The double as the embodiment of evil. Notes on contemporary seriality from "Twin Peaks" onwards

Authors

  • Sara Tongiani Università di Genova

Abstract

David Lynch is a modern version of the Renaissance author and artist: he is able to create and arrange complex audio-visual narratives, realized through different media. The cinema of Lynch is often marked by doubleness: especially in Twin Peaks (1990-91) the double is a figure, a motif and a metaphor. This paper attempts to show that in Twin Peaks the double embodies the uncanny, which lies at the core of Lynch’s work. Characterized by peculiar manifestations of evil forces from otherworldly dimensions and universes, Twin Peaks shows the effects of a wicked possession which can twist human soul and nature. Indeed in Twin Peaks Bob (F. Silva) is the prototype of the evil shape-shifting creature, who enters the dimension and the world of human beings, while Dale Cooper (K. MacLachlan) is the archetypal Lynchian post-modern hero. From a critical and comparative perspective, Cooper and Bob act as models for several characters in contemporary TV series. Among these, The Leftovers (HBO 2014-2017) and The outsider (HBO 2020) actually focus on the figure of the double and of the theme of revelation of evil forces. In a similar way, in a framework of uncanny reality, Twin PeaksThe LeftoversThe outsider describe and “portray” how evil can become “environment, possibility and force” (Wallace 1992: 204).

Author Biography

Sara Tongiani, Università di Genova

Sara Tongiani (PhD in Digital Humanities, Università di Genova; PhD in Letterature Comparate, Università di Torino) è cultrice della materia Storia e critica del cinema e professore a contratto presso l’Università di Genova. I suoi principali interessi di ricerca si concentrano sulla cultura visuale, il cinema e le loro relazioni con la letteratura. Ha partecipato come relatrice a convegni internazionali ed è autrice di articoli e saggi apparsi su Elephant&CastleLa Valle dell’EdenCinergieL’AvventuraTicontre Between. Attualmente la sua tesi di dottorato, dedicata all’orizzonte mediale della metamorfosi, è in corso di pubblicazione.

Published

15-09-2020

How to Cite

Tongiani, S. (2020). The double as the embodiment of evil. Notes on contemporary seriality from "Twin Peaks" onwards. Elephant & Castle, (23). Retrieved from https://elephantandcastle.unibg.it/index.php/eac/article/view/272