David Lynch as a Feminist History

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aosorno@uvm.edu
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David Lynch as a Feminist History

Post by aosorno@uvm.edu »

I'm doing a feminist research project on the female representation in David Lynch films, specifically Twin Peaks, Mulholland Drive, and Blue Velvet. What would it mean for these films to be considered a "feminist history" (what kind of attributes/people/definitions of "woman"/feminist identity do these films suggest)?
I believe the women of David Lynch to be strong in the way the overcome the violent obstacles they face eg. Dorothy in Blue Velvet. However, it get tricky when trying to analyze Mulholland Drive. In one interpretation, the lesbian relationship is a fantasy and in the other interpretation, it is seen as a tragedy. I'm open to any ideas! Thanks for sharing!
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LostInTheMovies
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Re: David Lynch as a Feminist History

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I think the best writers to consider his work through that lens are Martha Nochimson and Diane Stevenson. The negative takes I know of are on Twin Peaks and they tend to conflate the Lynch & non-Lynch stuff (Diana Hume George & Sue Lafky). Though by no means comprehensively or exclusively feminist, my round-up of TP commentary might be helpful to you as a starting point if you haven't read all of yes pertinent ones already: http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/201 ... ry-on.html. Good luck with your work!
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OpeningCreditsBird
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Re: David Lynch as a Feminist History

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Very interesting subject. I spoke at a Twin Peaks panel recently and another participant spoke long and eloquently about viewing Fire Walk With Me as a unique example of a story about a sex worker told from the sex worker's perspective. I haven't seen that explored in literature. There is an interesting essay about Laura Palmer as a modern-day martyr in the book Twin Peaks: Full of Secrets, some of which you can find here -https://books.google.com.au/books?id=m6 ... ts&f=false.

Best of luck, it's sounds fascinating.
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LostInTheMovies
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Re: David Lynch as a Feminist History

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No chance that talk is online anywhere, is there? It sounds very interesting. I was just thinking the other day how one of the most unusual things about Twin Peaks is that it led a Reagan Republican to shift his story's hero from a straight-edge FBI agent to a bisexual abuse victim and addict.
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OpeningCreditsBird
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Re: David Lynch as a Feminist History

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LostInTheMovies wrote:No chance that talk is online anywhere, is there? It sounds very interesting. I was just thinking the other day how one of the most unusual things about Twin Peaks is that it led a Reagan Republican to shift his story's hero from a straight-edge FBI agent to a bisexual abuse victim and addict.
Sorry, I just saw this! For what it's worth the guy who gave that talk is a guest on a forthcoming episode of my Twin Peaks Season 3 Podcast and will be talking about this exact subject. You can find out more here - https://www.facebook.com/TPseason3/?fref=ts
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LostInTheMovies
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Re: David Lynch as a Feminist History

Post by LostInTheMovies »

OpeningCreditsBird wrote:
LostInTheMovies wrote:No chance that talk is online anywhere, is there? It sounds very interesting. I was just thinking the other day how one of the most unusual things about Twin Peaks is that it led a Reagan Republican to shift his story's hero from a straight-edge FBI agent to a bisexual abuse victim and addict.
Sorry, I just saw this! For what it's worth the guy who gave that talk is a guest on a forthcoming episode of my Twin Peaks Season 3 Podcast and will be talking about this exact subject. You can find out more here - https://www.facebook.com/TPseason3/?fref=ts
Thanks, I'll look for it!
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