Ya' learn somethin' new everyday--D.Lynch, fan of Reagans..

[bliss_eternal]

Fire Walk With Me (David Lynch film) has been playing on cable for the past month. The first time I watched it, I was so repelled by it, I didn't even complete it. I've since watched parts and am rather fascincated by the fact that with each viewing another layer is exposed.

I loved Elephant Man, and was profoundly moved by it. But I can't handle most of his other works--just too disturbing for me.

Anyway, I started doing some internet research on David Lynch. It's interesting to me that his films are so bizarre in nature and I wanted to find out more about the guy behind them.

I came across this info. from Wikipedia, under trivia of Lynch--that he was a fan of the Reagans and even defended Nancy when he heard someone speak in a disparaging manner about her. :wow: (link below)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Lynch#Trivia

Well, that's the end of that. I have no respect or love for the Reagans. Any fan of theirs, is not someone whose work I need to spend much time dissecting. Is this incredibly hypercritical of me?

:eyes:

[bliss_eternal]

1. Now I feel mildly justified in generally disliking his art.

Maybe it contains some sort of radical, conservative, subliminal message--and that is why I find most of it disturbing and not watchable.

:think:

[rosalux]

9. how I feel after viewing

His work makes me feel a bit hopeless and misanthropic, which is definitely supportive of a right wing agenda
(there is no alternative; people are selfish bastards; etc)

[rudeboy666]

2. Reagan or not

...still, Blue Velvet contains some of the most compelling scenes in cinema history.

Besides, who ever said that Republicans can't be kinky? They are some of the sickest fucks in the world.

[bliss_eternal]

4. LOL! So true--

You know, the first time I saw Blue Velvet, it went over my head completely. I really think I'd like to try to view it again. Especially given that I seem to understand his work a little more now.

I just recall getting distracted by the ear in the field...silly of me I know.

[XemaSab]

3. he can be a friend of the reagans

and not be an asshole.

Theoretically.

[bliss_eternal]

7. You're right--I should not be so judgemental.

In his defense, he is a participant of a movement for peace. He also practices transcendental meditation. Anyone that is that in tune with himself (spiritually) and working for peace can't be all bad.

Thanks for reminding me to not compartmentalize. None of us is all good or all bad--unless of course you are a Bush. ;)

[6000eliot]

5. He's a brilliant filmmaker.

I don't care who he claims to admire. Not that some of his films aren't problematic.

[XemaSab]

6. can you elaborate on "problematic?"

n/t

[6000eliot]

10. Sexist, racist, homophobic

And that's just "Wild at Heart."

[bliss_eternal]

11. Really? That's interesting...

[XemaSab]

13. Not sure I totally agree

you can depict sexism, racism, and homophobia without promoting those things.

[bliss_eternal]

8. This is what made me seek out info on him.

Any film that initially repelled me, yet draws me into it on further viewing certainly warrants credit for intelligent filmmaking.

I find it interesting that he works in terms of the avante-garde and abstracts. I am guessing here, but I get the feeling that his work is supposed to repel you, with it's imagery.

I'm still a bit too intimidated by his imagery though, to seek out some of his other works (i.e. Dead Ringers, Eraserhead).

[bliss_eternal]

12. addendum to above post...

Too late for me to edit my post. Just remembered that Dead Ringers was David Cronenberg's work and not David Lynch.

:dunce:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

14. I read a recent article about him.

He was far more attracted to Reagan's "All-American" image rather than his policies. He's also a fan of transcendental meditation and has apparently voted for Natural Law Party candidates.

I checked out their website. It's like an odd mix of Democrat, Republican, Paleocon and Libertarian ideas with a fair amount of Scientology thrown in.

[ghostsofgiants]

18. The Natural Law party endorsed Kucinich in 2004

[bliss_eternal]

19. That's interesting. Thanks for sharing this.

It's kind of odd to me that he was taken with the 'all american image' when his films seem to be almost the antithesis of that--or at least commenting on the underbelly of the 'all american life.'

Interesting either way.

Not sure what to make of the Natural Law Party. :eyes: It's a tad confusing.

[chenGOD]

15. Something else to consider.

Wikipedia can be edited by anybody. Perhaps some unscrupulous person has added this in and no one has thought to find out more info/edit it out.

His trivia at IMDB is much more interesting with little tidbits like

While in college, roomed with Peter Wolf, former lead singer with the J. Geils Band. Lynch kicked him out, however, because he thought Wolf was "too weird."

or the quotes like

"My mother refused to give me colouring books as a child. She probably saved me, Because when you think about it, what a colouring book does is completely kill creativity."

"There's something deeply satisfying about directing the flow of water."

Perhaps working with Dennis Hopper warped him for a brief moment in time?

[ghostsofgiants]

16. That part about Peter Wolf...

That makes me laugh every time I hear it. You know you're in trouble if Lynch thinks you're weird.

[bliss_eternal]

22. LOL! Did he work w/Hopper?

Hopper is an 'odd one' but I admire his pursuit of his artistic lifestyle. He's another interesting one. I heard he is quite conservative, though.

I don't run around hating conservatives for the most part. I think it's one thing to be 'fiscally conservative' and to not want govt. involvement in things. It's quite another to use conservatism as a means to hate and be intolerant of others--particularly of those they don't understand (or want to).

The Reagans for me, represented govt. hatred and intolerance for the mentally ill, disabled, poor, and minority communities in general.

[ghostsofgiants]

17. You also have to take into account the surrealist aspect of his films

He's not part of the Surreaslist movement per se, but I think it's definitely a major influence on him, and the surrealist movement seems to have a leftist bent to it. I could be wrong of course, since I don't know that much about it, but in the past the Surrealist movement has aligned itself with communist and anarchist groups, so there's a definite leftist influence. Whether Lynch is influence by Surrealism to the point of also being influenced by leftist ideology is up for question.

Then there's also his involvement with a group called The U.S. Peace Government.
http://www.uspeacegovernment.org
"The US Peace Government was established on July 4, 2003 to bring prevention-oriented, problem-free administration to America. Its mission is to prevent social violence, terrorism and war, and to promote peace and harmony throughout the world."

So the possibility that he may have admired the Reagans at some point is by no means proof that he's somehow a bad guy.

[bliss_eternal]

20. I don't think the Reagans (ron & nancy) would approve of

his films or his affiliation with an organization that promotes peace. Though, they were probably pro-peace for those that could afford it.

But back to Lynch--he's an interesting dude. Complex to be sure, but no not necessarily bad or evil based on admiration of a particular person. I can admit to that. :)

[ghostsofgiants]

21. Absolutely

I'm a huge Lynch fan. Great filmmaker and an interesting man, for sure. Can't wait to see his new film.

[bliss_eternal]

23. Oh-is he making a new film?

I wasn't aware of that.

I'm becoming a bit obsessed w/watching Fire Walk with Me and trying to figure out it's various layers. It's such a fascinating film, now that I'm not completely repelled by it, and it's metaphors and symbols. LOL! It's infinitely more interesting and fascinating that someone's mind works that way.

[ghostsofgiants]

24. Fire Walk With Me is one of my favourites of his actually

Amazingly underrated.

Yeah, he's been working on it for the last two years. "INLAND EMPIRE" (all caps apparently) is the title. Don't know much else about it but they're hoping to have it premier at Cannes next year.

[bliss_eternal]

25. Fire Walk With Me--

It's cracking me up that the first time I saw it, I just thought it was disgusting, confusing, etc.

On subsequent viewings (accident not intentional), of various parts of it I saw it differently. I think it helped that I read something about the film. What I read stated what the film was about, and that just reframed the whole thing for me.

Seeing Bob creep through the window suddenly seemed to make so much more sense and was rather poetic--whereas before it just seemed creepy and weird.

[ghostsofgiants]

27. Were you a fan of the series before you saw the film?

I saw the series before the film, which helped it all make sense to me (not that it entirely makes sense to me).

[bliss_eternal]

32. No, I hadn't.

I'd attempted it, but just couldn't get into it. So, this is probably why the film initially didn't connect with me or me with it, I should say.

After reading something about the layers of the film, I did a little investigating. Once I did that and found out what the film was about
SPOILER WARNING








(the abuse of Laura Palmer) I saw it in a whole new light.

[Ivan Sputnik]

26. I think he liked Reagan for his cornball style

not necessarily for his politics, about which Lynch (like many Americans) may have been naive. (I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, because I do like his work.) If you watch his films, he does have affection for that "amber waves of grain" type Americana that many people saw Reagan as part of. (Lynch was an Eagle Scout.) Interestingly, in his daily webcast about the weather in Los Angeles (see http://www.davidlynch.com/dailyreport/), he recently said "When will we have another Joseph Welch?" That's the only overtly political statement I've ever heard from him.

[Nevernose]

28. Roman Polanski is a brilliant filmmaker, too

Look at it this way: Roman Polanski is a brilliant filmmaker, too, and he raped a 13 year old girl, but that doesn't mean his movies are bad. And if you watch one of these guy's movies on cable, you're not putting money in their pockets.

[6000eliot]

30. I will never give up "Chinatown"

I don't care what he did. One of the best mainstream American movies ever made.

[bliss_eternal]

33. Yeah-- I know what you mean. I have some Polanski issues

At one level, he's an interesting artist. At another level, I refuse to even cosider the art of a pedophile.

I don't know--it may be different if he had ever come back here to face charges. The fact that he didn't said a lot to me. I've also seen interviews with the woman that was once the child he was with, grown up now. I feel badly for her.

I was kind of confused by the fact that the Academy nominates his work, and seems to take a non-commital stance about him.

[LeftyDarthBrodie]

29. As with other posters

I think his admiration with what is the traditional image of smalltown America, which Reagan duped people into believing he represented, would explain Lynch's affiliation with the S.O.B. and his wife. Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks are both set in Anytown, U.S.A. with good boy scout type characters with a twisted side. So maybe Reagan was the personification of this with his image as the All-American Boy who is actually a war-mongering, hateful, deceitful sack of sh*t. This man who gave off the image of a loving grandfather would let hundreds of thousands of Americans die of AIDS without even mentioning the disease is a character, if not unfortunately real, could easily exist in a Lynch film.

[PittPoliSci]

31. YEAH!

I also hate Die Hard because Bruce Willis is a republican.

Who cares if Lynch liked Reagan? It doesn't make his work any less remarkable.

[Greyhound]

34. Why do we insist, as a culture, in imbuing artists and other celebs...

with talents they do not possess. Lynch makes film that many people like, all that means is he makes films that many people like. It doesn't mean he knows anything about politics, or humane policy, or that he even has the mental capacity to understand issues.
Same with all of them, Athletes are one of the biggest mysteries to me. This is a guy (usually) that had been given (and I do mean given) everything they have because they can run faster, throw a ball through a hoop from far away, or beat other people up. How does this make his opinion any more valid than the guy that cleans the pool?
So David Lynch is an ass when it comes to picking friends (in your opinion) to support. Does that make his films less of what they are?
I think not. :shrug:

From "the Producers"
"you mean you want me to kill him?"
"yes"
"But actors are people too"
"You ever eat with one?"