Twin Peaks: Classic or Dud?

It's interesting to me on rewatching just how much the show deals with female sexuality as taboo. Laura is open to her own sexuality in ways than none of the other females in this town seem to be. Males are drawn to this and react to it with violence; she is too open, too revealing. Even Cooper with all his restraint is tempted by this femininity in the form of Audrey. The red curtains are such a blatant metaphor/image in this reading. It's when the show moves away from this theme that it loses its bearings. Thus, the James/woman, Nadine/Ed, Ben's madness subplots seem unmoored because they are. They are extensions of those characters from earlier in the show, but really have nothing to do with the first 12-13 episodes; they are marginal. The introduction of Annie returns it a bit, but it seems clear to me that Lynch was not involved with the story/themes beyond the first arc because none of his usual obsessions are there anymore.

he reintroduces the theme with a vengeance in the film. though he also delves into the theme of family sexual abuse which for obvious reasons he had to skate around on the TV show. of course, the intimation that leland/BOB raped laura is present in the series, if you connect the dots, it's not dwelled upon.

the idea of aggressive female sexuality as necessarily stemming from childhood trauma and/or neglect is a troubling one that lynch shares with a lot of popular culture.

But female sexuality also as access to something that is otherwise inaccessible. The red curtains appear in 3 places: One-Eyed Jack's, where sex is sold; Leo's cabin, where it is taken; an the Lodge, where well I'm not sure what goes on there.

From an article about Iran in NYRB recently:

"The East–West battle over gender is brilliantly described by Janet Afary in her groundbreaking survey Sexual Politics in Modern Iran. As in other patrilineal societies the woman is the "door of entry to the group." Improper behavior on her part can expose her community and family to all sorts of hidden dangers. Systems such as these

'exercise a double standard wherein a woman's infidelity (but not a man's) is seen to allow tangible and damaging impurities to infiltrate the family, both physically and morally.... A woman's sexual and reproductive functions turned her body into a contested site of potential and real ritual contamination. The concept of namus (honor) and the need to control women's chastity may be related to this fear of sexual contamination.'"

I was startled at how well this seems to describe the situation in Twin Peaks, like jaw-dropped on the bus.

But female sexuality also as access to something that is otherwise inaccessible. The red curtains appear in 3 places: One-Eyed Jack's, where sex is sold; Leo's cabin, where it is taken; an the Lodge, where well I'm not sure what goes on there.

and on the stage at the roadhouse!

i think there's a danger in trying to systematize or rationalize a symbolic system in lynch's works, e.g. the use of a particular motif necessarily carrying the same meaning across different scenes/contexts. that said, the show establishes decisive linkages between the pure malevolence of BOB/black lodge, prostitution, whatever freelance kinky sex leo/laura/jacques/ronette engaged in, drugs.... in this way lynch is purely reactionary, in the way that your quote from the article about iran implies. there's very little in the way of a healthy model of sexuality in the show. maybe if they had allowed the audrey/cooper romance to play out. even poor maddy is smote a few episodes after she establishes that she's got the hots for james.

I think the fear of (especially female) sexuality and perversion is evident in most of Lynch's work, Twin Peaks being one of the more obvious examples. Even in Mulholland Drive, where the protagonist is a sympathetic lesbian (and therefore a "pervert"), there's certain desperation associated with sex. I think only in Inland Empire Lynch finally treats sexuality without this sort of reactionary negativity or repulsion, partially because Laura Dern is stronger and more forceful than almost all previous "Lynch women".

, partially because Laura Dern is stronger and more forceful than almost all previous "Lynch women".

lolz yeh just like in Blue Velvet eh

lolz yeh just like in Blue Velvet eh

Well, yeah, I was gonna add I meant older Laura Dern, not the Laura Dern of Blue Velvet.

I'd say up until Mulholland Drive most of Lynch's films (and Twin Peaks) are pretty much "male" films, i.e. they're driven by typically masculine fears and neurosis, At his best, like in Lost Highway, Lynch can put these fears under harsh judgement (LH as a whole could be seen as a critical analysis of male jealousy), but they're nevertheless driven by them. Only with his last two films, especially Inland Empire, Lynch seems to be going for something, I dunno, healthier. Of course it could be argued that it's exactly those male neurosis that make him interesting, and who wants to see wholesome David Lynch movies?

I totally forgot the curtains at the Roadhouse! Of course Lynch places them on stage, where sexuality is a performance and where Cooper's visions/dreams are performed.

i think there's a danger in trying to systematize or rationalize a symbolic system in lynch's works, e.g. the use of a particular motif necessarily carrying the same meaning across different scenes/contexts.

I agree in that Lynch tends toward dream logic and as such it necessarily is not consistent, however, I think that this motif of the red curtains is intentional and consistent, as is much of the symbolism surrounding the Lodge. See the contrast between the smell that emanates from there, burnt motor oil, and the fact that the girls who work at One-Eyed Jack's (and thus taken by BOB to the train car) came from the perfume counter. Despite his inconsistencies, Lynch is often careful about his dualities.

Anyway, this is getting way too academic. What I found most interesting is how strongly this theme is reiterated in an emotional way to the viewer. Everyone in this town (especially the males) is literally fighting over the body of this girl. When Truman hits Albert (in an argument about whether or not he will be allowed to cut into Laura's body), Albert falls on top of her. Incredible!

you mean like the Straight Story?

x-post

Yeah, Straight Story is the obvious exception. I would have no problem with him doing more "wholesome" movies like that.

Though SS doesn't deal with sexuality at all, unlike most of his films. Inland Empire was really the first Lynch movie where it felt like sex isn't something scary.

Just everything else.

Of course it could be argued that it's exactly those male neurosis that make him interesting, and who wants to see wholesome David Lynch movies?

exactly dude.

thanks for xposting, you have saved me from making a really awful Dune joke in response to Tuomas

I wish he would come into terrible financial ruin and then be forced to direct Star Wars/Transformers franchise nonsense, though michael bay is becoming increasingly lynchian himself. am pretty bummed lynch never directed 'empire' though.

he should do the last harry potter

don't think he'd be suited to something so english tbh

someone photosop a little lightning bolt onto the last frame of Inland Empire

don't think he'd be suited to something so english tbh

Elephant Man was great though.

I would love to see another David Lynch SF film, especially if it was one that he created completely from scratch rather than based on a novel.

It'd be rad if he made Ender's Game and Michael Anderson was Ender.

and in the future of Ender's Game, everyone eats only creamed corn, and they eat it in the most disgusting manner possible.

Many x-posts, but Duwayne Dunham said in a commentary on the season one DVD set that he was called in to edit the pilot because David was editing Wild at Heart simultaneously and needed the extra help. That, and the other stuff mentioned upthread, really puts to bed the whole "Wild at Heart led to Twin Peaks downturn" theory, for me.

iirc in Lynch on Lynch he said that he kind of relinquished control over the direction of the series because the network pressured them to solve the mystery of Laura's murder prematurely and it screwed up the whole structure and momentum of the story. i seem to remember him specifically saying that when Agent Cooper took off his suit (and started wearing flannel,) that's when he ceased to be Agent Cooper.

though i think he qualified it by saying "for me" that's when he ceased to be Agent Cooper.

It's so strange that the network pressured them to solve the murder-- it was the engine of the show, and they hadn't even done that many season 2 episodes yet! Even if the ratings were disappointing, come on! That reveal should at least wait until the end of season 2.

I remember reading the original Harley Peyton outlines for the final episode before Lynch decided he was directing himself and hacked it up to focus on Black Lodge/Man From Another Place - at this point is was very Windom Earle-centric - and by christ it was a car crash. Read like Basil Woolverton drawing Wile E Coyote.

It's so strange that the network pressured them to solve the murder-

ABC propaganda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBFklkOSibo

it's amazing they would ambush one of their own shows like this!

7 episodes? That's the patience level?

So dumb that they use The Fugitive as a contrast, as if that show didn't set the standard for stringing viewers along year after year.

"more weird plot twists than the Today Show" lol (assuming that's a reference to Pauley/Norville drama).

aside from the propaganda aspect, which is unforgivable, the whole tone of that piece is so glib and condescending. fuck tv journalists.

"You brought all that grease into the house today and you spilt some on my cotton balls."

I've just started Season 2 and am finding it very frightening. Those first two episodes are properly scary.

Donna Hayward's mom was on Top Chef tonight, the remaining chefs cooked for her daughter Zooey.

Something i've wondered about since i watched the Season 2 DVDs: was Windom a direct ripoff of Hannibal Lector or was that "intelligent serial killer" bullshit just flying around at the time? I see that the Windom episodes started a bit before the SotL movie was released.

100 Stupid Movies About Ridiculously Improbable Serial Killers

Episode 14, oh my.

still re-watching the series. we hit the first episode of season 2 last night and i was like "oh yeah, that's what i remember twin peaks being like." the weirdness of pretty much everyone's performance gets cranked up, it's so much more entertaining that most of season 1 (along with some genuinely disturbing shit).

yeah give it a couple episodes

it's a labour of love in the middle, kind of. but then when you think about it after it is fairly amusing. would prob watch season 2 again.

the comedy bits can be unbelievable, tho I think the best ones are still in season 1. my favourite is hawk/coop/sheriff at the shooting range talking about women.

always wondered who did the drumming/brushwork on twin peaks. turns out it's grady tate:

http://www.drummerworld.com/pics/drum/dpa20/GradyTate4.jpg

and i don't know who was the main bassist for the series, but the credits on FWWM are serious -- ron carter, buster williams, and rufus reed.

no shit! wow

donald bailey is credited with drums on FWWM too. someone should hire lynch to produce on a jazz album.

uh, yeah. grady tate IIRC is all over the julee cruise albums too. badalamenti was an arranger so he knows all these jazz dudes.

a lot of the music cues from the series (esp. 2nd season) are all synthesized, by badalamenti as often as not. not a ton of full-group arrangements.

i sort of feel like jazz heads would turn up their noses at that julee cruise stuff, since it's so obviously "jazz-esque" without being jazz. obviously way more stylized than say norah jones but has a similar relation to jazz as a variety of motifs and figures rather than as an approach.

the one-chord walking bassline "jazz" cues (audrey's theme or whatever) are way better in the 2nd season. that's when i really noticed the sick brushwork and had to find out who was behind it.

y'all have this: http://www.amazon.com/Twin-Peaks-All-Season-Music/dp/B000W4HFY8/