david lynch
An attempt at some words to explain why I am sad today
In 2017, over several weeks, I was introduced to a piece of television so original, determined, surreal and melancholic, that it changed my world view. The Return was my first introduction to David Lynch and what a great one to start with. It sparked in me a curiosity and passion for visual story-telling. It was the first time I watched something that made me stop in my tracks, jaw-dropped and utter ‘wait, you can do that?!’. It also made me want to do that too.
At the time of it’s release, I was suffering from severe anxiety attacks. It constricted every part of my life. In sleep, my mind concocted the worst fears and portrayed them in indecipherable scenes. I could not make sense of what was happening. But then I saw Lynch’s surrealism on screen. Whatever I was feeling, I wasn’t the first because here they were manifested on television. Lynch’s visions of horror brought an odd comfort. Here was someone else that got it.
Lynch’s visual style sought to represent the emotions we all feel. When we go through trauma, grief, heartache or panic, the world feels chaotic. We search for their opposites to make it make sense.
At the time, I thought his work was a grand mystery. I searched for more about who he was and how he’d come to be. As if he was a magical being from another place. I dove into theories of Twin Peaks, hunting for clues across interviews, documentaries, his shorts and features and in books. But eventually, with a few years, I found my way to the simple premise. Good vs Evil.
The thing I have taken away from Lynch’s work, more than anything else, is this endless battle between the light and the dark. In Lynch’s work there is so much evil, menacing characters and sinister vices. They seek to corrupt the few good souls in the world. But despite the chances of failure, despite the evils, we must persist to do good. It may feel futile, it may feel endless, it may send us in circles. No matter how small or grand the gesture, we do good anyways.
David Lynch was a Great. He did it like no one else. His work pushed what was possible on film. His work connected with so many people. But beyond that, for me, he was the key which unlocked it all.