Throwback Beef

Twin Peaks Paving the Way

Dany Ramdhanie

Upon its release Twin Peaks captured many viewers with its innovative style and  combination of genres. Creators David Lynch and Mark Frost came up with the idea for a show that had complex characters which appealed to more than one type of viewer. The show follows a detective as he tries to solve the case of Laura Palmer’s murder. There is also a lot of focus on relationships of the residents in town. Audiences across America sat and partook in a television phenomenon that left a large wake after its time. Critics and fans would agree that Twin Peak’s surreal nature, expressionistic techniques, and soap-opera/horror feel was ahead of its time.    

The first couple episodes drew in over 30 million viewers which was groundbreaking for its time, considering, the only way to watch it was by tuning in every week. However, its fame was only short lived and the show lost half its viewers, halfway into the first season. The show was canceled after the second season in 1991 after only a year. There are several possibilities as to why the show was canceled, but the most prominent was that the audience got lost. There were not any reruns and audiences could not access the show. If you missed an episode, that was it you were lost forever, At least so it seemed.  

Twin Peaks became somewhat of a model for many shows and games in the 21st century. It has been one of the most influential shows to hit television. Critic Mark J. Charney explores the soap-opera, “Invitation to Love”, within the world of Twin Peaks. Interestingly Mark highlights the overlapping themes between “Invitation to Love“ and Twin Peaks. According to Mark the events in the soap-opera “Invitation to Love“, “Parallels activities of characters who live in Twin Peaks”. Mark suggests that the audience is offered some insight to the characters through the show. For example he mentions Shelly’s excitement for tuning into watch “Invitation to Love” but is quickly distracted by Bobby and “abandons the television romance for one of her own”. One can even go as far as to say Shelly’s actions are an imitation of the soap-opera. In many ways, life imitates art and we like to do what see on television. Nonetheless, David Lynch included this in his episodes to draw similarities and reveal underlying thoughts.

Mark also analyzes David Lynch’s overall style and compares it to that of a soap-opera. David’s ability to add depth and relationship to these characters through camera angles and movement is remarkable. This is one of the reasons the show is so highly acclaimed .Lynch is able to “create interest in the viewing audience about the future of these one-dimensional characters” . For example Leo Johnson is seen as a bad character almost immediately. You may not know why, but you get the feeling right away. This might have a great deal to do with the way he is presented to the audience. Mark explains “ Leo Johnson is frequently shot from an extreme low angle, heightening his threat to the other inhabitants of Twin Peaks” .

By way of contrast, Mark gives good reason on how Twin Peaks differs from the soap-opera style by mentioning the cinematic intro and surrealistic endings. He also touches on how Lynch plays with first impressions to mislead audiences. Mark’s essay was well thought out and to the point. His choice of topic is rooted in the show and his examples helped further his ideas. Even though I have not seen all the episodes Mark J. Charney provides enough context.

Twin Peaks drew in a cult following of fans who also critique and analysis the show. Author Daniel Kurland on fan blog Den of Geek writes about unique content within Twin Peaks that directly influenced other Tv shows. Daniel compares Twin Peaks to A&E’s Bates Motel and NBC’s Hannibal. Creator of Bates Motel, Carlton Cuse,“We pretty much ripped off Twin Peaks… If you wanted to get that confession, the answer is yes. I loved that show. They only did 30 episodes. Kerry and I thought we’d do the 70 that are missing.”. More recently, writer Mike Mariani from The Atlantic sheds some light on Lynch’s contributions to the television and film world. In his article The Remarkable Influence of David Lynch, Mike provides us with a lot of interesting facts. The article is a breakdown of Lynch’s past works and how they have affected the industry. The information is concise, informative, and delivered in a direct manner. Opposed to scholarly journal that are in depth and lengthy.

This is paper just touches the surface on analyzing Twin Peaks because there are so many layers to the show. This complexity has become somewhat of a norm today but is not always executed correctly. It takes a talented team to put shows like this together and I think the Twin Peaks revival is gonna be a hit. David Lynch’s style has been refined over the years and hopefully viewer will be able to stream the show.        

  

   

Works Cited

Charney, Mark J.. “Invitation to Love: The Influence of Soap Opera on David Lynch's "twin Peaks"”.Studies in Popular Culture 14.1 (1991): 53–59. Web.

Kurland, Daniel. "Twin Peaks: The 25 Year Influence of the David Lynch TV Series." Den of Geek. N.p., 07 Oct. 2014. Web.

Mariani, Mike. "The Remarkable Influence of David Lynch." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 23 Jan. 16. Web.

Black Mirror: WHITE BEAR

Here is the place to discuss this episode. Many implications here, obviously! Certainly the topic of surveillance is key. Also reality TV, celebrity obsession, etc. Feel free to explore any ideas that came up for you, or questions that occurred while watching this.

One thing I noticed watching it the second and third time: this character (AIIIEEEEE!!) with the red hair looks a lot like the mother of Jemimah (the victim) as she is seen briefly in news footage. There is a shot where she smiles proudly when the actors take a bow. How interesting that the victim's mother would be involved....thoughts?

Examining Reactions to Feminism Within “Twin Peaks”

Examining Reactions to Feminism Within “Twin Peaks”

In David Lynch’s 1989-1991 exploration into the television world of Twin Peaks there is much disagreement about whether the show itself had feminist undertones or a more masochistic take against women. Feminism is defined as “the advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men.” So the question that falls on Twin Peaks shoulders is, does the storytelling exploit women and the violence against women in order to further a storyline or does it fall into a common trend in which women are treated as secondary characters who must be accompanied by males in order to succeed? With the revival of the show making its return in 2017, it is interesting to examine how the show was originally perceived by many different types of critics and fans. Due to Lynch’s cinematic background the show itself has many cinematic traits, such as intense symbolism, foreshadowing and the use of and inversion of popular character archetypes and tropes and due to this there are consistent arguments about the content that is produced within the show.

Laura Palmer's Death: A Twin Peaks Fanatical Phenomenon by Mattea Stark-Miller

            If there were a television series that changes the way that we view scripted television and challenges the standard norm of everything else that was on at the time, then one would think of Twin Peaks (1989-1991). Spanning for two seasons, this show marks David Lynch’s creative, writing, and directorial debut for television, only previous having done movies at the time. With Lynch at the show’s creative helm, elements and devices in plot only seen in movies were incorporated into Twin Peaks’ thrilling narrative, as well as incorporate elements of cinematography, soundtrack, and overall direction that could only be associated with Lynch’s style.

            Twin Peaks follows the murder of a teenage girl named Laura Palmer, revealed to be the inciting incident in the pilot episode. Subsequent episodes revolve around the mystery surrounding Laura’s murder and the people in the town and their relationships to each other and Laura herself. The show was cancelled in 1991, but is set to return to television in 2017 as a reboot by Showtime, with many of the original cast members returning and David Lynch returning to direct and write the show.

            The show’s impacts on television have sparked interest in many critics to discus and analyze the various elements that make up the series. From scholarly articles to fan blogs, there is a world out there of analyses and theories on everything Twin Peaks. One of the biggest talked about aspects of the show was how the murder of Laura Palmer and the investigation of finding the killer reinvigorated the way crime dramas on television are executed.

            In the scholarly essay “Telling inside from outside, or, who really killed Laura Palmer” by Nicholas Birns, there is a critical analysis of how Twin Peaks leads up to the reveal of Laura’s killer. Throughout the piece, Birns uses comparative style as a means to show that the characters are caricatures of either fictional or historical figures to help progress the plot to the reveal of Laura’s killer. Birns takes a look at the fictional television show “Invitation to Love” as it shows parallels to the show’s central characters and their relationships. He describes the characters of “Invitation to Love” as “doubles” for Laura and the other characters involved.

He also draws parallels between character Ben Home and his brother to John and Robert Kennedy. Birns writes, “Horne embodies a superficially charismatic vitality barely concealing a borderline-criminal subversiveness which lent the surface its constitutive dynamism, a combination that seems more and more to have been characteristic of the late 35th President,” (Birns, 279). Drawing these parallels, he relies on the similarities in relations, social status, and personality types to all of the characters, thus concluding suspicions about Home being Laura’s murderer rather than what would’ve been the obvious Leo Johnson. Of course, Home turns out not to be Laura’s killer, but her own father Leland, as revealed in season 2 of the series.

The language used in Birns’ piece is of an academic level, using words and phrases one would find in a scholarly essay, as compared to a mainstream work like the Guardian’s article “Twin Peaks: How Laura Palmer's death marked the rebirth of TV drama” by Andrew Anthony. Anthony’s article is written to appeal to a general audience by the simplistic choice of words, albeit still at a professional level. The article itself is very different from the essay in that it does not go into an in-depth analysis of the show and characters’ itself, but rather describes the profound impact the show had at its time, leading to a turning point for television.

To celebrate the series’ then impending release on DVD, the article also features short essays by the cast and crew of the show, using these as a collective example of how the show’s structure and execution has not only impacted fans, but the people who had worked behind the scenes as well. Grace Zabriskie, who played Laura’s mother, says, “…the show couldn't survive the unraveling of that central mystery about Laura's killer. I said at the time that it would survive, that the show was about so much more than who killed Laura Palmer, that it still had miles to go… But it started going all over the map, not trusting what had been created, what there was already to build on.” Zabriskie and the rest of the cast agreed that the showed relied the suspense and mystery of the identity of the murderer, and the twists and turns the show’s plot took to get to that point. It is the testimonies of the cast and crew that help vouch for the creative direction of Twin Peaks, seeing it from both a creator’s and viewer’s perspective.

Finally, we come the “fan blog,” written by fans, for fans. The writing style is very opinionated at best, often very simplistic without regards for professionalism. Many of these blogs are filled with fan theories and various analytical posts about the narrative, plot direction, and characters surrounding the form of media they are looking at. For Twin Peaks, the blatantly named “Twin Peaks Fanatic” with the subtitle “A blog dedicated to all things Twin Peaks, including episode recaps, news & more!” regularly posts recaps of episodes and news pertain to the hit show.

These posts often give an interesting perspective on how the show would often use foreshadowing early on to help pinpoint the real killer of Laura Palmer. As with the recap for episode 2, the author of the blog known as Mya McBriar, indicates that Leland was hinted as the killer early on. Briar writes in the mini-review at the end of the recap, “I also think one of the most touching and in retrospect sickening scenes of the series, is when Leland dances with Laura's picture. In that moment Leland knows, maybe not consciously, but he knows, as does Sarah despite steeped in denial, that he's responsible for Laura's demise.” McBriar pays close attention to detail through character interactions with themselves and the people they are connected with.

Twin Peaks remains one of the most influential series in television history, creating much fan speculation and thorough analysis from writers of any professional level. Writers can look at it from a clear academic standpoint or from a fan point of view, and it will still be talked about amongst people alike all over the Internet.

Works Cited

 Anthony, Andrew. "Twin Peaks: How Laura Palmer's Death Marked the Rebirth of TV Drama." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 20 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

Birns, Nicholas. "Telling inside from Outside, Or, Who Really Killed Laura Palmer." Literature Film Quarterly 21.4 (1993). Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 14 Feb. 2016.

McBriar, Mya. "Recap of Episode 2." Twin Peaks Fanatic. 13 Feb. 2015. Web. 15 Feb. 2016. 

Twin Peaks Essays Here!

If you are unable to create an original post for your essay, you can post them in the comments section here. If you can't do that, you can email them to me, or print them out to hand in. I look forward to reading them!!

Writing about TWIN PEAKS

So, have you come  up with a topic yet? You may find inspiration from researching your potential sources; then again, you may find it hard to choose source material if you do not have a topic yet! There are so many reviews and articles out there; choose 3 that really sing, or scream, or state things that would never have occurred to you.

Your topic, or a theme that unites your analysis of the writing styles and concerns of these three sources, can be as heady as "Post-Modern Feminism" or "The Law Enforcement Officer as Other" or "Food Fetishizing" or as straightforward as the unique quality of the music score or the surreal nature of the cinematography. Maybe you want to write about the revelation of who killed Laura Palmer. Maybe you'll focus on articles discussing the pending return of the series.

Whatever you choose to focus on, remember that the main point of this assignment is the source material! How these writers convoy their thoughts, what points they make, their style, their VOICE as critics or audience members.