The Philosophy of David Lynch (The Philosophy of Popular Culture)

257 Pages·2011·1 MB·english

by  William J. Devlin

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
T U P K
HE NIVERSITY RESS OF ENTUCKY
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
C
ONTENTS
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
A
CKNOWLEDGMENTS
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

I
NTRODUCTION
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