Bryan Higby's Blog - Posts Tagged "twin-peaks"
TWIN PEAKS RETURNS
TWIN PEAKS
Where to begin with this groundbreaking series by Mark Frost and David Lynch? There has been a lot written about this television series which aired in 1990 and changed network television forever. Much of what’s been written has been misinformation.
I won’t waste time talking about my twenty-five year obsession with the series, and I’m no scholar on the subject. I do feel that as an uber fan for over two decades I do believe I’m qualified to write my opinions and observations no matter how off base they are.
I guess I begin with something that’s a pet peeve of mine. Most articles in magazines or on blogs throw out phrases that make Twin Peaks seem like some kind of a nonsense surreal series that’s all glitz with no substance. My primary goal is to tackle this challenge in this brief blog.
Twin Peaks is a town that exists on a nexus of time and space centered in Ghost Wood Forrest. The twelve sycamore trees and the black substance, which appears to be a ectoplasmic key to another astral plane of existence aka The Lodges, White/Black, are the focal point for this town. These lodges are symbolized by the black and white zig zag floor and the red drapes. Within these astral planes lie the Dugpas. What are the Dugpas? Evil sorcerer demons represented by Bob (gray haired man in the denim jacket), Mike aka Man From Another Place (dwarf in the red suit), the waiter, the giant, the small child and his grandmother, the loggers, the totem (man in red suit with the long white nose). These various artistic and eclectic beings inhabit the two lodges. The key to understanding which lodge you enter is based on your approach to that lodge. If you enter the lodges with love in your heart you encounter the white lodge where you find Mike (Dwarf), the waiter, the giant etc…these are the good spirits. If you enter the lodges with fear you open the black lodge where you encounter BOB and many dopplegangers ie. Laura, Maddy, Leland, Windom Earle etc… In the physical world you should know that these Dugpas have possessed human beings. Mike the dwarf in habits Phillip Gerard the one armed man. The giant possesses the old waiter in the Great Northern Hotel. Bob inhabits Leland Palmer.
It’s important to understand motivation for some of these beings. Per scenes in the series and notes in the scripts it is clear that the Dugpas wish to harm mankind. At the very least Bob does. He uses owls as a conduit to travel while not in a physical human ie. “The owls are not what they seem.” Also it is mentioned by Windom Earle that these Dugpas are evil sorcerers. When you read Mike’s lines – “One chants out between two worlds, Fire Walk With Me,” you see the spelling for chants as a magician might chant magical spells.
There are two other interesting things regarding the Dugpas and the phrase, “Fire Walk With Me.” First the term Dugpas, if googled will lead you to many scholarly, and less than scholarly pages, about a sect of Tibetan monks. I think in the fourth century these monks split from traditional Buddhist teachings and started to practice occult black magic, orgies etc… They were represented by the red caps and garbs they wore. Many people feared them and even today natives of the mountains surrounding Tibet speak about the Dugpas and how they trap travelers.
The term “Fire Walk With Me,” refers to the human soul. This is exemplified in the last episode of Twin Peaks between Cooper, Windom Earle, and Bob. Earle says he’ll let Annie Blackburn live if Cooper relinquishes his soul. Bob later appears and tells Cooper that Earle can’t asked for Coopers soul. Bob then takes Earle’s soul represented by fire. I mention all of this because these beings and their actions are the true crux of the series.
Laura Palmer’s murder (SPOILER!!!!) was committed by BOB after having possessed Laura’s father Leland while Leland was just a child in the woods. This murder is the inciting incident that triggers the action of the series. Whether David Lynch and Mark Frost knew anything about where this series was going and all the intricacies doesn’t make. What does matter is the writing teams interpretation of these themes. To understand Twin Peaks and all its bizarre behavior you need to understand the lodges, their inhabitants and how they affect the town.
Unfortunately for the viewers Lynch and Frost did not delve deeper with the true heart of Twin Peaks in its initial run or in the film that followed. I recommend this series for anyone who wants to think and who believes in a unique take on other-worldly mystery.
Where to begin with this groundbreaking series by Mark Frost and David Lynch? There has been a lot written about this television series which aired in 1990 and changed network television forever. Much of what’s been written has been misinformation.
I won’t waste time talking about my twenty-five year obsession with the series, and I’m no scholar on the subject. I do feel that as an uber fan for over two decades I do believe I’m qualified to write my opinions and observations no matter how off base they are.
I guess I begin with something that’s a pet peeve of mine. Most articles in magazines or on blogs throw out phrases that make Twin Peaks seem like some kind of a nonsense surreal series that’s all glitz with no substance. My primary goal is to tackle this challenge in this brief blog.
Twin Peaks is a town that exists on a nexus of time and space centered in Ghost Wood Forrest. The twelve sycamore trees and the black substance, which appears to be a ectoplasmic key to another astral plane of existence aka The Lodges, White/Black, are the focal point for this town. These lodges are symbolized by the black and white zig zag floor and the red drapes. Within these astral planes lie the Dugpas. What are the Dugpas? Evil sorcerer demons represented by Bob (gray haired man in the denim jacket), Mike aka Man From Another Place (dwarf in the red suit), the waiter, the giant, the small child and his grandmother, the loggers, the totem (man in red suit with the long white nose). These various artistic and eclectic beings inhabit the two lodges. The key to understanding which lodge you enter is based on your approach to that lodge. If you enter the lodges with love in your heart you encounter the white lodge where you find Mike (Dwarf), the waiter, the giant etc…these are the good spirits. If you enter the lodges with fear you open the black lodge where you encounter BOB and many dopplegangers ie. Laura, Maddy, Leland, Windom Earle etc… In the physical world you should know that these Dugpas have possessed human beings. Mike the dwarf in habits Phillip Gerard the one armed man. The giant possesses the old waiter in the Great Northern Hotel. Bob inhabits Leland Palmer.
It’s important to understand motivation for some of these beings. Per scenes in the series and notes in the scripts it is clear that the Dugpas wish to harm mankind. At the very least Bob does. He uses owls as a conduit to travel while not in a physical human ie. “The owls are not what they seem.” Also it is mentioned by Windom Earle that these Dugpas are evil sorcerers. When you read Mike’s lines – “One chants out between two worlds, Fire Walk With Me,” you see the spelling for chants as a magician might chant magical spells.
There are two other interesting things regarding the Dugpas and the phrase, “Fire Walk With Me.” First the term Dugpas, if googled will lead you to many scholarly, and less than scholarly pages, about a sect of Tibetan monks. I think in the fourth century these monks split from traditional Buddhist teachings and started to practice occult black magic, orgies etc… They were represented by the red caps and garbs they wore. Many people feared them and even today natives of the mountains surrounding Tibet speak about the Dugpas and how they trap travelers.
The term “Fire Walk With Me,” refers to the human soul. This is exemplified in the last episode of Twin Peaks between Cooper, Windom Earle, and Bob. Earle says he’ll let Annie Blackburn live if Cooper relinquishes his soul. Bob later appears and tells Cooper that Earle can’t asked for Coopers soul. Bob then takes Earle’s soul represented by fire. I mention all of this because these beings and their actions are the true crux of the series.
Laura Palmer’s murder (SPOILER!!!!) was committed by BOB after having possessed Laura’s father Leland while Leland was just a child in the woods. This murder is the inciting incident that triggers the action of the series. Whether David Lynch and Mark Frost knew anything about where this series was going and all the intricacies doesn’t make. What does matter is the writing teams interpretation of these themes. To understand Twin Peaks and all its bizarre behavior you need to understand the lodges, their inhabitants and how they affect the town.
Unfortunately for the viewers Lynch and Frost did not delve deeper with the true heart of Twin Peaks in its initial run or in the film that followed. I recommend this series for anyone who wants to think and who believes in a unique take on other-worldly mystery.
