as well as Masha Yaron and Harry and Sharon Hirsch. He would also like to extend his thanks and gratitude to Yoav Ariel, William Irwin, and Daniel Dahlstrom. Bill would like to thank his family, Margaret, Robert, Rob, Katie, RJ, and Janice Wilson for their love and support. He would also like to thank Kerrie Fevold for her love and care. He would lastly like to thank Richard and Adri Howey for their dear friendship and academic support throughout the years. vii INTRODUCTION William J. Devlin and Shai Biderman Award-winning fi lm director, producer, and writer David Lynch is perhaps best known for his unorthodox fi lmmaking style. Th e Lynchian cinema is distinctively unique. From his cult classic fi lm Eraserhead (1977) to his neo- noir television series Twin Peaks (1990–1991) to his abstract fi lm Inland Em- pire (2006), Lynch distorts and disrupts viewers’ expectations of a traditional approach to narrative and story line, plot points, character development, frame composing, and fi lm styling. He presents to viewers a surreal, oft en nightmarish, perspective that allows us to experience the world of fi lm in an entirely new way. While his approach to fi lmmaking may deter some, Lynch has attracted a wide audience over his thirty-plus years as a director. Lynch’s fi lms are predominantly character-driven. Th rough the artistic and eccentric mind of Lynch, we are introduced to memorable characters through his fi lm corpus. First, we have distinctive protagonists such as the perky, straitlaced, and incisive FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper, who is famous for his love of coff ee and pie in Twin Peaks; Th e Straight Story’s (1999) loveable curmudgeon Alvin Straight, who, aft er years of fi ghting with his brother, travels hundreds of miles on a riding mower to make amends; and the physically deformed John Merrick, who is willing to sacrifi ce his life to prove he is a human being in Th e Elephant Man (1980). Second, we have such sinister villains as the perverted and brutal Frank Booth in Blue Velvet (1986), whose twisted combination of ferociousness and sexual desire off ends many viewers; the menacing Feyd-Rautha of Dune (1984), who haunts Paul Atreides’ dreams; and the perplexing and appropriately named Mystery Man, whose eerie appearance in Mulholland Dr. (2001) challenges the notion of consistent identity (à la being in two places at the same time). Finally, we have the outright enigmatic and elusive characters, such as Twin Peaks’s Man from Another Place, who dances and talks backward, and the Giant, both of whom leave mysterious clues for Agent Cooper to help him 1 2 William J. Devlin and Shai Biderman solve the murder of Laura Palmer; Eraserhead’s Lady in the Radiator, who dances and sings in Henry Spencer’s visions, and the Man in the Planet, who plays with mechanical levers while watching Henry’s life; and the monster who lurks behind Winkie’s diner, and the miniature elderly couple in the blue box from Mulholland Dr. Not only are Lynch’s character’s memorable, but many scenes and loca- tions are equally impressive. Th ere are the dreamlike sequences that occur in the red room in Twin Peaks. Th ere is the chicken-dinner scene in Eraserhead. Th ere are the abrupt and shocking character changes in Lost Highway (1997) from Fred Madison to Pete Dayton. Th ere are the multiple character identi- ties in Mulholland Dr., as Betty Elms and Diane Selwyn are both played by Naomi Watts.