Subject: Re: LMFAP and Mike From: dan@wombat.gnu.ai.mit.edu (Dan Parmenter) Date: 1992-10-13, 09:18 Newsgroups: alt.tv.twin-peaks In article ingria@bbn.com (Bob Ingria) writes: I think is was James Blish who had one of his characters say: ``The laws of magic are not so much illogical as analogical.'' Think also of the magical principle of the law of correspondences; e.g. to invoke a particular spiritual force, you dress in the color particular to that being, eat the food favored by him/her, etc. I think you're right on the money here. Yes, I believe you're right. It's a very intuitive way to look at things and recognizes that certain underlying principles always apply. [my theory about the dwarves and giants being modern day myth creatures deleted] There are various analysts who say similar things about UFOs, etc. i.e. that they appear in the guise appropriate to the age in which they are found: imps in the medieval period, balloonists in the 19th century, extra-terrestrials in the 20th, etc. Whether one buys that for ``the real world'', you're probably right about what's goin on in TP. I recommend "Communion" by Whitley Strieber, regardless of whether you believe his story (and I don't necessarily but that's another story). He has a very nice account of this currently fashionable theory among UFOlogists. He also goes on at some length about the belief that the "visitors" implant memories of animals, particularly owls, as "cover" memories within the minds of contactees to hide their activities. It's easy to get skeptical about this sort of thing, but if you treat it as a novel, it's really quite an entertaining and thought-provoking read, and a real antidote to years of incredibly poor UFO books. Whitley Strieber is far-removed from Erich VonDaniken and his ilk. Incidentally, I'd also recommend the books "Mythago Wood", "Lavondyss" and "The Bone Forest" by Robert Holdstock which also has some intriguing parallels to Twin Peaks. The story is about an ancient, primal woodland and the mythological beings that emerge from it. I won't spoil some of the really cool stuff, but let it suffice to say that TP fans will find much material to think about. I'm also reminded of CS Lewis' idea that other worlds are populated by the creatures of our mythology (Arthur C. Clarke used this idea as well in "Childhood's End") which implies to me that conversely, perhaps our world and its denizens form the basis of another world's myths. Wonderful post, by the way! I truly enjoyed it. Thank you. It really pleases me that at some level, Lynch et al decided to pursue some of these ideas. I'm told that Mark Frost was the one initially interested in pursuing some of the supernatural angles but I think it's Lynch's approach of reducing these strange beings and forces to very banal, almost mundane levels is what makes it so fascinating. I'm also pretty much convinced that many of Lynch's films are further examinations of these same ideas. Wild at Heart in particular, is full of images of fire, sinister Voodoo and other bits of business that indicate that Lynch seems to be building an overall "world" that his characters occupy. Also remember Blue Velvet with "Frank" and his mob and the weird dancing and singing that accompanied his activities. Once again, a theme that runs through this stuff is that these evil beings are frequently ordinary people who've somehow gotten caught up in a bizarre form of destructive magic. Obviously, the significance of dreams is another theme. There are less significant (or at least on the surface) parallels as well, such as Lynch's obsession with women crying hard and screwing up their faces in sadness and horror and the less than pleasant theme that women who get involved in kinky sex tend to suffer for it. A less likely paralle, though I'm not willing to toally dismiss it, is Frank's reliance on a drug that while administered somewhat like Nitrous Oxide, is obviously something else. Could it be a gaseous form of haliperidol? The role of haliperidol in the TP world has never been adequately explained, Gerard seems to use it to keep MIKE at bay, Windom Earle used it and used it on Major Briggs (who promptly started to speak in riddles and another language) and BOB gave it to Ronette Pulaski. I think that Laura and er, Dorothy (isn't that the name of Isabella Rosselini's character?) arevery similar. We don't know how Dorothy got involved, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was very much like Laura and BOB, with Frank taking the BOB role. Frank and BOB need much more than to just do evil, they seem to draw strength from fear and suffering, particularly that of women (though BOB obviously abused Leland sexually and Frank humiliates Jeffrey with the lipstick as well). Frank also turns to Jeffrey at one point and says "You're exactly like me", which is another strong parallel to TP in that it's plainly obvious to all and sundry that Cooper obviously has the stuff to be an evil entity - BOB doesn't simply possess people, he insinuates himself into people's lives. I think he plays up to the aspects of his character that he recognizes in other people, hence BOB saying, "Just like in Pittsburgh". The parallel to Windom Earle here goes without saying. At this point, I hope that David Lynch makes at least one more TP movie, but my stronger hope is that his subsequent movies (from what I understand, Ronnie Rocket is next) continue to pursue thse ideas. I've alwasy been mystified by the seeming lack of interest among TP fans in Lynch's other movies. I know hardcore TP fanatics who haven't seen any other Lynch movies, and I really find that hard to believe, given how many parallels there are. - Dan -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Dan Parmenter |"I'm waiting for a time, when I can do without these | | dan@gnu.ai.mit.edu | things that make me feel this way all of the time" | | | - Spiritualized | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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