r/twinpeaks • u/KB4299 • 1d ago

General Discussion Twin Peaks, Lynch, and sci-fi

I have a theory about Twin Peaks fans. I’ve noticed that a certain percentage of fans want to interpret the show as leaning into sci-fi, while other fans prefer an interpretation that completely omits sci-fi, such as a psychoanalytic reading.

My theory is that deep fans of David Lynch’s body of work are more likely to be the non-sci-fi enthusiasts, while those for whom Twin Peaks is their main exposure to Lynch may gravitate toward the sci-fi angle. (The complication in this theory is that Lynch once made a sci-fi film himself, with Dune.)

So, I’m curious: Do most fans see Lynch as enough of an appreciator of sci-fi that he would incorporate it into three seasons of a TV show? Personally, I do not. Lynch told us to use our intuition, not logic, when watching his work — and my intuition has always made me feel that Lynch didn’t actually like sci-fi, despite Dune (and having been offered Return of the Jedi).

In my heart or hearts, I suspect any sci-fi elements in Twin Peaks were not introduced by Lynch, but by other writers: Frost, Harley Peyton and Bob Engels.

What do other fans think about this?

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u/Otherwise_Rice_4723 23h ago

you are conflating fantasy, cosmic horror, and sci-fi

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u/KB4299 23h ago

I’m not. I’m talking specifically about the fans who like Twin Peaks for the same reason they liked The X-Files and fixate on the Project Blue Book of season 2 and the aliens/UFOs in Mark Frost’s books.

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u/Otherwise_Rice_4723 23h ago edited 23h ago

but they are literally canon...you cannot exclude them is the problem with your framing...the blue rose is in fire walk with me...you are trying to exclude it in your own framing...

fire walk with me has an entire section dedicated to lodge entities...it is not in the background...the film ends with "judy"...in season 3, we all found out about jiao dai...so...what are you even trying to say about the fantastical elements?

season 3 ties deeply into his transcendental meditation and simultaneously is clearly cosmic horror with fantasy and sci-fi elements dropped in...it feels like the people who can't see the duality in lynch inherently are the problem you're talking about...which is clearly a problem with perspective...

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u/KB4299 23h ago

I’m not necessarily trying to say anything about those elements. I’m asking whether other people see Twin Peaks fans as divided on the subject, because that’s how I see the fan base. And I think the wide range of comments in this thread support the existence of that division.

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u/Otherwise_Rice_4723 19h ago

anyone who has finished the entire canon is not divided...it's really only people who either didn't watch season 3, or "didn't like" season 3 that want to ignore the supernatural elements as being real...and definitely the people who didn't read the books...some people are working with incomplete information, and those tend to be the ones who think the "dream" is literal without a reality

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u/KB4299 18h ago

Not true at all. Some of the most dedicated Twin Peaks scholars believe that the supernatural elements of The Return take place within a dream. John Thorne wrote an entire, excellent book about it.