Happy 30th Anniversary Twin Peaks! Or, My Non-English Speaking Mom's Love of Surrealism
Hello!
It's day 23 of "sheltering in place" in San Francisco. With all the shit that had been going on, it was nice to escape for a bit into a world that has most definitely inspired me: Twin Peaks. Thank you @kyle_maclachlan and @madchenamick!! ☕️🥧Today's the 30th anniversary of the show and David Lynch is one of my favorite directors. Surrealism is a valid way to explore realism, and I feel that Twin Peaks did just that.
Lately I've been thinking a lot about why my mom enjoyed classic horror and surreal films/TV despite not knowing English. Some of the things she introduced me to included The Twilight Zone—although, she was terrified of Rod Serling because she once dreamt his head was speared onto an antler—Hammer Horror films, the Roger Corman Edgar Allan Poe adaptions, Universal Monsters, Dark Shadows (1991 version), and more. Since the hub and I have been on a bit of a classic movies kick, I've come to the conclusion that despite the language barrier, she was able to enjoy these films because they relied on more than dialogue. They relied heavily on body language and atmosphere, facial expressions that clearly conveyed the moment, and sets or imagery that allowed her to truly be a part of that world without needing to understand a single word. And Twin Peaks was one of those such shows. Are you a Twin Peaks or a David Lynch fan? <3
And now for a bookish excerpt:
🎣Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity by David Lynch🎣
"I love going into another world, and I love mysteries. So I don't really like to know very much ahead of time. I like the feeling of discovery. I think that's one of the great things about continuing a story: that you can go in, and go deeper and deeper and deeper. You begin to feel the mystery, and things start coming.”
Definitely the way I'm feeling about The Faceless God 💙✍️
Let's all do our best to look out for one another. Stay safe and healthy, everyone🌻
Originally posted on my Instagram @tomesandcoffee 4/8/2020. Minor edits were made to the text for the post. Videos and external links were added.
Horror fantasist E.M. Markoff writes about damaged heroes and imperfect villains; she is also an inkblot artist. She is the creator of The Ellderet Series, a diverse dark fantasy epic exploring how family bonds are tested in a violent world. 