Lindsay Hallam

David Lynch has been accused for decades of sexism and even misogyny in his work, due largely to frequent depictions of violence against women. Yet others see in Lynch’s work the deification of the female, and actresses like Laura Dern and Naomi Watts jump at every opportunity to work with him. “He is the master of the juxtaposition of the creepy and the sweet, the sexual and the chaste,” wrote W’s Lynn Hirschberg. “And at the heart of this tense, intriguing friction, you will always find Lynch’s women.” The Women of Lynch is a deep, provocative dive into this paradox, featuring ten essays, thought pieces and impressionistic interpretations of Lynch’s depiction of women on screen, by an eclectic array of accomplished female critics, scholars, performers, and writers, each tackling this vexing conundrum in her own unique way. The book also contains an interview with actress MÄdchen Amick (Shelly Johnson in Twin Peaks) where she gives first hand knowledge on what it is like to be a woman of Lynch. Lisa Hession interviews the original woman of Lynch, Charlotte Stewart (Eraserhead, Twin Peaks) about being the actress with longest active span of working with David Lynch. This is the first essay book about the work of David Lynch by all female writers. Readers will enjoy The Women of Lynch: A Collection of Essays. This book contains essays by:x. An Introduction by Philippa Snow1. The Uncanny Electricity of David Lynch’s Women by Leigh Kellmann Kolb2. Women’s Films: Melodrama and Women’s Trauma in the Films of David Lynch by Lindsay Hallam3. A Colorless Sky: On the Whiteness of Twin Peaks by Melanie McFarland4. Warding off the Darkness with Coffee and Pie by Mallory O'Meara5. “This is where we talk, Shelly.” An Interview with MÄdchen Amick by Lindsey Bowden6. Welcome to the Bipolar Silencio Club! by Hannah Klein7. The Triple Goddess by Lauren Fox8. Isabella Rossellini: The Shocking “Real” in Blue Velvet by Kathleen Fleming9. Tea And Sympathy: Mrs. Kendal and The Elephant Man by Rebecca Paller10. Jade: Ornamental Gem or Protective Talisman? A Character Study by Marisa C. Hayes11. "Mary X Marks The Spot." An Interview with Charlotte Stewart by Lisa Hession12. Impressions of Lynch: Journaling a Requiem by Mya McBriarEdited by David BushmanConcept by Scott RyanFront Cover by Blake MorrowArt by Wayne Barnes & Hannah Fortune

When David Lynch’s film Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, a prequel to the television series Twin Peaks, premiered at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival it was met with met with outright hostility. Subsequent reviews from critics were almost unanimously negative, and many fans of the show felt betrayed, as their beloved town was suddenly revealed as a personal hell. Yet in the years since the film’s release, there has begun to be a gradual wave of reappraisal and appreciation, one that accelerated with the broadcast of Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017. What has been central to this reevaluation is the realization that what Lynch had created was not a parody of soap opera and detective television but a horror movie. In this Devil’s Advocate, Lindsay Hallam argues that the horror genre aids Lynch’s purpose in presenting the protagonist Laura Palmer’s subjective experience leading to her death as the incorporation of horror tropes actually leads to a more accurate representation of a victim’s suffering and confusion. She goes on to explore how the film was an attempt by Lynch to take back ownership of the material and to examine the initial reaction and subsequent reevaluation of the film, as well as the paratexts that link to it and the influence that Fire Walk with Me now has on contemporary film and across popular culture.