Disciplines
Screenwriting
Abstract (300 words maximum)
American filmmaker David Lynch is known for his surrealist, dreamlike work and association-based approach that leaves many people puzzled if not dismissive. Yet at the same time, he is an incredibly successful Hollywood director. What makes his complex and convoluted work approachable to a mainstream audience? In this project, I try to find structure and analyze the purpose of certain scenes and plot points in his 1997 feature-film Lost Highway, as well as different themes and multiple possible interpretations. It is Lynch's spin on the “jealous husband and cheating wife” trope, observed through a psychosexual lens.
Despite Lynch himself not being in favor of explaining his films to his audience ("The film is the talking!"), I search for conscious or subconscious structure to explain the effect of the film on the audience.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - English
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Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Anna Weinstein
DAVID LYNCH: A Hollywood Misfit
American filmmaker David Lynch is known for his surrealist, dreamlike work and association-based approach that leaves many people puzzled if not dismissive. Yet at the same time, he is an incredibly successful Hollywood director. What makes his complex and convoluted work approachable to a mainstream audience? In this project, I try to find structure and analyze the purpose of certain scenes and plot points in his 1997 feature-film Lost Highway, as well as different themes and multiple possible interpretations. It is Lynch's spin on the “jealous husband and cheating wife” trope, observed through a psychosexual lens.
Despite Lynch himself not being in favor of explaining his films to his audience ("The film is the talking!"), I search for conscious or subconscious structure to explain the effect of the film on the audience.