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The Impossible David Lynch
Series: Film and Culture Series
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The Impossible David Lynch
$11700
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
This book is ideal for readers interested in film theory, David Lynch’s oeuvre, and those who appreciate deep analyses of fantasy and the avant-garde in cinema.
Offers an exploration of weirdness and fantasy in David Lynch's groundbreaking oeuvre. Considering the filmmaker's entire career, the author examines Lynch's play with fantasy and traces the political, cultural, and existential impact of his unique style. Each chapter discusses the idea of impossibility in one of Lynch's films.
The Impossible David Lynch displays Todd McGowan's deep, sometimes truly breathtaking knowledge of David Lynch's work and of Lacanian theory. -- Slavoj Zizek, author of The Art of the Ridiculous Sublime: On David Lynch's Lost Highway Todd McGowan's book on David Lynch is an intellectually poignant, theoretically sophisticated, and erudite presentation of David Lynch's films that has truly extraordinary moments. -- Elisabeth Bronfen, University of Zurich Todd McGowan is a brilliantly effective writer. His explanations of difficult concepts are a marvel of sophistication, in which complexity and nuance are not sacrificed in order to reach all readers interested in the subject, both those well-versed in film studies and those who are not. -- Robert Lang, author of Masculine Interests
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Description
Todd McGowan launches a provocative exploration of weirdness and fantasy in David Lynch's groundbreaking oeuvre. He studies Lynch's talent for blending the bizarre and the normal to emphasize the odd nature of normality itself.
Hollywood is often criticised for distorting reality and providing escapist fantasies, but in Lynch's movies, fantasy becomes a means through which the viewer is encouraged to build a revolutionary relationship with the world.
Considering the filmmaker's entire career, McGowan examines Lynch's play with fantasy and traces the political, cultural, and existential impact of his unique style. Each chapter discusses the idea of impossibility in one of Lynch's films, including the critically acclaimed Blue Velvet and The Elephant Man; the densely plotted Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive; the cult favourite Eraserhead; and the commercially unsuccessful Dune.
McGowan engages with theorists from the "golden age" of film studies (Christian Metz, Laura Mulvey, and Jean-Louis Baudry) and with the thought of Sigmund Freud, Jacques Lacan, and Hegel. By using Lynch's weirdness as a point of departure, McGowan adds a new dimension to the field of auteur studies and reveals Lynch to be the source of a new and radical conception of fantasy.
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The Impossible David Lynch
Todd McGowan launches a provocative exploration of weirdness and fantasy in David Lynch's groundbreaking oeuvre. He studies Lynch's talent for blending the bizarre and the normal to emphasize the odd nature of normality itself. Hollywood is often criticised for distorting reality and providing escapist fantasies, but in Lynch's movies, fantasy becomes a means through which the viewer is encouraged to...Paperback$11700Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 2-3 weeks
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Horror News praises the book as a well-written collection of thoughtful essays that will appeal to both thinkers and film enthusiasts fascinated by Lynch's cinema.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780231139557
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 13 February 2007
Country: United States
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Width: 152.0mm
Height: 229.0mm
Weight: 250g
Pages: 280
About the Author
Todd McGowan is associate professor of English at the University of Vermont.
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