A film student once approached director David Lynch and asked, “[You] have described [your] film ‘Eraserhead‘ in this manner, ‘A dream of dark and troubling things.’ Would you like to expound on that a little?” Without hesitation, Lynch answered simply and severely, “No.” As a filmmaker, Lynch has rarely, if ever, answered questions on the meaning or intentions behind his work. His filmography is shrouded in a type of allure and mystery that only he can produce. But there is a further reason as to why Lynch is less forthcoming about his work.
In a video essay, What’s So Great About That? dissects and reassembles Lynch’s relationship with language. Words, as part of Lynch’s career, are central to his work. The director’s feelings about language can even be seen to manifest themselves with his character in “Twin Peaks.” FBI Deputy Director Gordon Cole loses his hearing and is, therefore, unable to perceive spoken language as clearly. The reservations Lynch has with language and words is how they concretize the ineffable. Once something is named or labeled, it is no longer subjective or open to interpretation. Meaning has crystallized, and that’s essentially the opposite of what Lynch wants with his art.
An example of this very concept is illustrated in the video essay. Lynch takes a group of flies, all seemingly the same, but then imposes names to them, “Chris,” “Eric,” “Jack,” and so on. This is done, in an effort by Lynch to show how something changes in when it is given a certain meaning; our interpretation becomes null. Lynch has played with language in many of his films. “Mulholland Drive” and “Twin Peaks” are just two projects where language is manipulated or interpretive. Rebekah Del Rio singing a recording of “Crying” in a different language, or Laura Palmer speaking backward for no ostensible reason. The significance of these choices is then found not in Lynch’s explanation, but our own interpretation.
