Essay Unit3_Environment Jamie_Tibbott 1105170 Introduction This Essay will look into how David Lynch uses the

uncanny, as represented by Sigmund Freud's Essay, to his advantage within his films and other artwork, producing unexaplainable work by critics. The essay will also explore the different aspects and theories behind the uncanny by looking at how freud explains the different aspects. Interviews with David Lynch will help understand what he believes about his work and audience and how he presents the unfamiliar. Also Analysing his films will discover the theories behind the uncanny based around Freud's essay. This will also help understand how Lynch shows his method of the uncanny to the audience and what reaction he gets. The reaction will be based around Film reviews of his work and how critics interpret his work.

Main Body

The uncanny(unheimlich) according to freud is the represenation of the unfamiliar,and the unhomely. Freud refers alot to Ernst Jentsch who first wrote about the uncanny in 1906, to which Freud released his essay in 1919 where he elaborated and developed upon the uncanny. Freud mentions of how Jentsch Stressed upon the difficulties upon the uncanny is that people differenciate greatly due to their sensitivity. Freud believes that this is drawn entirely from infantile behaviour, however the key aspect of what Jentsch was explaining is, that with each person being different and having a history of different beliefs and experiences depends entirely what that person would represent as the uncanny. This would therefore be the aspect that people would look into based on infantile representation and what made things so uncanny back when they was younger, such as the feeling they experienced when faced with a certatin location or place in their lives. This is one of

many aspects of the uncanny and the reasons behind what produces the Unhomely within a person.

Freud talks about how psychoanaltic experience tells us that some children has a terrible fear for losing their eyes, to which they retain through adulthood. Which suggests the fear of infantile behaviour would follow through to maturity, and therefore cause a form of traumatic anxiety. Anxiety about ones eyes, the fear of going blind, is quite often a substitute for the fear of castration.(Freud, The uncanny 1919:140)which applies to mental health visualisations of the uncanny, when faced with the initial fear of going blind, such as dangerous objects in a normal situation would become a Uncanny situation due to the psychological connection with the impact on the eyes or indeed the metaphor to which Freud refers, The Apple of ones eye. This becomes familiar within muturity dependant on the seriousness of the fear and when faces with the situation at hand. These fears are brought out within cinema and directors, force the audience to face these fears in the form of art, to produce the sense of fear and anxiety for an increased impact for atmosphere.

David Lynch, Director amongst other artistic skills is such an example to which Produces simple Fears within the audience and is known amongst the public to create the uncanny within his work whether it is painting, film or books. For example within his photography a sense of the unknown occurs alot, and gets the audience asking why? However this what the uncanny is based upon.

Fig.1 David Lynch - Untitled

Within Fig.1 The question is based upon the giant head in the middle of the table, however arguably the basis of this image is around the eyesight of the surrounding figures. Giving great distinguishing features and creating the extraordinary out of normallity creating the slight sense of the uncanny and the abnormallity it portrays.This image could be interpreted in several different ways however as Lynch Mentions in a review based upon Eraserhead, though attempting to solve this or any logic in Lynchs canon, for that matter, is nearly custom in viewing his films.(Taylor.R 2004) which also shows the consistency of Lynch's work within all aspects of the media from Paintings to a variety of different films, which are well known the modern age as being the most abnormal and bizarre. With being several different aspects of the uncanny Lynch doesnt fail to exploit as much as he can involving all area's of what Freud mentions within his essay such as infantile psychology to Doppelgnger.

Freud Explains within his essay about the affects of the Doppelgnger(yourself viewed by yourself) and how this can affect us when confronted with our own image in someone elses place, and the

effect it can have. David Lynch gives us many examples of the Doppelgnger within his films, however from the film Lost highway it is portrayed very differently and has a natural effect on the audience as if it was the Actors image of themselves that they seeing through their eyes, which David lynch accomplishes effectively.

Fig.2 Doppelgnger Within Lost highway

This image shows the same actor playing two characters within the story lost highway directed by David lynch, one being an innocent housewife who gets murdered and her husband framed for it, and the other a women who in turn kills her lover. This shows the doppelgnger method to which Lynch applies within his films using methods of the uncanny to displace the audiences interpretation and instead re-create the outlook of the story. Lynch Effectively uses these methods to an advantage of the uncanny and extraordinary, which are also used within story-telling techniques.

Such techniques resemble Lynch's work within twin peaks, where as the story-telling is non-linear and often obscure in camera angles out of place objects, rooms and characters. Twin peaks:fire walk with me is a film based around an investigation on the death of a women, and inevitable death of another. Through the uncanny Lynch manages to create the out of place within normality, for example he will incorporate a horse within a room to signify a dream sequence, or what is seen by the audience as a dream sequence, which in turn makes them question themselves on what they are

believing, this also involves the sound which he uses, to bring his draw them into a sense of reality and concentration. Lynch states in an interview with Jay Leno its important that a film is loud and i hope many people agree, you should be inside a film when you go into a theatre it shouldnt be way up in front of you, it should surround you,so you can live inside a dream.(David Lynch, 2007) This implies that Lynch is not trying to create a story for the audience, but to in fact bring them into an experience, which would be an rollercoaster of emotions, such as fear, empathy and to question the uncanny within the film, such as the dream sequence which may not be a dream sequence at all interpreted by Lynch. Arguably he is one of the best directors to show the uncanny as represented by Freud effectively and to produce a sense of confusion which gets the audience constantly asking the question... why?

Lynch creates a feeling of anxiety to his audience by simple blend of what seams like strangeness and random, however in fact cafefully placed Symbolic gestures and precises cut editing to produce the obscure films that he does, many critics stumble upon Lynch's work with critism of confusion and working in depth on Lynch's personallity and how he effects the cinema, and what people have now grown to appreciate as David Lynch. Lynch creates his idiosyncratic blend of fascination and frustration by making the cinematic mystery irresolvable. (Hageman.A, 2011) which clearly shows his creative methods of working, using almost murder mystery style qualities in reverse to give a false interpration of the story. Which within scenes encourages the effects of the uncanny, and creates drama and the ability to confuse the audience with a form of thriller investigation.

Conclusion

It is shown that David Lynch uses the uncanny as represented by Sigmund Freud, to Produce the extraordinary qualities to his films, paintings and other workings to provide the audience with

ambiguity. Within this method he creates confusion and frustration, that works alongside the process in which he takes to give the public false interpretation, and disbelief in their own conclusions. For example Freud discusses the workings of Doppelgangers and the effects of what is believed to be the reaction when faced with such a trauma, whereas Lynch Exploits the reaction and forces it upon other people as entertainment. This creates the other worldly type Scenary and abnormal Story-telling techinques which has now become well known as the workings of David Lynch.

Bibliography

The Uncanny, Sigmund Freud, penguin Classics, ISBN 0-14-243747

Rumsey Taylor, Film Review (2004) http://notcoming.com/reviews/(eraserhead/

David Lynch The Tonight Show With Jay Leno (2007) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQbvWdOzFNQ

Andrew Hageman, Issue 11: Articles, The uncanny Ecology of Mulholland drive (2011) http://www.scope.nottingham.ac.uk/article.php?issue=11&id=1022

Illustration List

Fig.1 David Lynch Untitled 2009 Digital print Courtesy Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles http://www.lensculture.com/webloglc/mt_files/archives/2009/07/new-photography-from-davidlyn.html

Fig.2 Doppelgnger Film Still, Twin Peaks: fire walk with me (1992) Taken from; http://pulpinformer.blogspot.com/2011/06/evil-twins-lost-highway.html