'Gotta Light ?' - The Origins

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Lynchland
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'Gotta Light ?' - The Origins

Post by Lynchland »

My relative inability to fully express my feelings and ideas with my too poor english, doubled by the power and the shock of this new episode, force me to restrict myself to some "thoughts" rather than anything really deeper about Part 8, I'm afraid. I must confess I can't stand anyway the concept of "theories" that flourishes everywhere these days and that seems way too pretentious to me : to express an opinion seems quite fine, to say that a little idea or a slight hypothesis is a "theory" seems quite ridiculous, vain and conceited to me. Here are then a few thoughts and "personal facts" about "Gotta Light ?"

I watched Part 8 four days ago on Tuesday night, two days behind the first broadcast on Showtime (I managed to avoid any spoilers with my "updated shield") and, to me, personally, this TV hour was a first in a very concrete and visible way. Right after "the" NIN song, that had a trance quality, I felt a strong desire to stand up and come closer to my screen and I stand there, bewildered, for the rest of the "episode" or, let's rather say, for the rest of this film, for the very first time of my life. Regarding Part 7, you perhaps remember that I had found it quite classical and very narrative, and I was really hoping David would come back soon to some experimental sequences similar to what we have seen in the inaugural sequences of Part 3 in the Mauve Room. I have been fully fulfilled.

I am used to cry during a film when the STORY moves me, but that doesn't happen that often with "regular" films. I must confess that it happens quite a lot with David Lynch's films ("Twin Peaks : Fire Walk With Me" or "Mulholland Drive" pull all the tears of my body and leave me literally wringed at the end). Sometimes, but this happens very rarely, I also cry even if there is nothing moving at all in a narrative aspect, if I feel I am in front of a true masterpiece. And this happened quite a few times during Part 8 because there is so much beauty, talent and imagination in it.

A few hours after the broadcast, I was only able to write that I was “more excited than a toadfly” (because humor is sometimes a good refuge to conceal ones emotions) and that "I think I'm high" and "One step closer to Stanley Kubrick". As a matter of fact, these two ideas are linked. My two favorite films ever are "2001 - A Space Odyssey" by Stanley Kubrick and David Lynch's "Eraserhead". I would have never in a trillion years imagined that these two masterpieces could collide one day in a new artwork. I live to experiment this kind of art, whoever sent me on Earth in a little golden glob. One of my first very striking memory as a child was to watch, in "2001", the "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite" scene. This sequence is definitely inscribed in me as the most genius artwork I have seen, and I like to associate it to a "drug trip" (I have never done drugs, but I like to imagine that this is the closest I have been to what it may be, in an only positive way). I was then astounded to see a similar sequence back on my screen, with all its purity and originality, and to realize that it was a magnificent homage to Stanley Kubrick and Douglas Trumbull and, in the same time, something that was not only a tribute but that was totally essential in the Twin Peaks narrative.

Since I have watched Part 8, I have read a lot of reactions on the web. I see that a lot of "original Twin Peaks fans" don't like the turn of the new series, can't stand Cooper as Dougie or a lot of other things. Am I sad to realize this ? No, I'm not. It's probably a perfect moment to "avow" that I am not a pure "Twin Peaks" fan in its entirety. I love most of the first two seasons, and there are even no scenes that I skip when I rewatch them because I don't like to do so, but when I compare the episodes written and directed by David Lynch with the rest of the series, it's obvious to me that it is his vision that I love there (don't make me wrong, I love a lot of sequences in the rest of the series, but I don't see the same magic there).

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The new Twin Peaks could stop there to me, I have already been satiated more than I hope. I have drunk full, yeah. I had some high expectations, some mad expectations (believe me, if you follow me on Lynchland, you perfectly know I was clearly mentioning I was expecting a LOT !), but I have got already more than I hoped in my wildest dreams. I almost wish there would have been two nine parts seasons for instance, it would have been totally fine to me.

Some Twin Peaks fans don't like Part 8 but I have to say that some of their arguments are not valid at all. I read in a lot of comments that "Gotta light ?" is nothing but narrative and would have nothing in common with "Twin Peaks". Jeez, E*V*E*R*Y*T*H*I*N*G is linked to Twin Peaks ! How come they don't see that this episode is a kind of "Twin Peaks - The Origins" episode ? It's a very abstract episode, an almost silent one (or, let's rather say, without almost any dialog), but it is overflowed with stories that bridge everything we love in Twin Peaks, and there is SO MANY things there that it gives vertigo : the exact nature of the Giant (that we end call "Fireman" probably but that I will call Mr Jim till the end of my life), some hindsights about the origin of Bob, some explanations concerning the Woodsmen who were already present in FWWM but were very mysterious characters, a first sight of the infamous Convenience Store, and, of course, this essential presence of our dear Laura (and so many other things...) Part 8 conjugates some very experimental shots (and that's amazing to see this on TV !) with some marvellous poetical scenes also filled with a multitude of narrative clues that expand and explain the Twin Peaks universe.

"Gotta Light ?" is a real tour de force (quite nice to be able to use some french words from time to time !) because it is a Twin Peaks Cosmogony (and we might almost say that it is a World Cosmogony, as I had often the feeling to watch a recreation of the Big Bang there) and, in the same time, a kind of "David Lynch Artistic World" Cosmogony. It is often been said that the new Twin Peaks is a kind of reunification of all David Lynch's films and that this series will bridge Twin Peaks with Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, Eraserhead, etc. A lot of people were even expecting Naomi Watts to play the same role in Twin Peaks, or that Balthazar Getty would be once again Pete Dayton. This "theory" (yeah, let's call that one with this awful word) has always sounded terrible to me : even if, say, the theater in Mulholland Drive and the theater where Mr Jim "gives birth to Laura's soul" have probably been filmed in the same place, I'm sure they don't mean the same thing at all for David Lynch and he sees them as separate places even if he probably loved to film there again. David Lynch doesn't want to "reunify" his films (what would be the goal of such a thing ? are you expecting to see John Merrick above the Convenience Store or Alvin Straight on his lawmower racing with Mr C. ?) but, perhaps for the first time, he has been able to develop a very long continuing story freely and to bring in this narrative all the elements he loves in his art, he has been able to create an ideal artistic world where all his artworks seems to fit in the perfect place. And because of this, I really want to thank and praise all the executives at Showtime who had enough intuition and intelligence to understand that, even if the ratings won't be miraculous, they will be taken for the upcoming decades as a pure example of what a TV producer must me. The new Twin Peaks exists, we have not even seen half of it, and it's already a true masterpiece of this 21st Century.
Call for help !

Roland K. / Lynchland
Coop
Posts: 18
Joined: 04 June 2017, 17:24

Re: 'Gotta Light ?' - The Origins

Post by Coop »

Beautifully well put Roland. I really share your point of view about this new season (or should I say new version?) of twin peaks. They've already given us so much more than I expected or dared to dream of. And I also expected a lot!

The more episodes I've seen, the less I've found myself to care about the negative responses and strong opinions from some of the other fans. Like you and a lot of others, I love the first two seasons, I will always love them. They've been a part of me for many years. They ARE a part of me.

But regarding the new season, I feel that in order to really appreciate it, it helps a lot if you also enjoy/like/love other movies by David Lynch, or maybe even more importantly, his art. People who don't really care about or like his other stuff, will probably have a harder time getting into the return of twin peaks. For me, The Return gives me everything I love about David Lynch AND at the same time, I get to watch Twin Peaks again! Two birds with one stone so to speak. Of course it's not for everyone. You like it or you don't. You watch it or you don't. You enjoy it or you don't. There's been parts of it that I haven't particularly liked either. Scenes I didn't enjoy that much. So yeah, I totally understand that people can be disappointed.

It's just that now, I have the luxury of being able to watch 18 hours of the new show, REGARDLESS of what others think or if it gets bad ratings. It's already there, just waiting to be aired!

And it's not about "understanding" it all either. I certainly don't claim to "understand" everything about Twin Peaks and I would be very surprised and even disappointed if I did. It's not about being smarter than anyone else. It's not about being an "expert", knowing all the lines from season 1 and 2, or being able to name all the actors or what camera equipment they've used.
It's about what the pictures, the turns of events, the dialogues and the sounds make me feel, and of course what it makes me think of and wonder about. I just like what happens to me while I watch it. I like it a lot.

And a big part of it to me is about enjoying mysteries. And not just in a tv show, but maybe also in life in general. To enjoy the fact that I will never understand it all. In fact, I will probably understand very very little of it. And I enjoy that, most of the time anyway.

So yeah, Twin Peaks The Return is a dream come true for me.
I always hoped and dreamed about it. I didn't dare to really think that it actually WOULD happen. But it did happen. And if the rating sucks and if it will never get another chance, then so be it. We still get the 18 hours of something totally unexpected, unique and different. When it's over, I wouldn't be surprised if I actually will deem it BETTER that the old Twin Peaks. Regardless, there will always be a season three of Twin Peaks. We should be very very thankful.
Cheers from Sweden!
/Kristoffer
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