Let's talk about Judy
Posted: Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:23 am
I'm cross-posting this from an IMDb thread because I find the idea so intriguing but will preface this by saying I'm usually weary of imposing theories on Lynch, who obviously works intuitively and is often best appreciated on an uncanny/emotional level rather than figuring out "where he was going." That said, when this notion occurred to me I really, really liked it.
The original poster in the thread had suggested Judy was Bob's original victim (or even a manifestation of the "eternal victim" who once had a relationship with Bob and Mike).
*
What if Judy was, as the OP states, a victim of Bob - but what if she was to be the NEXT victim? And what if she was to be played by Sheryl Lee yet again, allowing her to complete the triptych of blonde/brunette/redhead that Lynch had promised her before the show was cancelled?
The idea occurred to me when I was thinking about Maddy - how apparently her name was explicitly selected to evoke Madeleine from Vertigo, the Hitchcock character possessed by a dead relative (and, as it turns out, one half of a dual identity). Of course, Laura's name itself evokes the 1944 film Laura, in which everyone rhapsodizes over a dead girl before it turns out she's not really dead.
But, I wondered, what happened to the other half of Madeleine's identity - the character Kim Novak plays in the second half of the film? Why didn't they ever name a character after her? Though Vertigo is one of my favorite films, I had trouble remembering the other character's name until, suddenly, like a monkey whispering in my ear, it occurred to me: "...Judy!"
Now, I'm not one to attribute master plans or over-analytical theories to Lynch; I believe his claims that he usually makes things up as he goes along (for example Bob and the Red Room), taking inspiration from his subconscious before weaving it into a larger thread. I still think the most likely explanation is that he and Engels liked the sound of this mysterious "Judy" and figured they'd expand on it at leisure in future films.
That said, there are also times when Lynch has elements planned beforehand (think, by most accounts, Leland being the murderer) and we know that Twin Peaks is rife with very self-conscious film references despite Lynch not proclaiming much interest in cinephilia - Waldo the bird (property of Dr. Lydecker) is a also a Laura reference, and Gordon Cole is from Sunset Boulevard.
Furthermore, we know how much Lynch loved working with Sheryl Lee and how he kept inventing reasons to bring her back. Thinking of Judy as Bob's next victim, someone who would be falling under the Black Lodge's spell in the intended follow-up film makes a lot of sense out of the numerous non sequiturs Judy references in the film. First of all, "We're not gonna talk about Judy" since the Black Lodge exists outside of time and space - so Bowie knows about her, but the people outside aren't ready or able to hear about it yet. Secondly, of course, the monkey whispering at the end which always seemed, while coolly enigmatic, a bit of a distraction from the tragedy and catharsis of the Laura ending, becomes a preface for the next film in which Judy will be the focus and signifies a kind of passage of victimhood from Laura to Judy (although I guess if we're being strictly chronological, the monkey should say, "Maddy!").
I feel slightly embarrassed typing all this, like one of those Shining acolytes claiming Kubrick was making a film about his role in faking the moon landing, but I'll admit I really like this idea. Not only does it tie into the idea of a larger Twin Peaks universe, but it means Lee would have continued to play a role in that universe, just as Novak played both Maddy and Judy as different aspects of the same character. I wonder if a Judy Fire Walk With Me would have been like Mulholland Drive in a way, watching a character go from light to dark.
While Lynch and Engels may not have (and probably didn't) intended any of this, I wonder if as they'd explored Judy in future films their thinking would have gone in this direction. I'm not one to hope for alternate realities especially when I like what we've got (Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire are great movies I wouldn't want to lose) but contemplating this one is poignant.
Then again, it's not too late now for a Lee-Lynch-Judy project. Lynch said in 2000 that Twin Peaks was dead as a doornail. But then, so was Laura Palmer...
Link to the original thread: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105665/boa ... /204062964
The original poster in the thread had suggested Judy was Bob's original victim (or even a manifestation of the "eternal victim" who once had a relationship with Bob and Mike).
*
What if Judy was, as the OP states, a victim of Bob - but what if she was to be the NEXT victim? And what if she was to be played by Sheryl Lee yet again, allowing her to complete the triptych of blonde/brunette/redhead that Lynch had promised her before the show was cancelled?
The idea occurred to me when I was thinking about Maddy - how apparently her name was explicitly selected to evoke Madeleine from Vertigo, the Hitchcock character possessed by a dead relative (and, as it turns out, one half of a dual identity). Of course, Laura's name itself evokes the 1944 film Laura, in which everyone rhapsodizes over a dead girl before it turns out she's not really dead.
But, I wondered, what happened to the other half of Madeleine's identity - the character Kim Novak plays in the second half of the film? Why didn't they ever name a character after her? Though Vertigo is one of my favorite films, I had trouble remembering the other character's name until, suddenly, like a monkey whispering in my ear, it occurred to me: "...Judy!"
Now, I'm not one to attribute master plans or over-analytical theories to Lynch; I believe his claims that he usually makes things up as he goes along (for example Bob and the Red Room), taking inspiration from his subconscious before weaving it into a larger thread. I still think the most likely explanation is that he and Engels liked the sound of this mysterious "Judy" and figured they'd expand on it at leisure in future films.
That said, there are also times when Lynch has elements planned beforehand (think, by most accounts, Leland being the murderer) and we know that Twin Peaks is rife with very self-conscious film references despite Lynch not proclaiming much interest in cinephilia - Waldo the bird (property of Dr. Lydecker) is a also a Laura reference, and Gordon Cole is from Sunset Boulevard.
Furthermore, we know how much Lynch loved working with Sheryl Lee and how he kept inventing reasons to bring her back. Thinking of Judy as Bob's next victim, someone who would be falling under the Black Lodge's spell in the intended follow-up film makes a lot of sense out of the numerous non sequiturs Judy references in the film. First of all, "We're not gonna talk about Judy" since the Black Lodge exists outside of time and space - so Bowie knows about her, but the people outside aren't ready or able to hear about it yet. Secondly, of course, the monkey whispering at the end which always seemed, while coolly enigmatic, a bit of a distraction from the tragedy and catharsis of the Laura ending, becomes a preface for the next film in which Judy will be the focus and signifies a kind of passage of victimhood from Laura to Judy (although I guess if we're being strictly chronological, the monkey should say, "Maddy!").
I feel slightly embarrassed typing all this, like one of those Shining acolytes claiming Kubrick was making a film about his role in faking the moon landing, but I'll admit I really like this idea. Not only does it tie into the idea of a larger Twin Peaks universe, but it means Lee would have continued to play a role in that universe, just as Novak played both Maddy and Judy as different aspects of the same character. I wonder if a Judy Fire Walk With Me would have been like Mulholland Drive in a way, watching a character go from light to dark.
While Lynch and Engels may not have (and probably didn't) intended any of this, I wonder if as they'd explored Judy in future films their thinking would have gone in this direction. I'm not one to hope for alternate realities especially when I like what we've got (Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire are great movies I wouldn't want to lose) but contemplating this one is poignant.
Then again, it's not too late now for a Lee-Lynch-Judy project. Lynch said in 2000 that Twin Peaks was dead as a doornail. But then, so was Laura Palmer...
Link to the original thread: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105665/boa ... /204062964