{"id":{"repo_id":"wfu","oai_identifier":"oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/39311"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wfu/oai:wakespace.lib.wfu.edu:10339/39311","repository":{"repo_id":"wfu","name":"Wake Forest University","base_url":"https://wakespace.lib.wfu.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Dark Reflections: Fantasy and Duality in the Work of David Lynch","abstract":"This thesis investigates the sexual construction of Lacanian fantasy in the work of David Lynch. Primary texts include Lynch's films <italic>Blue Velvet</italic> (1986), <italic>Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me</italic> (1992), <italic>Lost Highway</italic> (1997), and <italic>Mulholland Drive</italic> (2001), along with David Lynch and Mark Frost's TV show <italic>Twin Peaks</italic> (1990-1991). The thesis builds upon the Lacanian scholarship of Lynch scholar Todd McGowan, examining how fantasy operates and structures the worlds of Lynch's films; the thesis expands upon McGowan's work from a feminist perspective, considering how concerns of gender and sexuality inform the construction of fantasy in Lynch's work. In <italic>Blue Velvet</italic> and <italic>Twin Peaks</italic>, fantasy operates as a necessary element of social structure; the social experience of reality is informed by the existence of fantasy in these texts. <italic>Lost Highway</italic> and <italic>Mulholland Drive</italic> turn from the social to the personal, examining how desperate individuals seek escape from their unbearable realities through an escape into fantasy. As this thesis will investigate, although fantasy is a necessary component of the social order, it is inadequate as a means of escape from the troubles of life.","abstract_html":"This thesis investigates the sexual construction of Lacanian fantasy in the work of David Lynch. Primary texts include Lynch&#x27;s films &lt;italic&gt;Blue Velvet&lt;/italic&gt; (1986), &lt;italic&gt;Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me&lt;/italic&gt; (1992), &lt;italic&gt;Lost Highway&lt;/italic&gt; (1997), and &lt;italic&gt;Mulholland Drive&lt;/italic&gt; (2001), along with David Lynch and Mark Frost&#x27;s TV show &lt;italic&gt;Twin Peaks&lt;/italic&gt; (1990-1991). The thesis builds upon the Lacanian scholarship of Lynch scholar Todd McGowan, examining how fantasy operates and structures the worlds of Lynch&#x27;s films; the thesis expands upon McGowan&#x27;s work from a feminist perspective, considering how concerns of gender and sexuality inform the construction of fantasy in Lynch&#x27;s work. In &lt;italic&gt;Blue Velvet&lt;/italic&gt; and &lt;italic&gt;Twin Peaks&lt;/italic&gt;, fantasy operates as a necessary element of social structure; the social experience of reality is informed by the existence of fantasy in these texts. &lt;italic&gt;Lost Highway&lt;/italic&gt; and &lt;italic&gt;Mulholland Drive&lt;/italic&gt; turn from the social to the personal, examining how desperate individuals seek escape from their unbearable realities through an escape into fantasy. As this thesis will investigate, although fantasy is a necessary component of the social order, it is inadequate as a means of escape from the troubles of life.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Boyd, Nolan Heyward"],"institution":"Wake Forest University","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2014,"date_issued":"2014","date_published":"2014","updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:01:46Z","subjects":["David Lynch"],"languages":["en"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10339/39311","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Boyd, Nolan Heyward"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-07-10T08:35:39Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-07-10T08:35:39Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2014"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Wake Forest University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["David Lynch"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10339/39311"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis investigates the sexual construction of Lacanian fantasy in the work of David Lynch. Primary texts include Lynch's films <italic>Blue Velvet</italic> (1986), <italic>Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me</italic> (1992), <italic>Lost Highway</italic> (1997), and <italic>Mulholland Drive</italic> (2001), along with David Lynch and Mark Frost's TV show <italic>Twin Peaks</italic> (1990-1991). The thesis builds upon the Lacanian scholarship of Lynch scholar Todd McGowan, examining how fantasy operates and structures the worlds of Lynch's films; the thesis expands upon McGowan's work from a feminist perspective, considering how concerns of gender and sexuality inform the construction of fantasy in Lynch's work. In <italic>Blue Velvet</italic> and <italic>Twin Peaks</italic>, fantasy operates as a necessary element of social structure; the social experience of reality is informed by the existence of fantasy in these texts. <italic>Lost Highway</italic> and <italic>Mulholland Drive</italic> turn from the social to the personal, examining how desperate individuals seek escape from their unbearable realities through an escape into fantasy. As this thesis will investigate, although fantasy is a necessary component of the social order, it is inadequate as a means of escape from the troubles of life."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Dark Reflections: Fantasy and Duality in the Work of David Lynch"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Boyd, Nolan Heyward"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-07-10T08:35:39Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-07-10T08:35:39Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2014"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis investigates the sexual construction of Lacanian fantasy in the work of David Lynch. Primary texts include Lynch's films <italic>Blue Velvet</italic> (1986), <italic>Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me</italic> (1992), <italic>Lost Highway</italic> (1997), and <italic>Mulholland Drive</italic> (2001), along with David Lynch and Mark Frost's TV show <italic>Twin Peaks</italic> (1990-1991). The thesis builds upon the Lacanian scholarship of Lynch scholar Todd McGowan, examining how fantasy operates and structures the worlds of Lynch's films; the thesis expands upon McGowan's work from a feminist perspective, considering how concerns of gender and sexuality inform the construction of fantasy in Lynch's work. In <italic>Blue Velvet</italic> and <italic>Twin Peaks</italic>, fantasy operates as a necessary element of social structure; the social experience of reality is informed by the existence of fantasy in these texts. <italic>Lost Highway</italic> and <italic>Mulholland Drive</italic> turn from the social to the personal, examining how desperate individuals seek escape from their unbearable realities through an escape into fantasy. As this thesis will investigate, although fantasy is a necessary component of the social order, it is inadequate as a means of escape from the troubles of life."],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10339/39311"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher":["Wake Forest University"],"dc:subject":["David Lynch"],"dc:title":["Dark Reflections: Fantasy and Duality in the Work of David Lynch"],"dc:type":["Thesis"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T22:01:46Z"}