Todd McGowan launches a provocative exploration of weirdness and fantasy in David Lynch's groundbreaking oeuvre. He studies Lynch's talent for blending the bizarre and the normal to emphasize the odd nature of normality itself. Hollywood is often criticized for distorting reality and providing escapist fantasies, but in Lynch's movies, fantasy becomes a means through which the viewer is encouraged to build a revolutionary relationship with the world.
Considering the filmmaker's entire career, McGowan examines Lynch's play with fantasy and traces the political, cultural, and existential impact of his unique style. Each chapter discusses the idea of impossibility in one of Lynch's films, including the critically acclaimed Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man; the densely plotted Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive; the cult favorite Eraserhead; and the commercially unsuccessful Dune. McGowan engages with theorists from the "golden age" of film studies (Christian Metz, Laura Mulvey, and Jean-Louis Baudry) and with the thought of Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, and Hegel. By using Lynch's weirdness as a point of departure, McGowan adds a new dimension to the field of auteur studies and reveals Lynch to be the source of a new and radical conception of fantasy.
Todd McGowan launches a provocative exploration of weirdness and fantasy in David Lynch's groundbreaking oeuvre. He studies Lynch's talent for blending the bizarre and the normal to emphasize the odd nature of normality itself. Hollywood is often criticized for distorting reality and providing escapist fantasies, but in Lynch's movies, fantasy becomes a means through which the viewer is encouraged to build a revolutionary relationship with the world.
Considering the filmmaker's entire career, McGowan examines Lynch's play with fantasy and traces the political, cultural, and existential impact of his unique style. Each chapter discusses the idea of impossibility in one of Lynch's films, including the critically acclaimed Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man; the densely plotted Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive; the cult favorite Eraserhead; and the commercially unsuccessful Dune. McGowan engages with theorists from the "golden age" of film studies (Christian Metz, Laura Mulvey, and Jean-Louis Baudry) and with the thought of Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, and Hegel. By using Lynch's weirdness as a point of departure, McGowan adds a new dimension to the field of auteur studies and reveals Lynch to be the source of a new and radical conception of fantasy.
The Impossible David Lynch displays Todd McGowan's deep, sometimes truly breathtaking knowledge of David Lynch's work and of Lacanian theory. -- Slavoj Zizek, author of The Art of the Ridiculous Sublime: On David Lynch's Lost Highway Todd McGowan's book on David Lynch is an intellectually poignant, theoretically sophisticated, and erudite presentation of David Lynch's films that has truly extraordinary moments. -- Elisabeth Bronfen, University of Zurich Todd McGowan is a brilliantly effective writer. His explanations of difficult concepts are a marvel of sophistication, in which complexity and nuance are not sacrificed in order to reach all readers interested in the subject, both those well-versed in film studies and those who are not. -- Robert Lang, author of Masculine Interests
Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Sacrificing One's Head for an Eraser 2. The Integration of the Impossible Object in The Elephant Man 3. Dune and the Path to Salvation 4. Fantasizing the Father in Blue Velvet 5. The Absence of Desire in Wild at Heart 6. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 7. Finding Ourselves on a Lost Highway 8. The Ethics of Fantasizing in The Straight Story 9. Navigating Mulholland Drive, David Lynch's Panegyric to Hollywood Conclusion: The Ethics of Fantasy Notes Index
Todd McGowan is associate professor of English at the University of Vermont.
A well written book combining thoughtful Lynch essays for the thinkers and film fanatics! Horror News
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