Kay, I thought I kind of covered this in my first post above, but if we want to get into particulars. . . Now I am sorry I do not have a body of movie criticism to draw upon, so I cannot post a "link" to an argument I made in the past. If you think I am defending my favorite movies here in some convoluted scheme to justify my blinding devotion to Lynch, then well I am at a loss.AnotherBlueRoseCase wrote:1) Can you, for example, provide a link of you defending a non-Lynch work that employs a deux ex machina like Green Glove to defeat a child abuser? Or anything in the same ballbark, if this even has a ballpark.
2) Or of you defending a non-Lynch retcon that calls into question a narrative's central moment like Laura's murder?
3) Or of you defending a director other than Lynch narcissistically inserting himself in his show to mention his groin? Or ballpark, so to speak.
4) Or defending a central character's key turning point being as random as sticking a fork in a socket?
Etc.
I'll try and stick with just the ten movies I listed:
1) Deus ex Machina: Well, the ending of Ordet is about as machina as they come, it maybe even defines the term! As this has been in my top 5 movies for many years (there are about 20 movies in my top 5) I hope that is defense enough for my being OK with non-Lynch Dues ex Machina.
2) You got me there. In movies it is called a plot twist and is rather ho hum much of the time, but in a longer format show it is difficult to relate such an "established" plot point being given the Rashomon treatment. I rarely watch TV so I would think literature would be a better place to look. On the face of it I do not understand the criticism, other than being upset that your expectations were overturned. For me, overturning expectations can be a good thing, and should not be discounted for its own sake.
3) Well, I liked when Jodorowsky did it in The Holy Mountain by surrounding himself with a half-naked couple as the white alchemist. He also titled a film after his character El Topo. Maybe The Return should have been called, Cole's Back (and Bigger than Ever). My 17 year old son, who loved Cooper and loved the original series (but who doesn't know from Lynch other than me telling him he wrote and directed the show) believes Cole is his favorite character in TR. Is he mistaken?
4) Have to disagree about the randomness, as this whole electricity thing was established throughout the show. I enjoyed the surprise of the fork, and for an example of a great movie surprise, watch any good movie, there will at least one in there.
I think I'll just accept that the "dissapointed" are coming at this work with emotional expectations and leave it at that. The John Cage example is apt. Lots of people hate his work because they think he is helping "destroy music" or some such. Me? I just don't listen to him. The Return seems to be destroying TP for some people. If they are looking at it without nostalgia, they would say (as many have on Dugpa, and moved on), oh well, not my cup of tea, and find something else more to their liking. I can't imagine getting upset with Jarmusch for one of his movies I don't like, and I can't imagine getting mad at Lynch either. It's a logical fallacy to think that because there exists a cult of Lynch that all who like Lynch are cultists. And that is what you are saying.
I've never poked my head in here because I am not emotionally attached, and I understand completely the disappointment those that are are feeling towards TR. But it seems this thread is now morphing into a regular criticism thread.