This Video Essay Chronicles the Evolution of David Lynch

David Lynch is one of those immersive and mysterious artists who create things that demand to be talked about over and over. He broke onto the scene with the surrealist Eraserhead and has continued to amaze, entertain, horrify, and challenge us throughout the years. My personal favorite is Blue Velvet. Or is it Mulholland Drive? Or Elephant Man? 

Lynch has become one of the most interesting filmmakers in our lifetime, and it's even more interesting to study just how he got to be the filmmaker he is today by tracking his evolution through each project. 

Check out this video essay from elmusico and let's talk after. 

What I loved about this video essay is how it juxtaposes images and scenes from Lynch's work to show us where he came from and where he went after. It also shows what could maybe be seen as self-homages or references to the designs and situations he loved in earlier movies, now done with a greater budget and more access. 

It's interesting to track the looks and feels Lynch uses over and over, almost as if they're motifs in his work. The recurring record player and art deco design stick out particularly since they're in so many of his works.

I also love the idea of the suburbs and what's lurking beneath them, as we've seen thought-out the decades in his mastery. Colors also come back, with that royal blue and deep crimson signifying different worlds. That goes back to his surrealist nature. Always pulling at the strings of the conscious and the subconscious. 

Finally, I loved the closing look at life and death in his imagery. Lynch is always pulling at the string between planes of existence. What happens when we die and what happens if we never explore the meaning of life? 

Lynch has said, "Waking dreams are the ones that are important, the ones that come when I'm quietly sitting in a chair, letting my mind wander. When you sleep, you don't control your dream. I like to dive into a dream world that I've made or discovered; a world I choose ... [You can't really get others to experience it, but] right there is the power of cinema."

What are some of your favorite Lynch moments and movies? Let us know in the comments. 

Source: elmusico