Personal Narrative: Mulholland Drive

If you’ve stumbled upon this article, I’m willing to bet, that you were just googling Mulholland Drive, that’s not surprising. I'm sure most people who watch Mulholland Drive end up googling it, but why is that? What made you look it up? Did you google it because you didn't understand it? Or was it because you've been thinking about it all day? As I look back at some of my favorite pieces of art I realize that at one point I was, or still am, completely baffled by it. Whether it's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Pulp Fiction, or a Frank Zappa album I often step back, look at the piece and ask why? Why did the artist create this? Why did the artist create it the way he/she did? What does it mean? Why do people like this? Asking these questions has

Sitting in the balcony, they look down on a stage that resembles the one in Lynch’s early film Eraserhead. As the orchestra begins to play the emcee walks out on stage and informs the audience,“There is no band. This is all a tape recording, and yet we hear band… It is an illusion.” After his presentation, the emcee introduces the first act Rebekah del Rio. She walks onto the stage and sings Roy Robinson's “Crying” in Spanish. After a three minute performance, the girls have been brought to sobbing, when the singer on stages passes out. The singing continues as she is carried off stage and we are reminded that it’s all a tape recording. (follow this link to watch the scene

The theater scene is about the emotional effect of art. We have no reason to believe that Naomi Watts’ character speaks Spanish, so I think its safe to say that she doesn't know what the singer is actually saying. She has no idea what's going on, yet she is moved. It’s also important to consider how the performance isn't real, it’s a tape recording, an illusion. The same way we begin watching a movie knowing that it is fake, yet we often feel very real emotion while watching it. All of this is to reference the viewer, but take into account the way Lynch has the emcee saying his lines for him. It’s as if Lynch is grabbing us by the shoulders, shaking us and saying,“look it’s not real! It’s just a trick! But take a step back and look what's happening here, isn’t it cool?” This is certainly not the only time Lynch references the films creator. Take for example the dinner scene when the man with recurring nightmare tells us about his dream,”I get even more frightened when I realize what it is. There's a man, in back of this place. He's the one who's doing it. I can see him through the wall. I can see his face.” He’s referencing a man behind the scenes, who has control of it all. Lynch gets us to stop asking questions about his film and to start asking questions about film. He has made a film