{"id":16901,"date":"2021-04-15T21:01:54","date_gmt":"2021-04-16T01:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/?p=16901"},"modified":"2021-04-15T21:01:54","modified_gmt":"2021-04-16T01:01:54","slug":"weird-and-wonderful-director-spotlight-david-lynch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/2021\/04\/15\/weird-and-wonderful-director-spotlight-david-lynch\/","title":{"rendered":"Weird and Wonderful: Director Spotlight &#8211; David Lynch"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is undeniable that David Lynch is one of the most groundbreaking filmmakers of all time. His trademark style has influenced countless creatives since his 1977 debut film <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Eraserhead<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Though his films initially found popularity as midnight movies, his reputation has risen to incomparable status. Rumors of a new series in the works for Netflix has stirred my excitement about his body of work once again, so below are my top three Lynch masterpieces.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Twin Peaks<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twin Peaks <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">changed television forever. Before the landmark 1990 series, television and film were considered entirely separate, but with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twin Peaks<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Lynch proved that TV could be cinematic. The show takes the typical murder mystery and flips it on its head, ranging from pure camp to moments that are nearly incomprehensible. Promotional material for the show\u2019s first season simply asks \u201cwho killed Laura Palmer?\u201d but quickly Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) and the Twin Peaks Sheriff Department discover the case is more complex and sinister than they could have ever imagined.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The range of styles is what I love most about <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twin Peaks<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Seasons 1 and 2 are filled with quirky interactions over donuts, cherry pie, and damn fine coffee, and of course the goofiest sandwich-eating scene in history. In contrast, episode 8 of 2017\u2019s <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twin Peaks: The Return <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">could easily be considered a stand-alone surrealist short film. Contributing to these styles are some of the greatest environment-building soundtracks of all time. Ominous droning, jazz, and a range of modern musicians (ranging from Nine Inch Nails to synthpop band Chromatics) each contribute to the multitude of atmospheres created throughout the three seasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Between the distinct characters, twisting storyline, fantastic music, and extensive amount of lore (thanks to three seasons, multiple books, and a feature film prequel), it\u2019s easy to fall in love with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twin Peaks<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8212; and keep falling deeper and deeper into the impossibilities of the mystery. The series is funny, disturbing, emotional, and everything in between, but more than anything it is a demonstration of the power of good storytelling. No matter the medium, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twin Peaks <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">succeeds, and after five years of being a fan I have yet to uncover every secret it holds.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yD1zl7tX-38\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Blue Velvet<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blue Velvet <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is perhaps my personal favorite Lynch work of all time. It is somehow both cozy and creepy, familiar and frightening. This film, similar to <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twin Peaks<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, takes a traditional mystery format and injects it with a dose of depravity. If you were to dive into Lynch\u2019s filmography, this film is possibly the best entry point for newcomers because it still has a comprehendible plot, but with signature surreal moments. This film kickstarted the careers of Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern, who play Jeffrey Beaumont and Sandy Williams, two young people attempting to expose criminal activity after the discovery of a severed ear and an encounter with a singer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is my favorite Lynch film for so many reasons. Lynch loves to emphasize the singular strange trait of a character, and each of the characters in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blue Velvet <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is a prime example of this emphasis on the weird at its finest. On top of the general weirdness, the dark moments of the film genuinely get under my skin. When <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blue Velvet <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">was released, it was one of the most daring films to be marketed toward a general audience due to its violent and adult content. It tackles topics that are still difficult to stomach, but each moment &#8212; comedic, dark, romantic, or otherwise &#8212; is placed in just the right moment of the story to ensure the viewer feels every high and low. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Blue Velvet <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">puts me on a rollercoaster of emotions, somehow remaining simultaneously grounded and bewildering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lGQlJQHHTgA\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b><i>Mulholland Drive<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mulholland Drive <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is truly Lynch\u2019s magnum opus. It manages to balance a compelling storyline and surrealist, dream-like sequences. For a while, it feels like a story that is fairly easy to follow: a girl moves to Hollywood to become a star, but her plans are interrupted by the presence of a mysterious woman with amnesia. Over the course of the film, outside characters intertwine with the lives of Betty (Naomi Watts) and Rita (Laura Harring), and reality and imagination start to collide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Trying to wrap my head around <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mulholland Drive <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is impossible. Everyone I know has a different theory about the film\u2019s meaning, and with each viewing I simultaneously find more questions and answers. It\u2019s the type of film to make you break down the minutiae of each frame until you\u2019ve gone crazy trying to figure it all out, but that\u2019s the magic of it. I will most likely never know, but the constant feeling of discovery is what keeps me coming back. It is a gorgeous, mind-bending portrayal of the Hollywood dream gone dreadfully wrong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/By2iS9uHGM0\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><b>Other Work<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are many other Lynch films that are equally incredible &#8212; <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elephant Man <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is a straightforward tear-jerker, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Inland Empire <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is a nonsensical nightmare, and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wild at Heart <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is a black comedy starring (of all people) Nicholas Cage. David Lynch is also more than just a filmmaker &#8212; he\u2019s also a musician, artist, and Transcendental Meditation advocate. If, after watching his films, you\u2019re as puzzled as I am about what happens in Lynch\u2019s brain, the 2016 documentary <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David Lynch: the Art Life <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">provides a glimpse into the life and mind of the artistic legend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Writing \u201cWeird and Wonderful\u201d has been one of the highlights of my semester. Whether I continue the column as is or transition it in some way, look forward to hearing from me again in the fall! In the meantime, stay weird!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It is undeniable that David Lynch is one of the most groundbreaking filmmakers of all time. His trademark style has influenced countless creatives since his 1977 debut film Eraserhead. Though his films initially found popularity as midnight movies, his reputation has risen to incomparable status. Rumors of a new series in the works for Netflix [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2236,"featured_media":16334,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16901"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2236"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16901"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16902,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16901\/revisions\/16902"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16334"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artsatmichigan.umich.edu\/ink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}