Above the convenience store: Scene Analysis

[Ygdrasel]

I've delved headlong back into Twin Peaks since the big announcement but it's this scene that I keep replaying. Who are these people, what are they talking about, why are they meeting, what is their deal? ...And just what on Earth are they doing above a 7-11?!

Questions, theories, and just an overall - excuse me - DAMN FINE scene. Very effective horror too, intentional or otherwise. But anyway, I set about dissecting the scene with attention to these questions.

Scene breakdown time!




What on Earth are they doing above a 7-11?:

I see the Convenience Store as a similar location to "Glastonbury Grove". That is, a material location - a grove or, in this case, a convenience store attic - that under the right circumstances can serve as a kind of 'portal', providing a glimpse into the Lodge and vice-versa. The grove is where they (the Lodge spirits) prefer to do the dirty work - less fuss, just another woods accident, after all - while the convenience store is where they take their meetings. As for the place itself, that convenience store attic? It exists. It's a material location that Cooper or Norma or Bobby Briggs could visit if they wanted to do so. But I don't think they would see the meetings taking place. When we see it, I think what we're seeing is something taking place 'between two worlds'. The Lodge spirits aren't physically sitting around in that store in our world; They're still in the Lodge. But they've got a solid enough "glimpse" of that room (via the 'portal' in the store) to be able to sit in its chairs and feel its tables while not technically existing in the same realm as the furniture. Does that make sense? It does in my head.





What's their deal?:

MIKE: Never seen in proper flesh but high-up on the chain of command. His primary concern is garmonbozia.
BOB: MIKE's former partner gone rogue. Also high in rank. His role in the meeting is very clearly unpleasant to him.
LMFAP: MIKE's "arm", both literally and figuratively, his role in the meeting is to serve as a delegate/representative for the unseen MIKE.
Mrs. Tremond and Pierre: These two are not at the main table. If MIKE and BOB are more CEO-tier, these two are like lesser board members. Still involved in the proceedings but less prominent.
The Electrician and the Woodsmen: Only present (in person) in the film. They're the rank-and-file - bottom-rung but very important in overall function. Their exact role is detailed further down.
The Jumping Man: Only present (in person) in the film. He's the shot-caller and general overseer, detailed farther below.





Who are they?:

MIKE (here delegated by, but not the same entity as, the LMFAP) and BOB are clearly the top dogs here. Two big bowls of garmonbozia AND the main table. Technically, BOB is (or was) MIKE's familiar but due to their operation as "partners", they are still often equals in practice.

As MIKE's "arm", LMFAP is in a trickier position on the ladder, equal to MIKE in theory (in that he serves as MIKE's delegate) but not necessarily in practice (in that he is still viewed as lesser; Even MIKE sees fit to utilize his completed form when confronting BOB about garmonbozia near the film's end).

Now, notice the small bowl of garmonbozia specifically at Pierre's feet. This coupled with the series' Tremond scene - the old woman appearing unnerved by cream corn and Pierre magicking it away from her into his own hands - leads me to believe that Mrs. Tremond is Pierre's familiar. Thus Pierre comes next, with Mrs. Tremond serving beside him but still a bit below rank-wise. Within the show/film, they seem to operate as deliverers of messages, objects, whatever is needed.

Finally comes the Electrician and the Woodsmen who I view as having only recently become Lodge residents and thus being very bottom-tier, hence their lesser roles and reserved speech. There's a theory about one of the Woodsmen being the Log Lady's lost husband but I've come to a different sort of conclusion: These lesser spirits are essentially the 'manual labor' of the Lodge. They utilize their unique abilities to serve the Lodge. The Electrician is responsible for the electrical oddities that accompany Lodge activity. The Woodsmen are responsible for the way some people end up trapped in wood when the Lodge snatches them. The fate of those trapped? Essentially limbo. I have this idea of Josie stuck in this oddly spectral reality where the Great Northern and the Lodge flicker back and forth into existence, while the lost husband flickers back and forth between the Lodge and wherever his log is carried, which allows the Log Lady to foresee and offer comments (however cryptic) on otherworldly dealings.

But wait, somebody is not at the meeting: The Giant. Many ideas abound about this. My idea? He operates not unlike Señor Droolcup. Essentially, he's the 'waiter' of the Lodge. He isn't at the meeting because he has no concern for the squabbles of the other residents; MIKE and Pierre are concerned about their garmonbozia. The Electrician and Woodsmen are about maintenance and functional concerns. BOB is all rebellious anger. The Giant though will do whatever he personally feels is in the best interest of the Lodge community as a whole (in the series' case, bringing BOB down) regardless. His place in the hierarchy is ambiguous as a result.





The Jumping Man:

Tying into my conception of the Black Lodge as a genius loci (that is, a sentient place), I view The Jumping Man as the avatar of that sentience. The first thing we see after the convenience store room appears is an extreme close-up of the Jumping Man. TJM is jumping all about, screeching that horrific screech - the Lodge is angry. The sound also seems at points to be communicative: Either a cry of agreement or an urging for the LMFAP to resume after he goes silent at times. And just prior to BOB's angry outburst of "I have the fury of my own momentum.", the electrical devices in the room seem to malfunction (affected by BOB's 'fury') and The Jumping Man reacts with apparent agitation at the disturbance, as if BOB getting too out of order is angering him.

The design of the character is another thing that suggests the idea of him being an avatar of the Lodge itself: He appears to be a sort of chimera of various Lodge aspects. The odd dancing brings to mind LMFAP's jig in Cooper's dream sequence - But that jig was itself a cryptic hint toward Leland. So The Jumping Man's step-dance is moreso a connection to Leland and even Audrey's own whimsical little dance, an abstract way of hinting at Twin Peaks in general (they do love their quirky dancing), further suggesting the avatar-of-a-location thing. The red suit is a more explicit LMFAP element. The unexplained wooden object in hand ties him to the Woodsmen. The static starts up as the camera lingers on a shot of him, tying him to the Electrician. His face - which appears to be skin (it's molded to his face), not a mask - obviously mirrors the mask used by Pierre. And his jumping (most of his movements are dancing, why isn't he called The Dancing Man?) is not entirely unlike BOB's own physical behavior at times throughout the show, kind of frantic and exaggerated. He's just this odd amalgamation, in design and movement, of other spirits residing within the lodge. Coupled with some other behaviors (detailed more below) and his role overall, just sort of presiding over the meeting in general, with the occasional maybe-communicative screech, all suggests to me that he is indeed a representation of the Lodge's own strange sentience.





What are they talking about/why are they meeting?: The topic of the day's meeting is both one of business and discipline. As the meeting begins, LMFAP speaks of how they descended from "pure air" - basically, they don't truly have physical form. Spirits, you know. He then speaks of "going up and down...intercourse between the two worlds". That is, traveling between the Lodge and our world.


The first topic seems to be suggestions of how to travel/operate in the 'other world' (our world). A line that never made it into the scene had Mrs. Tremond suggesting "Why not be composed of materials and combinations of atoms?", a suggestion they evidently took to heart. Things that made it to the scene: LMFAP remarks that they could use electricity somehow, explaining why the Electrician is in attendance. He also remarks "The chrome reflects our image" and BOB is reflected in a mirror the series finale - not exactly chrome, but it does 'reflect his image'. A Woodsman chimes in with "Animal life.", offering up the idea of using animals as simple spies. This idea is expanded upon by BOB using the owls and, I believe, Pierre using the monkey seen here and at the film's end.

Note: This seems to be a discussion of "Hey, we need ideas on travel, anybody got anything?" but as I mentioned in discussing The Jumping Man's behavior, the Lodge is angry. Check BOB's face while LMFAP says "going up and down...intercourse between the two worlds". He looks agitated, barely containing anger, holding his tongue. This leads me to believe that BOB is seeking a way to exit the Lodge: Permanently. That's a no-no so what's actually going on is the LMFAP scolding him for screwing around. Essentially "We don't do that. This is how we do things here. Can anyone tell me what BOB did wrong?", a semi-rhetorical question where the 'answers' serve to shame BOB, giving him a refresher course on the rules. This segment of the scene is essentially about disciplining an unruly child.


Now, of course, the second part of the meeting is more about usual business: It's time to harvest more garmonbozia. I think they already know who they want too. Another theory.

Prior to getting to the point, LMFAP just kind of casually remarks upon the table. Stalling because he knows the next part is going to go poorly: BOB needs to get out there and harvest for them. He has to be the errand boy. Again. Given his recent rebellious ways and apparent bad mood, that won't sit well. Of course, the stalling only wears on BOB's nerves and he lashes out, mocking them about how he doesn't need them. He'll do what he wants, and he can do it on his own. This is the "I have the fury of my own momentum" line.

Of note at this point is The Jumping Man. Aside from his agitated reaction to the outburst, he basically ceases to be involved in the meeting after the disciplinary aspect is handled: The garmonbozia business is all LMFAP and BOB which reinforces the idea that the first part of the meeting was the Lodge basically reprimanding BOB via the other spirits. The Lodge is angry at BOB's rebellious ideas, his rogue tendencies, his stepping out of line. Garmonbozia is MIKE's concern here. But the Lodge - The Jumping Man - wants discipline. After the reprimanding business is done, he slips largely into the background. This ties further into him as an avatar of the Lodge's sentience.

But, back to the garmonbozia business: After BOB's outburst, Pierre chimes in to get things back on track by suggesting that BOB do the harvesting (pointing at BOB, he instructs "fell a victim"). This gets no argument but BOB's outburst does get a sort of exasperated look from LMFAP who sees that he has no choice but to play his trump card, his new 'shock collar' for keeping BOB under control: The ring.

They share a not-very-sincere laugh together - LMFAP laughing that he has BOB beat, BOB laughing because he arrogantly believes otherwise. Then the meeting is adjourned - LMFAP's "Fire, walk with me" enables BOB (though I think anyone present could have done it then) to close up the 'portal' in the store and returns them to the Red Room. (Prior to removing Philip's arm, I think any spirit could just read out the tattoo to activate its unique function. That's why the arm had to go.)

[LostInTheMovies]

I've delved headlong back into Twin Peaks since the big announcement but it's this scene that I keep replaying. ...

Enjoyed reading this. I especially liked the notion of Pierre being a bit "above" the Grandmother (despite the age difference, she does usually seem to be tagging along with him rather than vice-versa: he's the one who more fundamentally delivers the messages). And the woodsmen and electricians offering a sort of "manual labor" transporting the spirits into the human world which is something that seems fairly obvious in retrospect but I never gave much thought to.

I was going to offer some thoughts here about garmonbozia but I'll save them for another thread as they've grown longer than expected.

Re: Mike & the Little Man, I'm inclined to see them as essentially the same entity. It's complicated but I think when the Little Man touches Phillip's shoulder in the end of the film is the perfect mirror-image of Leland floating next to Bob across from them. In both cases, we are seeing the full extent of the spirit/host partnership and I don't think there's a part of Mike that's "missing" here anymore than there is a part of Bob that's missing. Just a hunch.

Your idea of the Jumping Man being an amalgamation - the mask, the red suit, some of Bob's gestures, etc - is a nice touch. I think Lynch told the actor playing him that he was a "talisman come to life."

It will be interesting to see how all this madness plays out in 2016 because at the time it was clearly just Lynch following his gut and generating wild images the way he would generate an abstract painting. But now Frost - with his, essentially literary, desire to tie everything in to a clearer cosmology - is back in the picture. He's said that Fire Walk With Me will play a role, or at least not be ignored, in crafting the new series and I hope he is true to his word.

[OK,Bob]

I've posted related thoughts here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2810

[OK,Bob]

Interestingly, the couch used for the Hayward living room in the series appears above the convenience store, but NOT in the Hayward's living room in FWWM.

[Ygdrasel]

I've delved headlong back into Twin Peaks since the big announcement but it's this scene that I keep replaying. ...

Enjoyed reading this. I especially liked the notion of Pierre being a bit "above" the Grandmother (despite the age difference, she does usually seem to be tagging along with him rather than vice-versa: he's the one who more fundamentally delivers the messages). And the woodsmen and electricians offering a sort of "manual labor" transporting the spirits into the human world which is something that seems fairly obvious in retrospect but I never gave much thought to.

I was going to offer some thoughts here about garmonbozia but I'll save them for another thread as they've grown longer than expected.

Re: Mike & the Little Man, I'm inclined to see them as essentially the same entity. It's complicated but I think when the Little Man touches Phillip's shoulder in the end of the film is the perfect mirror-image of Leland floating next to Bob across from them. In both cases, we are seeing the full extent of the spirit/host partnership and I don't think there's a part of Mike that's "missing" here anymore than there is a part of Bob that's missing. Just a hunch.

Your idea of the Jumping Man being an amalgamation - the mask, the red suit, some of Bob's gestures, etc - is a nice touch. I think Lynch told the actor playing him that he was a "talisman come to life."

It will be interesting to see how all this madness plays out in 2016 because at the time it was clearly just Lynch following his gut and generating wild images the way he would generate an abstract painting. But now Frost - with his, essentially literary, desire to tie everything in to a clearer cosmology - is back in the picture. He's said that Fire Walk With Me will play a role, or at least not be ignored, in crafting the new series and I hope he is true to his word.

I would agree that MIKE and LMFAP are the same entity for all intents and purposes considering that LMFAP's words and actions are just instructions from MIKE; Like I said, the boss delegates. But literally speaking, they are separate beings rather than LMFAP being MIKE's form outside of Philip or anything.

I feel like MIKE himself is not particularly fond of 'materials and combinations of atoms' which is why we never see him; He prefers his default state which has no true 'form' to it ("pure air"). This lack of care for flesh would also explain why he just went all-out and lopped off Philip's entire arm (a rather extreme form of tattoo removal, really) with little if any concern for the repercussions to his host.

As for that scene in the Red Room, I don't think any part of MIKE is "missing" there. He doesn't need LMFAP to be "whole". It's just a symbolic gesture of completeness to intimidate BOB. He could have just had LMFAP handle it but he showed up personally on top of that.

Mind you, he showed up using Philip's body; That doesn't mean MIKE is "incomplete" in any way. Again, he just doesn't really like physicality all that much. The other spirits expend energy to create physical forms (the boy, the old lady, the grungy denim-jacket guy - All just 'forms' for convenience) as needed to conduct business. MIKE either delegates to LMFAP or inhabits a body.

BOB, on the other hand...He enjoys physicality. A lot. Remember, these are spirits. They could just appear in any place they need be, easy as (cherry) pie. But BOB doesn't do that. We see him crawling over furniture and through windows to reach people, slithering his way into Laura's bed (even when he doesn't use Leland). He takes pleasure in the physical aspects. And he "feeds" on "the pleasures" - He enjoys carnal activity especially, which is why he utilizes his particular method to draw pain.

And after his kills, what does he do? He physically retrieves and arranges clues and tokens - necklaces, alphabet letters cut out from magazines, etcetera. Mind, this also serves to extend the fear - an ongoing, trackable killer taunting the agents creates a tension that might not otherwise materialize. He could still do it all with less-involved appear-and-disappear tricks (like the Tremonds). He takes so much extra time and effort that needn't be expended. He likes physicality so much that his final act in the series (thus far - I'm sure the book will include him as the revived series cannot) is to escape the Lodge entirely in what he expects to be a permanent body.


@OK,Bob: The room above the store appears to be some kind of minimal improvised apartment. Maybe they donated or sold the couch to somebody and it ended up there.

[LostInTheMovies]

I feel like MIKE himself is not particularly fond of 'materials and combinations of atoms' ...

Great points. I just left a comment on another thread about determing what Mike's true form is but I like this idea and will definitely be flirting with it. You are absolutely right about Bob being defined to a certain extent by a love for materiality/physicality, and likewise Mike - in some ways at least - represents a more ethereal, spiritual realm (certainly he helps provide Laura passage into a higher understanding than Bob's closed universe allows).

It still leaves the question of why Mike severed his and/or Phillip's arm. Rather than tangle threads too much, I will return to the other thread...

[OK,Bob]

Rather than tangle threads too much, I will return to the other thread...

"The thread will be torn...!!!"

See also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_string_of_fate

[Jasper]

I stumbled upon something interesting, and while likely completely coincidental, it does have some neat resonances with FWWM and the Jumping Man. Here are some cherry-picked words and images:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda

The Garuda is a large bird-like creature, or humanoid bird that appears in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Garuda is the mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila. The brahminy kite and phoenix are considered to be the contemporary representations of garuda.

(…)

His stature in Hindu religion can be gauged by the fact that a dependent Upanishad, the Garudopanishad, and a Purana, the Garuda Purana, is devoted to him. Various names have been attributed to Garuda - Chirada, Gaganeshvara, Kamayusha, Kashyapi, Khageshvara, Nagantaka, Sitanana, Sudhahara, Suparna, Tarkshya, Vainateya, Vishnuratha and others. The Vedas provide the earliest reference of Garuda, though by the name of Syena, where this mighty bird is said to have brought nectar to earth from heaven.

(...)

In Hinduism, Garuda is a Hindu divinity, usually the mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. Garuda is depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak and with a crown on his head.

(….)

Garuda wears the serpent Adisesha on his left small toenail and the serpent Gulika on his right cerebral cortex. The serpent Vasuki forms his sacred thread.

(…)

According to the epic, when Garuda first burst forth from his egg, he appeared as a raging inferno equal to the cosmic conflagration that consumes the world at the end of every age. Frightened, the gods begged him for mercy. Garuda, hearing their plea, reduced himself in size and energy.

(…)

One day, Vinata (Garuda’s mother) entered into and lost a foolish bet, as a result of which she became enslaved to her sister. Resolving to release his mother from this state of bondage, Garuda approached the serpents and asked them what it would take to purchase her freedom. Their reply was that Garuda would have to bring them the elixir of immortality, also called amrita. It was a tall order. The amrita at that time found itself in the possession of the gods, who guarded it zealously, since it was the source of their immortality. They had ringed the elixir with a massive fire that covered the sky.

(…)

En route, he encountered Vishnu. Rather than fight, the two exchanged promises. Vishnu promised Garuda the gift of immortality even without drinking from the elixir, and Garuda promised to become Vishnu's mount. Flying onward, he met Indra the god of the sky. Another exchange of promises occurred. Garuda promised that once he had delivered the elixir, thus fulfilling the request of the serpents, he would make it possible for Indra to regain possession of the elixir and to take it back to the gods.

[Aqua]

I stumbled upon something interesting, and while likely completely coincidental, it does have some neat resonances with FWWM and the Jumping Man. Here are some cherry-picked words and images:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garuda

Garuda reference to the jumping man looks actual since garuda is mentioned (also in wiki) as an often used amulet - with lynch previously commenting that the jumping man itself was a talisman come alive (thus further supporting the amalgamation theory posed at the start of the thread.

But also interestingly - consider that it is also mentioned (same source) that Garuda has one older brother, who fled home in early age being angry with their mother and set up his life as a semi-deity (as far as I understand) elsewhere. This reminded of something, until just recently remembered that ... cooper had a very similar situation in his family, as per his biography. Now this is continuing on a far-fetched trajectory and not necessarily correct, but always interesting to explore potential references (lynch presum bases this stuff on something in religions) - which would be as per below:

1. Garuda's father was one of the wide known eastern sages, and his mother has desired for their children to be royal/close to gods (and seemingly failed with the 1st son, who was born half formed). EDIT this btw also partially references to the Chalfont/Tremond family dynamic somewhat, as per a perfect analysis above. Garuda's initial strength and size that scared the gods is also of notice here;
2. As mentioned, due to his size and strength, Garuda is a central figure in Hindu religion, being a mount to deities, firstly Vishnnu. Vishhnu itself, it must be remembered, is one of the several most crucial underlying deities, one which is everywhere and that resides in the upper levels of realm beyond the material world (and where the purified souls go as having achieved moksha/nirvana during or after life on earth). Again importantly, Vishnu itself is multi-armed and of a pale blue color - the references to which are found elsewhere in lynch's work, e.g. ronnie rocket unfilmed script, but can also be - again extrapolatingly so, but perhaps not necessary without ground - perceived to be present in TP in one or another form;
3. After a mentioned story of taking an elixir of immortality to earth from the sky, Garuda as also mentioned struck the deals with Vishnu and Indra (anothet crucial deity), and after fooling serpents became the king of birds - and his strength as amulet helps from all evil from, say, serpent's poison. While the treatment of birds in the series as perhaps more malefic is contradictory here (or I do not know enough in detail to explain this), consider also that coop's mom has been having dreams of flocks of birds while still alive.

Don't know what to make of it in the end in a defining way, but there it is.

[Soolsma]

During some TP browsing sessions I found some theories regarding the jumping man being a representation of a Heyoka,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heyoka

Heyoka are thought of as being backwards-forwards, upside-down, or contrary in nature. This manifests by doing things backwards or unconventionally — riding a horse backwards, wearing clothes inside-out, or speaking in a backwards language.

[Soolsma]

By google imaging the word Heyoka. Looks strikingly similar, right?

[Aqua]

heyoka_01.jpg (91.33 KiB) Viewed 14502 times

Yes

[Aqua]

Just that this would be a heyoka with the opposite purpose - induce more evil, that is perhaps. And in any case we see say leland's face at the end of fwwm painted and doing similar sounds - so may still signify say a possessed person (apart from being a clown/amulet for the chaps there).

Re eastern deities - it is infinitely interesting to think of how this will be incorporated. He had vishnu-like blue, multi-handed deity at the end of r-rocket juggling universes, so you know, you get to thinking ..

[Jasper]

Aqua,

Thanks for that addition. You make some very good additional points. You might want to check out some of the various threads where we discuss Garmonbozia. If you search the forum for Amrita and Soma you will see a lot of info. This thread is a good example:
http://www.dugpa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=2810

Soolsma,

I have no idea if there’s any Jumping Man connection with the Heyoka, but either way, that wiwi entry was fascinating, so thanks for pointing it out. And, yes, the Heyoka image you posted shows a striking similarity to the Jumping Man’s head. What year was that photo taken? Maybe the Heyoka loves Lynch!

[Aqua]

Jasper,

Thanks also for posting all this info, I have read upon those previous threads obviously, you guys did a great job with that, rakshasas, etc. And the conv store analysis above is also exceptional in its well-rounded conclusions, we'll see how this will be proven true in, ahem, only a year or so

Re Heyoka, and especially its description as an amalgamation of sorts - it seems that there is indeed enough proof of this being correct for me at this stage